There Are Major Benefits to Decorating Early for the Holidays, According to Experts

If you itch to get the Christmas lights up ASAP, you're likely in touch with your inner child!

Published on November 20, 2017

hanging holiday decorations — Photo: Olga Max/shutterstock

If you're the type to love decorating for the holidays as early as you possibly can -- eep, maybe even before Thanksgiving?! -- it turns out research has a positive take on your psychology. U.K. news outlet Unilad spoke with a psychoanaylst and founder of MindFixers and owner of The McKeown Clinic about the eager beavers who take their Christmas decorations quite seriously.

“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 the childhood,” McKeown told Unilad. “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!”

Psychotherapist and author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, Amy Morin, corroborated McKeown's point, noting that the holidays “helps link people to their personal past and it helps people understand their identity. For many, putting up Christmas decorations early is a way for them to reconnect with their childhoods.” If you associate holiday prep with a loved one who's passed away, "decorating early may help them feel more connected with that individual,” Morin explains.

Turns out, research has plenty of positive things to say about getting into the holiday spirit sooner rather than later, too. A 1989 study published in The Journal of Environmental Psychology concluded that people who decorate the exteriors of their houses with garlands, strings of lights, and all other manner of bright, cheerful, and merry holiday decor are seen as friendlier and having "greater sociability" than neighbors who don't decorate. The study authors noted that the Clark Griswolds of the world “communicate attachment and possibly to integrate themselves into a neighborhood’s social activities.”