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When is the appropriate time to put up Christmas decor? Be honest, did you answer that based on the “Christmas playlist ideas” on your For You Page (FYP) or those “nostalgic childhood Christmas” carousels that seem to have all collectively decided to forget Thanksgiving? The moment Halloween ends, the internet jumps into the Christmas spirit. Now, putting up your tree at 12:01 a.m. Nov. 1 is just harmless serotonin-chasing — or, are we skipping over the slow build of seasons changing to cozy nostalgia to distract us from our seemingly mundane lives? Well, I’ll tell you.
Social media’s hand in the matter
You’ve probably noticed Christmas TikToks creeping onto your FYP since early October; maybe you’ve already started your gift list or picked out your Christmas aesthetic for this year, like: Victorian Christmas, maximalist Christmas, ‘90s Christmas and the list goes on, and on, and on. Some of your favorite fall and Halloween influencers have already put their skeletons back into the closet in exchange for trees and tinsel. Case in point: Macy Blackwell, a verified TikToker known for her extravagant Halloween parties, posted both a Halloween TikTok and a Christmas TikTok on the same day!
And just like that, your feed is suddenly filled with “Avoiding a beige Christmas,” “Why you should have a Ralph Lauren Christmas” and “MUST-have Christmas list ideas.” These micro trends are persuading you to avoid beige colors and have an extravagant, maximalist Christmas. You might enjoy these videos, maybe they even get you hyped for the holidays, but it’s worth asking: Is this excitement really yours? Do you actually want to put up your tree? Or are you just hopping on the avalanche into Christmas time before all the leaves have fallen?
Are we trying to chase a feeling?
Like it or not, you’ve probably already been pulled into the Christmas spirit, willingly or otherwise. And that’s OK; not everyone’s thing is the ghouls and goblins of Halloween. But if you catch yourself with this intense fear of missing out (FOMO) every time you cross another “jump on the Christmas spirit train” TikTok, maybe it’s worth pausing. Social media has a way of convincing us that the only way to find joy and happiness is through a holiday filter — and that constant chase for curated kinds of happiness might be the real problem.
How can getting into the Christmas Spirit be a bad thing?
If we keep basing our happiness on a holiday, or worse, a TikTok trend, we are setting ourselves up for a lack of fulfillment in between them. We’ll spend every season waiting for the “next big thing,” already planning months ahead instead of enjoying the present. Personally, I got so excited for Christmas last year that by early December, I was sick of the carols. The truth is, we need to appreciate the in-between moments too. That’s where the real joy comes from—the kind that doesn’t have a countdown or aesthetic, but simply to be present long enough to actually feel it.
Final thoughts
Indulging in Christmas right now isn’t a bad thing if you want to. But if you find yourself clinging to Christmas just to tether your happiness to a holiday, maybe take a step back and maybe sip on your pumpkin spice latte a little longer. There’s no reason to deck the halls just because it’s already trending on TikTok. Enjoy the seasons for what it is, and remember that contentment is bound to fluctuate, and that’s totally fine. We’re all feeling the “winter scaries,” but before we fast-forward to Christmas, we need to remember that Thanksgiving still actually exists.