1.Decorations: Is the 1st of November too early?
You might not want to believe it, but there are people who start to put their decorations up this early; if not even earlier. Is it right though? Or rather, is there ever a ‘right’ time to put your decorations up? The policy within my home has always been to put them up on the weekend before or the weekend after the 30th November (which is when my family usually go to Center Parcs) as the Christmassy feeling begins to take hold by then.
Some, however, choose not to put decorations up at all and whilst this goes against all of my morals, it is understandable, the hassle for example, being one reason why you may not want to. However, here’s my personal decoration policy which should stay the same every year, globally, and encourage every home to welcome some Xmas cheer.
Rules:
-Either of these criteria may apply/occur before the other
1-All decorations must be put up after the first snowflake of winter has fallen.
2-The first Christmas film on TV signals that it’s time to put your decorations up.
2. Christmas Films:
In my last feature, I tried to whittle down my favourite Christmas films to a list of my Top 5. Relating to this and the previous dilemma: when is the correct time to start watching Christmas films? Obviously there are those films which have a mild seasonal element, and combine with other important features such as narrative and characters (such as Home Alone perhaps)-which are pretty much acceptable to watch all year round (give or take); but of course it becomes more difficult when you have films that are explicitly Christmas related such as Elf or The Santa Clause.
For me, I reckon it’s more acceptable to watch a Christmas film ‘early’ than it is to shove your decorations up in early November. I can also categorically say that I’ve been wanting to watch Christmas films for over a month now, however, I have been consistently denied this by my house-mates.
3.Christmas Tree: Fake or real?
This caused a big debate within our house and in the end we decided not to even get one. At home we’ve always stuck with the good old plastic entity which obviously has huge advantages in that there’s minimum mess and to be quite honest, it does provide a lovely house piece. You can dress it up nicely in the most extravagant tinsel you can find and place that amazing bauble with the picture of you inside it (good old Cubs/Brownies) right at the top.
However some people just can’t look past the traditional fir tree when it comes to decking out the house for Christmas. The smells and the authentic feel of its leafy spindles are irresistible for some. Despite the mess it’s surely worth going that extra mile just to get that true Christmas feel?
Essentially this one does come down to personal preference, but be aware that if you’re allergic to certain things, choosing a real fir tree may not be a good option.
4.Advent Calendar: A plethora of contemplations.
So here is one that simply HAS to be thought about early on because, let’s face it, no one wants to be catching up and having to eat 7 chocolates in a row after only buying their calendar a few days into the month… do they?
A number of questions can arise when considering advent calendars: Are we all getting a little too old to have one? Bog standard, simple calendar: 1-24 doors, smallish chocolates? Go all out and buy a calendar that costs more than you spent on both your parents for Christmas just to experience the joy of opening a Lindt Chocolate Santa from behind your Christmas Day door, pleading ignorance to the fact that you could have bought 10 of them for the price you shelled out for the calendar itself? Or even awaken your inner child and buy one of the ‘alternative’ calendars such as the Lego City calendar?
Again this is a question of preference and perhaps a rule I would set would be to mix it up a little bit each year, because, whilst I appreciate my mother dearly for sorting me out a calendar each year, there’s only so much Cadburys you can deal with and therefore it’s become more of a routine than a nice treat.
5.Christmas Eve: Get smashed, or stay in?
Christmas Eve is one of those times which certainly changes as you enter different stages of your life. As a child, my Christmas Eves were dominated by heading out to a pub of some description for a meal with a few family members, then returning home in order to get snuggled and warm and ready for the busy next day.
But as I am experiencing the youthful-adult stage of my life, drinking copious amounts of alcohol the night before such a big day seems like a good idea. I’d be lying if I said I’d tried it as of yet (the last few years I have been abroad for Christmas, so I’ve had the lovely luxury of not having to make a choice) but it seems like it would be very enjoyable-especially with everyone coming back from their respective unis, to come together again.
The question is, is it worth taking the risk and ruining Christmas day? Would you really want to spend Christmas day hanging, not being able to eat the dinner of all dinners and struggling to concentrate on something as trivial as a cartoon snowman? Is staying snuggled in with the family a lonely but more sensible option?
All in all, every one of these are important contemplations and I hope you find a solution to each!
Edited by Georgina Varley
Image Sources
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