Inside: why getting ready for Christmas early isn’t a virtue, and how saving the mess, the music, and the memories for December keeps the season special. You aren’t behind.
If you’ve ever found yourself on December 22, sitting cross-legged on the living room floor with scraps of paper everywhere and a roll of tape stuck to your sweater, you’ve probably felt that creeping guilt…I should have had this done weeks ago. But…why? who decided that last-minute wrapping is a moral failing? Somewhere along the line, being “ahead” became a badge of honor, and the rest of us started to feel like slackers. The truth? Those frantic, glitter-covered nights are part of the story
The Modern Rush Mentality
We’re told (loudly and often!) that getting Christmas “done” early is the secret to a stress-free holiday. Ads sell bins for labeled cookies. Influencers film “Christmas prep in July” hauls. Pinterest boards promise that freezing your sugar cookies in October will leave you serene and glowing come December. But here’s the truth: moving the work to October doesn’t make it disappear. It just stretches the to-do list across more months and turns a joyful season into a quarter-year project.
No logins, No guilt, no Overwhelm
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Somewhere along the way, homemaking became tangled up with productivity culture: perfect systems, perfect pantries, perfect timelines. Even Christmas has been folded into a checklist mentality. And if you’re not two months ahead, you’re made to feel like you’re failing at joy itself. But that’s a lie.
What We Lose When We Get Ready Too Soon
Because December is supposed to the be December. Christmas prep is what so much of it is about. If you have everything done and tucked away by December first, then you spend that part of the. year… doing what? Living your life normally, like it’s mid-April? What was the point of it all?
Why not enjoy candy cooling on the counter while carols on the radio (yes I think you should listen to live radio but we’ll discuss that later)? Why not take a last-minute to the drugstore on December 23rd on a chilly night when you realize you’re out of tape? Why are you planning away all of these moments.
December should feel different….electric and alive…not pre-packaged months ahead.
The Practical Downside of Over-Prepping
Getting too far ahead isn’t just unnecessary. It can backfire:
- Overbuying! Gifts tucked away for months get forgotten. By December, you’re second-guessing your stash and buying “just one more thing,” blowing the budget.
- Changing tastes: Kids change their minds. That “must-have” toy in October might be old news by December.
- Stale treats: Frozen cookies or candies can get freezer burn or hidden behind the chicken stock—only to resurface in March.
- Annoying storage problems: Extra bins and bags clutter your home for weeks, and you’re digging through closets to find what you already bought.
How This Became a Thing
The push to “get Christmas done” earlier didn’t happen by accident. Retailers realized years ago that stretching the season boosts sales, so Christmas crept closer to Halloween. Over time, early promotions became the norm. Now, stores roll out décor before the pumpkins are put away, and social feeds follow suit because people genuinely love sharing holiday inspiration.
Layer on our modern obsession with productivity….color-coded bins, perfectly scheduled calendars….and suddenly, waiting until December feels almost rebellious. But the truth is, this timeline wasn’t set by tradition or by what’s best for families. It’s just the by-product of marketing and a culture that loves to optimize everything. You’re not failing by sticking to December. You’re simply choosing not to outsource the magic to October.
Instead, Plan But Don’t Do
Thinking ahead is smart. But doing everything months early steals December’s soul. Jot down gift ideas if it keeps you sane. Pick a baking day and block it off so it actually happens. But don’t fill your freezer in October or stash every present by Labor Day.
Keep a simple gift list, but leave the shopping for when the lights are up and the music’s on. Choose one baking day close to Christmas so the kitchen smells like Christmas, not fall break. And leave some blank space for sledding, dropping cookies to a neighbor, or trying a new recipe on a whim. Planning protects the season. Over-prepping drains it.
Enjoy the Season
Stop apologizing. December is when Christmas belongs.
I do decorate early– the first week of November, then can touch up little details after. I work full time in retail (for a ministry that operates thrift stores that support helping homeless people and others in need). I tend not to be off work besides the holidays themselves, which we are closed for, and Sundays and whatever my day off is in the week, which my husband is not off for, though we overlap on Sundays and are both off then. We are also involved in church choir and its practices and concerts, and several family gatherings, and I bake and cook.
I have been up very late on Sunday nights after Thanksgiving just to get a few things decorated, and I worked Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday Thanksgiving week. It was exhausting each year and I lost fun Thanksgiving time to late nights with Christmas decorating and so on. I also barely felt time to enjoy the season with rest, due to not having holiday time off consecutively, and I was home less to enjoy the decorations due to work. Sometimes I pick up overtime, too, or we have a bug hit our home.
I decorate early now just to have more time with it. At work, shortly after the beginning of November we also decorate the store, and there is extra work to stage everything and more shoppers and very busy and all on my feet.
I never felt before I had much Christmas time and could not enjoy all the commitments and kept pushing my body to do all the things. Decorating early gave me time to do it with rest and no pressure to have it done all at once. I stretched it out over a week or so. Before, it was either not having out all the decorations we love, or still fiddling with it close to Christmas itself, or a struggle to squeeze all of it into Thanksgiving weekend while working plus family and friends and church commitments, and bringing dessert and sides. Even light decorating still was very hard and tiring. My husband does it with me, so he is a big contributor. I am not solo on it.
My mom retired this year, and at her home she sticks to the after Thanksgiving decorating. I support that, and she has more time on her hands to do it this way. My dad helps her some. I see the benefits to doing it both ways. I think if I were in a certain season in life, it would work well for me to do it after Thanksgiving. I used to stick to that, but I get to sit down at Thanksgiving this way and actually rest and enjoy it more, and it eliminates a time crunch to squeeze all of the Christmas decorating to one weekend. I appreciate the value of doing it both ways, however.
hi tracie, that makes sense! I always tell people consider leaving them up longer! I enjoy mine all the way up until feb 2nd. the days are short and the lights feel so cheerful all January.
I love a transitional period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I put fake trees up on the porch but no lights on yet, remove mums. In the house only greens or natural items such as fruit, pine cones. Beeswax candles. Getting used to the darker nights. Focusing on scripture for preparing for Christmas.
Then on the 15th lights go on on porch trees. Live tree (which was purchased the day after Thanksgiving and placed in a bucket of water outside) gets put up.
Then 20/21st decorate tree.
When my kids were younger, NOTHING was decorated until Christmas Eve. Everything was brought out and decorated Christmas Eve. My husband and I were both brought up this way so wasn’t hard to convince him! It was an amazing transformation for the kids.
Loved your article!
Catherine I love that. Yes the mums post-thanksgiving are weird. I like your schedule very much. thank you so much for sharing the timeline with us. ❤️
Thank you for this article, and I agree with you. I never put up Christmas before Thanksgiving. Growing up, I loved Thanksgiving. My mother would be in the kitchen all day cooking, and the smells wafting through the house were incredible. I, along with my siblings, would be glued to the TV watching the many parades! Then came the sounds of college football in the background as we played outside until the moment my mom announced, “Dinner is ready!” My mother would set the dining room table with her fine china. She always had fresh flowers from the florist as a centerpiece, then lit the candles. You see, we weren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination; there were eight of us children, and I was the seventh!
I am now in my sixties, with three grown children and three grandchildren. I try to make Thanksgiving memorable for them. Christmas will come, it always does. Let’s embrace Thanksgiving and remember what we’re Thankful for this year!
P.S. Last year, I was wrapping presents on Christmas Day. I think I will try to get it done a little sooner this year 😉
haha Tish! Christmas Day IS pushing it 🙂