Putting your Christmas decorations up early could make you happier - according to experts

Putting your Christmas decorations up early could make you happier - according to experts (Photo: Shutterstock)Putting your Christmas decorations up early could make you happier - according to experts (Photo: Shutterstock)
Putting your Christmas decorations up early could make you happier - according to experts (Photo: Shutterstock)

It’s the age old debate - when is it okay to put up your Christmas decorations? It’s only September but it turns out that those who put their tree up a little earlier than normal tend to be happier and more relaxed.

Psychoanalyst Steve McKeown told Unilad that early decorators are motivated by nostalgia.

Evoking feelings of childhood

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

McKeown, who is also the founder of MindFixers and owner of the McKeown Clinic, said that there could be number of symptomatic reasons for why someone may want to put their decorations up earlier, but most commonly people do it for nostalgic reasons.

He explained, "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 childhood.

"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."

Connections to the past

Author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, Amy Morin, says that people who decorate the house early for Christmas are seeking a connection to their past.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This could mean people aiming to feel a connection to late loved ones and times past. Morin writes, "The holidays serve as a reminder of when a loved one was still alive.

"For people who have lost a loved one, it may serve as a reminder of happy times they had with that person. Decorating early may help them feel more connected with that individual."

Decorations help people seem friendly

A study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology suggests that people who do more than the average decorating at Christmas time are seen as friendly.

Although sometimes big Christmas light displays are seen as over the top in UK culture, the authors of the study said it can be a sign of a friendly family.

The authors wrote, "A main effect for the decorated factor indicated that raters used Christmas decorations as a cue that the residents were friendly."

Related topics: