7 min readNow that the Halloween candy bowls are empty, you might find thoughts of tinsel, garland, and fairy lights dancing in your head, but is it really time to trade your pumpkins for holiday trimmings? Some have strong opinions on the topic, half believing the jolly spirit of the holiday season doesn't start until after Thanksgiving, the other rushing to unbox their silver bells as soon as the clock strikes 12 on November 1—but the choice isn’t always yours to make.
If you belong to a Homeowners’ Association (and over 78.1 million Americans do), the question of when to put up your outdoor décor may be dictated by their guidelines. HOAs tend to have rules about holiday decorations, restrictions covering their location (within the boundaries of your yard, of course), sound level (not too loud), safety (no open flames), light color, and when the decorations can be installed. In some communities, you can even be fined for bringing out the twinkle lights and nativity creche before Thanksgiving—this happened to one Florida man in 2002, when he was hit with a fine of $1,000 for putting his lights up on November 6.
If you don’t live in an HOA, you may not get fined for decorating too early, but you will get judged by neighbors who find pre-Thanksgiving holiday displays a little, well, tacky. To be fair, holding until after Thanksgiving does have its perks—why would you pass on the opportunity to decorate a gorgeous fall tablescape? In the spirit of peace on earth and goodwill toward man, we asked design experts what to do. Here’s what they said.
Additional copy by Meghan Shouse and Alyssa Khan.
The Rules Are Flexible
You might follow a religious tradition that guides your holiday decorating, like placing the Baby Jesus in the nativity on Christmas Day or keeping the tree up until Epiphany. But when it comes to secular etiquette, there are no hard-and-fast rules about when to start (or stop) decking the halls.
“Most people find it tasteful to stick within the weeks or the month of the holiday itself,” points out Lizzie Post, co-president of The Emily Post Institute and author of Emily Post’s Etiquette—The Centennial Edition. “That said, there is no etiquette that dictates it. It’s the same way you can paint your house neon orange with blue stripes—there’s nothing that says you can’t. It’s really, do you want to be the person who does?”
For designer Tan France, the answer to that question is decidedly yes. For the past decade, he and his husband have been decorating their tree on Halloween and taking it down on Valentine’s Day. “I’m British, and we don’t really do Halloween,” he explains. “When I moved here 16 years ago, I was more obsessed with Christmas. So on Halloween day, when everyone else is crafting their costumes, I want to be decorating the tree. And a tree brings my husband and me a lot of joy when we come down and turn the lights on first thing in the morning. It’s just a lovely thing to perk your day up.”
Do people question France about his decision to put up decorations so early, and for so long? “Oh gosh, yeah, everyone asks that,” he says. “Online, the press, neighbors. And my answer is really simple: Why delay joy?”
Give Thanksgiving Its Due
If you are jonesing to do some holiday decorating, there's good news: While Christmas might be weeks away, there is one happening right now. It’s called Thanksgiving.
“Anytime before midnight of Thanksgiving is too early to decorate,” insists Wendy Kerrigan, founder of Atelier Design in New Orleans. “Filling the house with Christmas decorations too soon really takes away from the beauty of Thanksgiving, moving your mind into the bustle of Christmas.”
Kerrigan wishes more people would celebrate the fall season for longer; rushing to the tinsel takes away from the beauty of the autumn season, “Thanksgiving can be experienced in a special way too, filling the house with fall colors, fall leaves, gourds, and cornucopia,” says Kerrigan. “Instead of trying to hurry the year along, enjoy each family celebration for what it is.”
Even more, sprinting to the Yuletide season robs the holiday of its own magic. “What makes things special when they’re once a year is that they’re experiences you look forward to,” says Vermont-based interior designer Joshua Smith. “How many holidays can we take at one time? Are we doing Black Friday in July now? Let’s just enjoy the season that we’re in!”
Consider Your Free Time
When it comes to holiday decorating, many hands make light work. Several designers say they take advantage of the long holiday weekend and enforced family time to rope in some extra help making spirits bright. “In my parents' home, we start decorating right after Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a rare opportunity for everyone to be together, and my siblings and I stay to help out our parents,” says New York-based designer Mikel Welch. “Plus, it’s a much better tradition than terrorizing sales associates on Black Friday Eve!"
Smith has a plan for bringing the Christmas spirit to his home, without shouldering the burden of doing all the hall-decking himself. Last year, his family decorated their trees over Thanksgiving weekend and made it a tree-decorating contest. With his husband's family in town, “they’ll be divided into three teams, decorating three trees, and I’ll go around at the end judging, and everyone will win prizes. We’re not all going to be together at Christmas, so this activity is a fun way to celebrate the season and not do all the work myself,” he says.
Still, early decorators would argue that the amount of effort needed to set up holiday decor is another reason to put up decorations early—and keep them up late. “This is the most miserable time of the year; it gets dark so early, it’s so darn cold. I just think you should do everything you can to bring yourself joy,” says France. “Why put in all that effort for a few weeks?”
Do What Makes You Happy
Even those who are normally on the side of waiting to decorate agree that desperate times call for dopamine decorating. Whether it’s the state of your inbox or the state of the world that is stressing you out, if you’re feeling a little blue, go right ahead and pull out the red and green.
“In a perfect calendar, the day after Thanksgiving would be my official start to the holiday season—it's traditionally the day when my family goes out into the woods of Tahoe National Forest to chop down our tree, drag it home, and decorate it,” says designer Noz Nozawa of Noz Design. “But this year, the day after Halloween is when I let the holidays start—there's plenty to worry about, and having my nutcrackers and string lights out a few weeks early can only boost spirits.”
Whenever you decorate, it can be a way to bring fun to a not-always joyful world. “We have no control over a lot of things in our lives, but when we walk through the door of our home, we choose to focus our energy and attention on whether that is on fear or on love and joy,” says Smith. “And this holiday season, I think more than ever we have to focus on ways to bring more light to ourselves and to each other.”
Stores Don't Count
When it comes to early decor, “I can handle it from my neighbor; I cannot handle it from a corporation,” says Post. That may be because we know the Christmas displays popping up in a big-box store alongside the Halloween candy are trying to sell us something, while a neighbor decorating is spreading joy, spending their own time and money to brighten the dark winter nights. For a shop, holiday decorating is mercenary. For an individual, it’s a mitzvah.
If you appreciate the joy inspired by holiday displays and do want to start setting them up early or keep them up late, consider finding a middle ground by leaning toward decor that’s more about lighting up the night, rather than marking a particular occasion. “I see a lot of people in Vermont leaving the actual lights up, not so much like blow-up Santas or things like that, but the actual lights up for the entire winter,” says Post.
If you’re a minimalist (or live in a studio apartment), you don’t need a tree to decorate. “If you don’t have a tree, I’m going to invite you to place a hurricane lamp on your coffee table with a wreath of greenery around it and light a candle in the evening,” says Smith. “Because what we know from neuroscience and neuroaesthetics is, you’ve got to engage the senses to nourish the soul!” Light a candle or turn on some twinkle lights, and you’re liable to spark joy as well.
France would argue that even his trees aren’t occasion-specific. “Here’s the thing: I’m Muslim, and my tree and the lights on our house aren’t necessarily for Christmas,” he explains. “It’s to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year. This is the most miserable time of the year. It gets dark so early, it gets light so late, it’s so darn cold. I just think do everything you can to bring yourself joy.”
Christmas in a Crunch
Though you’d never find them rushing to hang their stockings, the designer duo behind the Kansas City-based firm Kobel + Co, Elizabeth Bennett and Mallory Robins, say there’s one design scheme you can always tap into if you find yourself in the class of outliers running to get decor up before Christmas Eve.
“Ralph Lauren Holiday isn't just having a moment; it's a classic holiday go-to for so many reasons,” Bennett explains. “Warm crimsons, rich browns, tactile fabrics, and blue-green plaids make a beautiful holiday palette. Layer in antique silver pieces and simple glass ornaments. A little patina and variation keep everything from feeling too matched. The goal is a warm, welcoming home with pieces that feel collected and personal.”
After all, you want it to feel like home, even at Christmas.
