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  2. Christmas Decorating, Tips & Traditions

People who put up Christmas decorations early are happier

When do you think it's time to deck the halls? - by Rebecca Lowrey Boyd
  • 28 Oct 2021

There is always one house in your street that is decked with twinkling lights before anyone else has even started to think about Christmas.

WATCH: Melissa King shows you how to make a succulent Christmas tree

For most of us, the Christmas season starts on the first of December, and we don’t bring out the boxes of decorations until then.

So what about those who put their Christmas decorations up earlier? What does this say about them?

Christmas tree and mantle

Merry and bright... and happier?

John Paul Urizar/aremediasyndication.com.au

According to Steve McKeown, psychoanalyst, founder of MindFixers and owner of the McKeown Clinics, there could be a number of reasons why some people decorate earlier, but most commonly it’s “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,” he said.

“Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions on excitement. So, putting up those Christmas decorations early extend the excitement!”

Moreover, according to the Journal of Environmental Psychology, decorations are used as “cues as a way of communicating their accessibility to neighbours’.

It turns out that those with decorations were considered more “friendly and cohesive”.

All the more reason to deck the halls earlier than later.

You might also like:

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What is a Christmas Eve box?

  • Better Life
  • Christmas Decorating, Tips & Traditions
Rebecca Lowrey Boyd
Rebecca is the Digital Managing Editor of Better Homes and Gardens.

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