How soon is too soon for Christmas?

There is a lot of excitement and fun that comes with the season but also a lot of stress. You have to plan, decorate and buy presents. There are a lot of aspects that play into the season that people do not necessarily think about.

We know when the Christmas season starts for stores, however. While they get ready for Black Friday, they are also setting up their Christmas displays typically on Halloween.

It is almost as if all these holidays are starting to blend. For the businesses, they work towards the holidays they are able to make the most money from. There is always something new that could be added to the collection of decorations.

However, for us as individuals, there are lots of differing opinions on this. Some believe that the Christmas season starts after Halloween while others believe it starts after Thanksgiving.

I always grew up with the thought that the Christmas season comes after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving would happen, we would go shopping on Black Friday and then on the weekend get out all the Christmas decorations and spend the day decorating.

Lots of people decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving; however, many of my friends this year decorated their rooms on Nov. 1. They want the holiday spirits and excitement to come early.

The holidays should go in order, you can’t just skip one. If you go straight from Halloween to Christmas it can take away the importance of Thanksgiving and spending time with family.

Also, if you start decorating and celebrating Christmas in November by the time the Christmas season really gets here it will be old. There is only so long you can celebrate.

Everyone gets to form their own opinions on when to decorate and start celebrating.

With the Wisconsin weather, it doesn’t even feel like it can be Christmas season yet. There is no snow, and some days are getting highs up to 65 degrees.

When it starts to snow is when it really starts to feel like Christmas season. It doesn’t really feel like Christmas until it feels like winter and in order for it to feel like winter here there needs to be snow and cold.

Looking at the other side of the decorating season on Nov. 1, you get first pick at all the decorations. The excitement and fun of Christmas is brought on earlier.

By decorating on Nov. 1, it is also all set up for when we get back from Thanksgiving break. There are also then two months to get into all the Christmas activities, events and photos. Especially being  college students, many of us have different schedules and the pressures of school and finals, so decorating early gives extra time to celebrate together.

Some students don’t get to decorate at home, so this is their chance to express themselves and get excited for the season. Along with that, they can keep adding to it throughout the season to make it the best display they can.

But for me, decorating after Thanksgiving break makes coming back to school more exciting. Decorating can be fun and make the final month of school go by quickly. Christmas music is also a great way to distract from finals and get more excited for winter break and the end of the semester.

It all depends on how long one wants to celebrate and when the excitement should begin. When do you decorate?

Geske can be reached at [email protected].