How Early Should You Put Up Your Christmas Tree?
How early should you put up your Christmas tree? After Halloween? After Thanksgiving? The week of Christmas? Is there a perfect time to put up a Christmas tree? That's one of the most debated subjects during the holiday season.
If you're wondering when to put up Christmas trees, you're not alone. Whether you're single and considering how early you want to decorate, talking about preferences with your roommate(s) or balancing all of the strong opinions held by each person in your fam, we're here to help.
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How early should you put up your Christmas tree?
While it's easy to say it's all about personal preference, things get a little more complicated when there are multiple family members' opinions to consider. Some people take off their Halloween costumes and immediately put on Christmas music. Others feel like the holidays aren't as special if they're drawn out for an overly extended amount of time. And while having candid, respectful conversations about personal beliefs is important and helpful, just know there are some additional factors to consider as well.
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Real vs. artificial tree
Whether you're planning to put up a real or fake tree will be a major factor as to when you can put your tree up.
Obviously, you can put the artificial one up any time you please.
But according to the home improvement guru, Bob Vila, fresh trees are only good on average for up to four weeks—and that is with proper care, of course.
So, if you are choosing a real tree, this will limit you on how long before Christmas you can put it up.
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What does tradition say about putting up Christmas trees?
German families as far back as the 1600s celebrated Christmas by decorating a freshly cut tree while singing carols (some that we continue to sing every Christmas).
But as the world expanded, so did their traditions.
By the 1800s, Christians of German descent had emigrated to Pennsylvania—bringing with them their annual tree decorating. This tradition wouldn’t gain significant popularity in the States until the 20th century. But once Christmas tree traditions took hold in America, they went all out—decking their trees with even more splendid items like tinsel and ornaments.
Trees during this time usually went up only a few days before Christmas. One reason for this could simply be to reduce the possibility of fire, since most trees did have lit candles on them in the evenings, creating quite the fire hazard!
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These specific days provide good timing for putting up your Christmas tree
The Day After Thanksgiving
Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was no Black Friday (say, what?)—people just worked.
It wasn’t until the 1950s that there was a reference to Black Friday as the day after the holiday. The earliest known use of "Black Friday" was in the journal, Factory Management and Maintenance, for November 1951, and again in 1952. Here, it referred to the practice of "workers calling in sick on the day after Thanksgiving, in order to have a four-day weekend."
Nowadays, many have the day off because employers shut down, or they take it off. The end of Thanksgiving signals to many that fall has ended, making way for Black Friday, which has been the busiest shopping day of the year for quite some time.
Once holiday shopping begins, it is a fantastic time to put up your Christmas tree. Not only do many people have the day off, but you can even start adding wrapped gifts (that you likely bought during the sales!) under the tree right away.
Related: When Is Black Friday and When Did It Begin?
Twelve Days Before Christmas
While many people enjoy looking at their tree longer than just a couple of weeks, some may use the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as Christmas tree inspiration (although the song actually refers to the days following Christmas).
If you are putting up a real tree, this timeline ensures you won’t have the maintenance or upkeep, or worry even, that your tree won’t survive until Christmas. Maybe you can even find decorations that go along with the song and get the family involved, adding one for each day of the song.
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The beginning of Advent
As one of the most important times of the year for Christians, there is of course Advent, to indicate a perfect time for putting up your tree.
Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas, lasting through Christmas Eve. A time for people to contemplate the birth of Jesus, Advent will begin this year on Sunday, December 3, 2023, in case you are using this as your guide. Waiting to set up your tree until the beginning of Advent will also give you a couple of extra days to unwind after the excitement (and exhaustion?) of Thanksgiving and Black Friday!
Related: What is the Meaning Behind Advent Wreaths and Candles? They're More Than Just Pretty Decorations
Any day after Halloween
Gaining in popularity for putting up the Christmas tree is the day after Halloween. No logical reasoning for this, other than why not? People whose favorite holiday is Christmas want to enjoy it for as long as possible, and as soon as the "trick-or-treaters" are done, it is time to "jingle all the way." So at this point, you could set up your tree any day you feel like it!
And stores are jumping on board with this early setup too. It is not uncommon to find Christmas items on shelves starting in October, so it is kind of hard to ignore those little Christmassy tingles that some people get.
So bottom line—if it makes you happy, then do it. A Christmas tree is for you and yours, and nobody else anyway.
Now, the only thing left to answer is… when should you take it down?!
