In late September, Christmas decorations began hitting shelves in Kmart. Photo / Facebook / Christmas Mums Australia
In late September, Christmas decorations began hitting shelves in Kmart. Photo / Facebook / Christmas Mums Australia
It's a question that always sparks massive divide among people: How soon is too soon to put up your Christmas decorations?
If you were to go off the Christmas displays in Kmart, any time from now seems to be perfectly suitable, with the discount department store's festive range hitting shelves last month.
Posting in the Kmart Hacks & Decor Facebook group, one woman asked: "Curious as to when everyone starts putting up Christmas decor?"
Her question prompted over 500 responses, with shoppers differing greatly as to when they began decorating their homes for Christmas.
Some said they were "putting it up now", arguing that as soon as you had purchased your Christmas decorations for the year was fair game and many stores already had festive items available.
"As soon as the -ber months hit mine are up," one person wrote.
A Facebook post revealed people are hugely divided on when is the right time to put up Christmas decorations. Photo / Facebook / Christmas Mums Australia
"We don't decor for other occasions before Christmas. I don't see the point of putting the them up just on the first and take it down after the 26th (of December), but each to their own."
"It's the festive SEASON, and a season is three months, so I say October, November and December need to be as Christmassy as possible!" another argued.
"Yesterday," one person commented. "It just came in the mail."
Others said they were decorating early this year as a way to say "get stuffed" to coronavirus.
"I'm bringing in cheer and joy early," one shopper commented. "No regrets putting tree up already."
Others said that early November or the first weekend after Halloween was when they put their trees out.
"I like to decorate for Halloween trick or treating first … then I put Christmas up the following weekend," one said.
"First of November because I can't help myself and refuse to accept the idea that Christmas decorations only get to be up for one month," another commented.
Some argued that you should "at least wait until December" or that it was "bad luck to put it up earlier" then December 1.
In late September, Christmas decorations began hitting shelves in Kmart. Photo / Facebook / Christmas Mums Australia
But a select few even went as far as to only have Christmas decorations up for a few days, with one woman admitting she doesn't "like the clutter".
"I'd love to put it up on Christmas Eve and take them down on Boxing Day!" she admitted. "But my family call me the Grinch so I usually do it second week of December but always down on Boxing Day lol."
"Put up Christmas Eve, take down Boxing Day or after New Years day," another commented. "Not into Christmas."
When are you supposed to put up Christmas decorations?
As you can probably guess, there's no real consensus on when you should put up your Christmas decorations.
Most Christian traditions dictate the tree should go up on Advent Sunday, which is the fourth Sunday before Christmas and usually falls in late-November.
Other people argue it should go up 12 days before December 25 and be taken down 12 days after.
Whatever you decide, a study found that having Christmas decorations up can make you seem more sociable to others.
There are also health benefits, with psychologist Deborah Serani telling US Todayin 2017 that putting up decorations can trigger the dopamine hormone thanks to the bright colours, lights and happy past memories.
"It does create that neurological shift that can produce happiness," she said.
"I think anything that takes us out of our normal habituation, the normal day in, day out … signals our senses, and then our senses measure if it's pleasing or not."
