Turns Out, Putting Up Your Holiday Decorations Early Can Make You Happier

For many years I have busted out my Christmas tree early and decorated it for Halloween then for Christmas and people would think it was too early or that I was crazy for doing so.

But now, I have something to back up my need to decorate for the holidays early because Psychologists Say Decorating For Christmas Early Makes People Happier and I am Busting Out The Christmas Tree Today (and so should you).

If you think about it, the holidays are a joyous time. They are often spent with family and friends doing holiday related activities. And between the festivities and lights, it’s hard not to be happy this time of year.

That is basically the idea behind a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

The study found that:

“U.S. residents may use holiday decorations on their home’s exterior to communicate friendliness and cohesiveness with neighbors.”

So, happy people wanting to communicate friendliness during the holidays.

In addition, Steve McKeown, Psychoanalyst, founder of MindFixers and owner of The McKeown Clinic, told UNILAD in an interview:

Although there could be a number of symptomatic reasons why someone would want to obsessively put up decorations early, most commonly for nostalgic reasons either to relive the magic or to compensate for past neglect.
In a world full of stress and anxiety people like to associate to things that make them happy and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of the childhood.
Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement. So putting up those Christmas decorations early extend the excitement!
(Source)

Honestly, he is not wrong.

One of the reasons I love decorating early is because I feel like I did when I was a kid – stress-free and enjoying every magical moment of the holidays.

https://twitter.com/kkelseyjjohnson/status/1173239498228064256

I feel nowadays the holidays go by far too fast and I want to soak up more of those magical moments with my own kids.

Decorating early for me, means we get more time making those memories as a family. Ones I hope my kids will remember as they get older.

Again, something that psychologists can agree with. In fact, Amy Morin, psychotherapist and best-selling author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, said to UNILAD:

The holiday season stirs up a sense of nostalgia. Nostalgia helps link people to their personal past and it helps people understand their identity. For many putting up Christmas decorations early is a way for them to reconnect with their childhoods.
(Source)

So, the moral of the story here is, if you like to decorate for Christmas early, just know, you are making yourself happier in the process so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Most importantly, you’ve got science and psychologists to back you up this year!