Officially the build up to Christmas begins this Sunday with the start of Advent, but if you were to go by the high-street, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the season started very soon after Halloween ended. This got me thinking; so when can you put the Christmas decorations up without feeling a little bit silly?
Firstly, I think it only fair that I declare my hand on this matter, I LOVE Christmas! Whilst outwardly I scoff when my six year old asks if we can put the decorations up in mid-November, inwardly I’m thinking to myself, when can I pretend to be ‘giving in’ to my children’s demands and ‘reluctantly’ agree to put them up, you know, for them, because as we all know, Christmas is all about the children!
A good friend of ours has unashamedly had his decorations up since the start of the month: I laugh at the picture messages he sends of the tree and flashing lights as my wife and I shake our heads in unison at this madness, whilst in truth, I for one, secretly admire his sense of fun.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Sunday night is family movie night in our house and the theme for the last few weeks has become distinctly Christmassy. I even chose the ‘Nightmare before Christmas’ as our movie at Halloween. Whilst subtle, the build-up to the festivities has clearly been taking shape subconsciously for a few weeks now.
So what’s the consensus on this one, when is considered acceptable to put the decorations up? Apart from the decorations, how else do you prepare for the holiday season?
I suspect it won’t surprise you that as someone who works in the ‘solid fuel’ industry; ‘big roaring fires’ play an integral part in the images I associate with this holiday season. For me, no one portrays this time of the year better than Dean Martin when he sings those famous lyrics of that old favourite, “Let it Snow”.
“Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
The Christmas tree twinkling in the corner of the room, the lights turned down low, a bit of garland on the mantel above the fireplace and a warm welcoming coal fire…. I can’t think of anything cosier. In fact, I think this weekend; I may just have to finally ‘give in’ to my daughters demands to get those decorations out. Oh, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas……..
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