More than one in ten of us had put our Christmas decorations up by November 25, and is there any wonder, argues Polly Hudson, who is even giving in to the festive cheer prematurely
Glance into windows as you walk down any street at the moment and you’ll be greeted by the sight of fairy lights twinkling from within fir branches.
Ahh Christmas, that magical time when it is suddenly completely normal to invite a massive tree inside, to live in your front room.
But wait! What madness is this? It’s still November!
Despite tradition dictating that in polite British society we wait until December at the very least, a YouGov survey has revealed
that 11% of Brits had already put their trees and decorations up by November 25 this year.
So why have so many people pulled the trigger early? Maybe it’s the Tinsel Index – a sister theory to the Hemline Index, which suggests that women’s skirt lengths directly correlate with economic conditions, so minis during booms, maxis during recessions.
The Tinsel Index means that the more miserable things are generally in the world, the earlier people try to cheer themselves up with festive accoutrements.
You don’t have to think long to work out what we need to be distracted from this year – take your pick from the freezing weather, cost-of-living crisis, wars including the threat of World War Three, floods … could go on and on, but let’s stop there, because there aren’t enough baubles on the planet.
And so, people have embraced the season to be jolly a little expeditiously this year – if it makes them feel a little better, what’s the harm, right?
But of course it’s not that simple. Alongside those minding their own business and putting what they want in their own houses are others, absolutely outraged by what complete strangers are doing, and by what date.
It’s almost as if that anger is perhaps misplaced, and not really about Christmas trees, but let’s not pull at that thread, eh? And so they post on social media about it being a travesty, mutter disapprovingly whenever they see premature forestation, shake their heads and tut at news of people – gasp! – already eating mince pies. The difference any of this makes to them, to their lives, to when they put their own trees up? Nil, zero, nada, nothing. And yet they seem to be taking it as a personal insult.
In theory, I’m actually on their side. Every year, around this time, our heartwarming family tradition is a huge argument between my husband and I about when to put up our tree
He’s relentlessly merry by nature, and would like our home to be fully Christmafied from July to February. I would ideally put the tree up a week before the 25th, and evict it on Boxing Day, when it is no longer relevant and I’m embarrassed for it.
It is one of those arguments that’s been had so many times we both know exactly what the other will say next, and that we’ll end up getting a tree on December 10 so neither of us is happy.
This year though, anything goes, and let’s try not to be judgmental about it.
Everyone should just do whatever they feel will bring a little light into their lives – let the season of goodwill stretch out as far as the eye can see, in all directions. Who knows, maybe I’ll even concede defeat personally too.
Husband, December 9 it is!
