Thanksgiving is over, and December is officially under way. Many of us are now in the process of decorating for Christmas/the holiday season. Being solidly into December also signifies the end of the annual debate about when it’s time to go all out for Christmas. At this point, we’re all in it together, and it’s no longer controversial to “deck them halls and all that stuff”.
Over the last decade or so, things have been ramping up for an unofficial battle between Halloween ending vs. Christmas beginning. The sentiment on one side is that once spooky season is over, we go straight to Christmas season, while the other side thinks that it’s perfectly normal to hold the holiday-lights-horses until Thanksgiving is over. Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt is firmly in the first camp in which Christmas decorations, lights, and music go up on November 1. In fact, she even has an agreement with her husband, Chris Pratt, that as soon as the clock strikes midnight on October 31, they are locked in on the season.
Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt had an agreement with Chris Pratt before she married him. Katherine told Fox News Digital she agreed with the Marvel star that if they got married, the holiday season in their home would begin Nov. 1. When asked if she would put her Christmas lights up right after Halloween, Katherine said, “Yes, it was an agreement that my husband and I had prior to getting married. Christmas lights and Christmas music start Nov. 1.
“And my daughter Eloise recently said to me, ‘Mommy, it goes Halloween and then right into Christmas, right?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.’ That’s my child right there. She gets it. So, we’re aligned.”
Katherine, who recently released her newest children’s book, “Kat and Brandy,” explained that she loves Thanksgiving, but you can celebrate that holiday “in the presence of Christmas lights.”
There are many parts of the holidays Katherine loves, but being able to see it through her children’s eyes has been special.
“The holiday season, like Nov. 1, is my time. It’s like my time of the year, it’s my time
to thaw from my icicle that I’ve been living in and to really emerge as a Christmas queen.“We’re just a day or two into it, and every tradition that we do — from putting up our Christmas lights on Nov. 1 to blasting Christmas music to gathering all together as a family, which I’m really grateful and proud that our family makes a priority every single holiday season,” Katherine told Fox News Digital. “Also, just being able to now watch the holidays and see the holidays through children’s eyes is also so special. So, I love all the traditions of the holidays, the decorations being a big part of it.”
It’s not surprising at all, but I guess we can count on Katherine to be on #TeamMariah, aka November first or bust! I totally understand the sentiment of watching the holidays through a child’s eye. I find the creeping Thanksgiving erasure to be somewhat fascinating, particularly because a lot of people that jump right into Christmas decorations tend to be fairly religious, and I always thought Thanksgiving was about giving thanks to a higher power. Regardless, for me, immediately changing the decorations over from Halloween/Fall before Thanksgiving feels like we’re rushing the seasons and end-of-year too much. I don’t appreciate the Thanksgiving-decoration erasure because I like having fall decorations up! I insist on having them until Black Friday is over.
Photo note by CB: This is a stock photo because Katherine Schwarzenegger hasn’t posted any holiday photos to Instagram yet despite being really into Christmas
photos credit: mpi099/MediaPunch/INSTARimages, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Cameron Stewart on Unsplash
In my home, Halloween lights get turned off on 10/31, Christmas lights, music and decor get turned on 11/1.
Christmas music, decor, lights make my heart happy and I am going to find happiness every which way I can.
They are my glimmers, and give me a much needed break from the hellscape that is life out there with the orange clown and his circus.
I think you should start decorating whenever it makes you happy. I agree, we all need to fill out joy buckets these days.
That said, I’m a little tired of seeing mansions decorated for the holidays. Showing off what you hired someone to create for you just doesn’t seem to fit the meaning behind the season – no matter what you celebrate.
Oh no, no mansion here and no decorators, it’s just the two of us empty nesters, trying to squeeze out every drop of happiness anywhere we can, we are more the “throw everything at the walls and tree and see what sticks” style of decorating haha.
AFTER Thanksgiving. Case closed.
Yup. I don’t get make Christmas a 2 month event, and skipping a holiday.
I usually do after Thanksgiving but this year I did my Xmas decorations the Monday before Thanksgiving because it came so late this year. My whole thing is that if I’m gonna go through all the trouble of decorating, I want to be able to enjoy it for at least a month. We’ll probably take the tree down right after NYD but leave our faux pine garlands with lights for the rest of the winter as they add warmth but aren’t particularly Xmas-y.
I agree with you about Fall décor erasure, Rosie and your comment reminded me of this McSweeney’s classic: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/its-decorative-gourd-season-motherfuckers
Week before Thanksgiving my tree goes up. Outside lights and decorations day after thanksgiving.
My dear departed dad only let us put up Xmas tree on Dec 12. I wonder if there’s still that group of people?
I start Dec 1 leisurely and get things up in a week. I def couldnt listen to Xmas music for 2 months!
And then when do people take down? I enjoy it through Jan 1
Hi!! Yes, I’m here! I’m “that group of people”! My tree is down before noon on the 26th.
My birthday is in early December. When I was younger, my parents were careful to separate my birthday and Christmas so our decorations used to go up the 2nd week of December. I’ve always taken mine down on January 2. To me, New Year’s is part of the Christmas season and I have family over on New Year’s Day.
I’m at the end of November so I don’t do anything for Christmas until after that. My tree comes down before New Year’s usually.
We have an early December birthday in our house, so we don’t decorate until mid-December. Theoretically it all comes down right after New Year’s Day, but in practice it sometimes gets pushed to the following week.
I remember the first covid Christmas and we kept our tree up well past Christmas bc honestly the lights felt cheery. So now I’m like yeah, start putting lights up whenever. November 1st is a little too much. I need a breath bw spooky season and Christmas season. But I’d say getting started on decorations after the 1st week of November around mid November works. I don’t care about the thanksgiving erasure bc I don’t actually care about it that much as a holiday. Don’t get me started on the fact that the elementary schools near me still teach the whole Pilgrim Indian thanksgiving thing. And giving thanks and having gratitude can be a daily mantra. I do like the fall decor but I kind of do that along with the spooky season.
November 1, black & orange Halloween cats, bats, ghosts & witches come down; orange & brown scarecrows, turkeys, & autumn leaves go up. Christmas is December 1 through January 6 and there’s a tree & nativity in every room
So I follow Deena Lang on IG (@itsdeenalang, she’s awesome!) and she shared last year that influencers have to put up their decorations right after Halloween, so that the influenced have time to shop for the items. She showed herself putting up her decorations, for her paid ads… and then showed herself taking it down.
In my house the Christmas tree goes up as close to Christmas as possible and comes down the day after. Now having said that, my husband disagrees and since he works away from home I do allow him to put up the tree whenever he wants, which will be this weekend because he’s going to be home but the tree will be down before noon on the 26th.
Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday. I love spending time with my family, the good food and the coziness of it all. It’s like Christmas without the stress and bankruptcy. I give that holiday the respect she deserves.
I don’t really care if people put their Christmas decorations up early – if it brings you joy and you’re not hurting anyone, who cares – go for it. What bothers me is the Christmas ads that started on Halloween night – I hate the corporate greed.
Thanksgiving can be part of your holiday season, nothing wrong with that. I say start when you feel like it. Nights are dark in Nov & the lights are cheery. Not sure why people need to be rigid about it.
The holiday weekend after Thanksgiving is when we get the tree and bring down the Christmas boxes for decorating. No holiday creep!
My sister’s bday is today, so the tree always went up right after that. My dad’s bday is first week of January, so the tree was gone then. Now I just decorate whenever since it’s just me. This year it was Black Friday bc I knew I wouldn’t have the energy after chemo yesterday. I have a Charlie Brown tree and a few other Peanuts Christmas items on the mantle and that’s it. This year I put lit garland and some window clings on the glass storm door just for some extra cheer.
Sorry, Christmas belongs in December, not with veterans and Remembrance Day. Nuh-uh.