When should Christmas decorations go up? Many are starting the season earlier than ever

Jo Ciavaglia, Bucks County Courier Times
Updated ·5 min read

On Thursday Paula Watts and her family will celebrate Thanksgiving in the dining room, and Christmas elsewhere in their Sellersville home.

It’s a far cry from the what Watts, 55, experienced growing up, when holiday decorating started on Dec. 24, after she and her siblings were tucked in their beds.

“My parents didn’t put out as much as a piece of tinsel until Christmas Eve,” she said.

This year she broke out the family holiday treasure trove on Nov. 3.

“We do a little each day and it makes it fun,” she said. “It’s the build up. The day after Christmas, it doesn’t have that same umph.”

Sellersville resident Paula Watts typically did her Christmas decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, but that changed after the 2020 Pandemic. Since then she starts in early November and takes her time, she said.
Sellersville resident Paula Watts typically did her Christmas decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, but that changed after the 2020 Pandemic. Since then she starts in early November and takes her time, she said.
Sellersville resident Paula Watts typically did her Christmas decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, but that changed after the 2020 Pandemic. Since then she starts in early November and takes her time, she said.
Sellersville resident Paula Watts typically did her Christmas decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, but that changed after the 2020 Pandemic. Since then she starts in early November and takes her time, she said.

The rush to usher in the Christmas season, a long criticized commercial practice, has slowly seeped into American homes igniting heated debates with traditionalists who hold tight to a post-Thanksgiving approach to winter celebrations.

Recent surveys suggest that Americans are increasingly embracing pre-Thanksgiving holiday decorating. A 2019 survey found nearly half of 2,000 Americans asked thought Nov. 1 was not too early to start.

More recently, Home Depot and Wakefield Research last year found 55% of the 1,000 Americans surveyed finished holiday decorating before Thanksgiving, and nearly a quarter admitted they decorate earlier than they did five years ago.

As an adult, Watts would start her indoor decorating after Black Friday shopping.  Until 2020, when she moved up the timetable closer to Halloween.

During the pandemic family had decided not to get together for Thanksgiving or Christmas, which is Watts’ favorite holiday. Then everyone in the house got sick with COVID over Halloween.

On the first day of November, her daughter suggested that the family put up the Christmas trees thinking it might cheer them up.

“I said, ‘If it makes people feel better, let’s do it,’” Watts said. “It kind of stuck.”

While Christmas starts early inside the house, outside is a different story, Watts added. Her husband typically does not tackle that project until the first or second week of December.

The Watts aren’t the only ones who apply different timetables for indoor and outdoor displays.

Bill Carroll focuses his Christmas decorating to the inside of his family's Upper Southampton house, a process that starts weeks before Thanksgiving. He doesn't do outdoor decorating until after turkey day.
Bill Carroll focuses his Christmas decorating to the inside of his family's Upper Southampton house, a process that starts weeks before Thanksgiving. He doesn't do outdoor decorating until after turkey day.

Bill Carroll starts transforming the two-floors inside his family’s Upper Southampton townhouse into a North Pole wonderland the first week of November.

But he waits until after Thanksgiving to do the outdoor lights.

“I do not want to put my sensibilities on my neighbors more than what is generally acceptable,” Carroll said.

Bill Carroll focuses his Christmas decorating to the inside of his family's Upper Southampton house, a process that starts weeks before Thanksgiving. He doesn't do outdoor decorating until after turkey day.
Bill Carroll focuses his Christmas decorating to the inside of his family's Upper Southampton house, a process that starts weeks before Thanksgiving. He doesn't do outdoor decorating until after turkey day.

Mark Harnishfeger starts in early November transitioning his Middletown home’s outdoor display Colonial Drive Lights from horror to ho-ho-ho.

But switching  it before Thanksgiving Day is a no-no-no.

“My wife would shoot me,” Harnishfeger said.

On his Bensalem street Mike Erbe is sandwiched between neighbors with more old-school holiday decoration habits.

One switches the autumn-themed display over the Thanksgiving weekend. The other waits until about two weeks before Christmas.

Erbe beats them both. He jumps immediately from Halloween to Christmas out of necessity.  His  “Lights on Lumpoc” is among the most elaborate LED light displays in Lower Bucks County.

Bigger displays take longer to completely set up, Erbe said. The lights in his display are programmed to music, which requires a lot of technical pre-checks after new props go up.

The unpredictable winter weather patterns are another reason he moves so quickly, Erbe said. No one likes decorating in near freezing temperatures.

Mike Erbe is the force behind Lights on Lumpoc in Bensalem. He segways immediately from his Halloween to Christmas light displays, a necessity when for large, complicated music-synched displays like his. His neighbors are more traditionalists who wait until after Thanksgiving..
Mike Erbe is the force behind Lights on Lumpoc in Bensalem. He segways immediately from his Halloween to Christmas light displays, a necessity when for large, complicated music-synched displays like his. His neighbors are more traditionalists who wait until after Thanksgiving..
Bensalem Mike Erb, the man behind Lights on Lumpoc, found a happy compromise between his massive Halloween and Christmas light show displays. To honor military veterans in November, he runs fall color lights and plays "Danger Zone" from Top Gun, until its time to move over to full-ono Christmas which happens Thanksgiving night.
Bensalem Mike Erb, the man behind Lights on Lumpoc, found a happy compromise between his massive Halloween and Christmas light show displays. To honor military veterans in November, he runs fall color lights and plays "Danger Zone" from Top Gun, until its time to move over to full-ono Christmas which happens Thanksgiving night.

To help smooth the transition, this year Erbe announced a “special preview” of his holiday light display starting on Nov. 10, but it featured  “fall colors.”  As a Veterans Day bonus, he added the song “Danger Zone” from the movie “Top Gun” every 30 minutes.

The lights will switch to Christmas colors on Thanksgiving night.

“I get a little flak from some family, friends and some neighbors but it's all jokingly,” Erbe added. “I got other things to do in life. If I can get this planned and done, one less thing to worry about.”

This year Lansdale resident Keith Heffintrayer put up the  tree and other decorations on Nov. 4. It’s a nice contrast to the loss of daylight and drab Thanksgiving color schemes, he said.

This year Keith Heffintrayer, of Lansdale, put up the family Christmas decorations on Nov. 4, but there is not outdoor decorating until after Thanksgiving
This year Keith Heffintrayer, of Lansdale, put up the family Christmas decorations on Nov. 4, but there is not outdoor decorating until after Thanksgiving

“It's getting cold, and you're surrounded by orange and brown,” he said. “It's easier to handle that with the warm glow of Christmas lights, while also building toward our favorite holiday season of the year.”

Early holiday decorating may have mental health benefits, according to psychologists, by creating a spike in dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure.

Some people also use holiday decorating as a way to connect with positive memories and deal with negative emotions, which can be heightened during the holiday season, according to a 2019 study.

Penn State University Abington professor of psychology Michael Bernstein suspects early holiday decorating may be an attempt to lengthen the holiday season.

“Many people look forward to the holiday season the whole year round. By starting it earlier, they get to have more of the holiday and have it be more salient to them for longer,”  he said. “Maybe if we as a nation decorated for more Thanksgiving, we could stave off the rush of winter holiday decorating.”

Some eager Bensalem residents have put up their holiday decorations while the leaves on the trees are still turning colors.
Some eager Bensalem residents have put up their holiday decorations while the leaves on the trees are still turning colors.

Bernstein suggested strong feelings around pre-Thanksgiving Christmas rituals may be rooted in intense personal beliefs.

“Rituals matter to people and the traditions people have are important to them,” he said.

“One reason people may get upset is it feels hard to imagine someone else doing something different from what they see as so normal.”

Call her old school but normal for Warminster resident Julie Lambrechtse is waiting until after December starts to begin decorating.

“Everyone puts up stuff so early they are sick of it by Dec. 26,” she said. “Then there's no decorations between Christmas and New Year's.”

More holiday information Where's the holiday parade and tree lighting in your Bucks County town? Find it here

Find your favorite holiday events Have holiday fun in Bucks County with these events through the season

Why do we do that at Christmas? Ho, ho, ho: Do you know where these Christmas traditions started?

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Christmas decorating before Thanksgiving is the new great holiday debate