Now that Halloween has come and gone, it is officially time to welcome my favorite season: Christmas! I am well aware that there is major debate on when the Christmas season officially begins, but I will stand ten toes down on my opinion of it starting Nov. 1.
The minute my Halloween costume comes off and the clock strikes midnight, my tree goes up in my room, and it is Christmas music non-stop. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: “But what about Thanksgiving?” My way of thinking has always been: why limit yourself to one month of holiday festivities when you can have two? I don’t see why celebrating Christmas early has to mean skipping over Thanksgiving altogether.
I have been called crazy for this opinion, but I fully embrace it. My argument has always been that even some of the biggest holiday destinations and businesses seem to agree with me. New York City’s Bryant Park Winter Village opens in October, and places like Starbucks release their holiday menus at the beginning of November. If it is socially acceptable to visit a holiday market or order a Sugar Cookie Latte a few days after Halloween, why is it so outrageous that I want to put up a few decorations and listen to Christmas music?
I also think there is something to be said for how short the actual Christmas season feels. Between Thanksgiving, the end of the semester, finals, and the general chaos of December, the weeks leading up to Christmas tend to fly by. It feels like the magic of the holidays gets lost in the fray now. To me, starting in November gives you more time to enjoy the things that make this time of year so special without having to squeeze everything into a few short weeks.
Now, I have always been a Christmas lover; it is my favorite time of the year. I have also always been a firm believer in Christmas music on Nov. 1. Decorating this early, however, is something that I started doing when I entered college.
With the fall semester coming to a close towards the beginning of December, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for Christmas activities with my friends here. And being away from home, nowadays I miss out on decorating with my family, which is one of my favorite traditions.
So, as a way to both combat that fomo and find a way to celebrate at school, my freshman year, my roommate and I went all out with decorating the night of Halloween. And thus, a tradition was born.
Each year I have gone a bit more all out as I have gained a bit more space to work with in both my sophomore year dorm and my junior year townhouse, and now my own off-campus apartment. This year, I am especially excited to decorate without worrying about an RA taking down half of my decorations.
I also finally have a full kitchen, which means I can start making and decorating cookies! I’m from a big Italian American family, so cookie day is a huge deal in my family around the holidays, when everyone gets together to make a wide variety of desserts. This is another tradition I’ve sadly been missing out on, as it typically lands during finals week, but I’m thrilled to bring a little bit of it here.
At the end of the day, I don’t think celebrating Christmas in November means Thanksgiving gets any less attention. I enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, spending time with family, and appreciate everything the holiday has to offer on its own while still having my Christmas tree up in the background. There is room for both!
If that is an opinion that you will insist is wrong, then so be it. To each their own! But personally, I will be taking advantage of having an extra month to enjoy the music, decorations, movies, and everything else that makes the holiday season so much fun.