How early is too early to start decorating for the holidays? A lot of stores put up their Christmas trees, lights, and inflatable snowmen as soon as they took down their jack-o’-lanterns, spiderwebs, and skeletons. A couple of people in my neighborhood like to get a jump on Christmas, too.
While there are those who bust out the Christmas decorations the minute the Halloween stuff comes down, not everyone thinks it’s appropriate to start decorating for the holidays that early. So, when is the right time? According to a YouGov poll, the day after Thanksgiving is the best day pull Santa and his reindeer out of the garage. Here’s how it breaks down:
- 24% of Americans start decorating on the day after Thanksgiving.
- 23% do it between the day after Thanksgiving and December 1st.
- 16% decorate in early December.
- 15% decorate in mid-November.
- 9% decorate in early November.
- 4% decorate on Thanksgiving Day.
- 4% decorate in mid-December.
- 2% actually decorate before Halloween.
- And 1% wait until a week before Christmas to decorate.
When I was growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, it seems like most of us were in that last category. Nowadays, that seems way too late. Fox News also reports that 22% of Americans will spend between $20 an $40 on holiday decorations and 20% will spend between $81 and $100. I’ve already spent more than $300 on new icicle lights this year. I guess that makes me an overachiever.
