Experts Say That People Who Put Up Holiday Decorations Earlier Are Happier


Many people consider Christmas to be the happiest time of the year. It’s a time when we get together with family and friends for the festivities and we find reasons to be thankful. Perhaps one of the best parts about the holiday season is decorating the house and many people will try to be more festive with their decorations every year.

Most people wait until after Thanksgiving to start decorating for Christmas and that seems like a logical choice. After all, you don’t want to be ‘that guy’ who puts out decorations two months early, do you?

Actually, there is a reason why you may want to start decorating early. Experts and researchers say that it makes you happier!

The Surprising Benefits of Decorating Early

One psychoanalyst has come forward to say why putting up Christmas decorations earlier can make you happier.

“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,” psychoanalyst Steve McKeown told Unilad. “Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement. So putting up those Christmas decorations early extends the excitement!”

Another benefit of putting out the decorations for the holidays early is the social benefits. It gives you the opportunity to be out there and socialize and you may even make a friend or two. The Journal of Environmental Psychology weighs in by saying that putting out your Christmas decorations early will make your neighbors look at you as a friendly and accessible individual.

“When Christmas decorations were present, raters actually attributed greater sociability to the nonsociable residents, citing a more open appearance as the basis for their judgments. The results support the idea that residents can use their home’s exterior to communicate attachment and possibly to integrate themselves into a neighborhood’s social activities,” according to the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

Amy Morton, a psychotherapist also talked about how putting up holiday decorations early can help an individual to reconnect with their childhood. As a nostalgic part of the holiday season, it can increase your positivity and your personal identity.

“Nostalgia helps link people to their personal past and it helps people understand their identity. For many, putting up Christmas decorations early is a way for them to reconnect with their childhoods,” says Amy Morin, psychotherapist and author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t.

Perhaps one of the greatest impacts is how it can affect somebody who has lost a family member. Morin says that celebrating the holidays, including the process of decorating helps a person to focus on the happy times they had with their loved ones.

“Decorating early may help them feel more connected with that individual,” Morin says.


log in

Become a part of our community!

reset password

Back to
log in