Hello, everyone!
It’s mid-November, I’m still living on iced coffee and open-toe sandals, the sun is setting way too early, and yet every shop window and every second reel on my feed is already screaming CHRISTMAS. Trees that belong in shopping centres are proudly standing in living rooms, wreaths are on doors, and someone I follow has already done three “get ready with me for the holiday season” videos. In November.
Is it just me, or has this gone too far?
I adore Christmas—the lights, the candles, the over-the-top earrings, the cosy evenings—but where I come from, the rule has always been very clear: decorations do not go up before the 8th of December. That’s the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and that’s when Christmas officially starts. Before that day? Still autumn, still pumpkin-spice territory, still absolutely no tinsel allowed.
Every year, though, the start line moves a little further back. This year I spotted full Christmas aisles in early October, literally the same week the Halloween stuff came down. I walked past a €60 glitter reindeer and had a small existential crisis in the middle of the shop.
I completely understand why some people decorate early. Kids are excited, the lights help with the darker days, and if hanging baubles in November makes your heart happy, then go for it. Content creators also have to work months ahead — I get it. But for me, the magic lives in those intense four and a half weeks between the 8th of December and the 6th of January. Stretch it over two months, and by Christmas Eve I’m usually ready to pack everything away again.
This year I’m standing my ground. No tree, no lights, no sneaky early garland. My Christmas boxes are buried so deep in the wardrobe that even I would need a search party to find them. December 8th or bust.
So tell me I’m not the only one still holding the line.
When do you put up your Christmas decorations?
- Team November (or earlier) — sparkle season has no rules
- End of November / after Black Friday
- 8th December or later — tradition is tradition
- Christmas Eve only (respect)
Drop your answer in the comments! I’m dying to know if the 8th-December crew is still out there in 2025, or if I’m officially the last grumpy traditionalist left.
Until then, I’ll be over here with my last autumn candle, refusing to press play on any Christmas playlist until the calendar says it’s time.
Lots of love (and zero holiday music just yet).
P.S. If your house already looks like a winter wonderland, please send photos. I’ll admire them… from my very undecorated, pre-8th corner.