It’s never too early for Christmas decorations

By Molly Roberts
Posted 11/17/21

I love Christmas. I love carols and Christmas songs, I love Christmas decorations, I love Christmas cookies and treats, I love winter weather —I am from Michigan, after all — but above …

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It’s never too early for Christmas decorations

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I love Christmas. I love carols and Christmas songs, I love Christmas decorations, I love Christmas cookies and treats, I love winter weather —I am from Michigan, after all — but above everything I love the feeling of togetherness that Christmas brings.

I live far away from my family, with my parents in Michigan, my husband’s family in Los Angeles and now my brother is serving in the U.S. Army stationed in Vicenza, Italy. I don’t get to see my family a lot, and this year for the holidays, I will stay in Iowa and miss the opportunities to see my family for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But around the holidays, even though I am physically far from many of my loved ones, I still feel close to them. There’s something about putting out my Christmas decorations and filling my home with holiday cheer that reminds me of home and makes me feel like I’m close by to my mom, my dad, my father-in-law, my brother.

I admittedly go slightly overboard when it comes to decorating my house for Christmas — and I do it early, too. I plan to put out my Christmas decorations very soon, which include strings and strings of lights, wreaths, mistletoe, figurines and statues, wall art, garlands and more. I even have Christmas coffee mugs, wine glasses and coasters. And I also have an extensive Spotify playlist of thousands of Christmas songs from all genres and flavors that I play to give my house the finishing touches of winter wonderland ambiance.

My husband somewhat hates that I put my Christmas decorations up in our house so early — if it were up to him, we wouldn’t put them up until the week before Christmas, but with a big sigh and maybe a roll of his eyes, he gives in and lets me decorate to my heart’s content as early as I wish. I think it’s because he knows decorating for Christmas makes me feel closer to my family around the holidays.

My mom always had the best Christmas decorations when I was growing up, including certain toys and books that would only emerge from the basement around the holidays. While my Mom usually waited until after Thanksgiving to pull out the Christmas décor, I don’t mind pulling all the Christmas stuff from storage a little early in my own home.

These past two years have been tough. I’ve been away from my family, and everyone has been stressed and worried through the pandemic. If putting up some lights and Santa statues can ease some of that stress, and make me feel closer to my dearly missed loved ones, why wouldn’t I? Some might say it’s still too early — it is only November, after all — but I figure it’s never too early to bring a little much-needed cheer to my home.