Don’t Put Up the Christmas Tree Just Yet
Published 11/1/26
It’s November 1 when this blog is getting published, and as girls who work in social media, we’re seeing no shortage of the Mariah Carey memes. You know the ones? Of the queen herself defrosting while the “All I Want For Christmas Is You” opening notes playing dully in the background. The humor is not lost on us, but there is a feeling we wish we could shake when it comes to this bit: the dread that we are about to face a season of overconsumption and urgency to get through the holidays. And so, we’d much prefer to bask a little in the in-between moment after Halloween and before Thanksgiving and enjoy the remaining autumn days, find the gratitude in our hearts, and enjoy a slice of pumpkin pie.
We thought we’d ask a couple of members on our team about their thoughts on this and how to fight the urgency to put up the Christmas tree if they aren’t ready yet.
Sarah: I am usually an early-tree-apologist, but this year I’ve been trying to enjoy the autumn moments a little more. Plus, I don’t want to get sick of my tree ever, since I love it so much, so I’m thinking sometime right after Thanksgiving feels right.
Paige: As a family, we put up our Christmas tree sometime between Thanksgiving and the beginning of December–and allllways set up by December 1. We usually put the tree up all together and do a countdown to light up the tree. It's awesome.
Bee: Always the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The Friday night before, we open our matching family Christmas jammies and wake up in those to decorate the tree Saturday morning. And then we eat warm gingerbread.
Ali: My family usually puts up the tree on December 1st and we go as a family to Home Depot and pick out a tree together and drive it home on the top of our car. Since I got married, we have an itty bitty fake tree that we put up whenever, sometimes a little later than usual.
Emerson: My family is strictly a “wait for the Christmas tree (Christmas everything) until the day after Thanksgiving” family! We have a family tradition on the morning of Black Friday of going as a family to shop for a Christmas tree—a real tree specifically.
Sarah: Working in marketing, it feels like the season starts in July (lol jk, kinda). I think it officially starts when I start to feel that indescribable feeling of the Christmas magic that comes usually mid-to-late November.
Paige: STRICTLY December 1. MAYBE right after Thanksgiving, but my opinion is if you're starting Christmas in early November, it's time to reprioritize and think about what you're grateful for. (joke) (kind of)
Bee: The Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Ali: The holiday season for me has always started after thanksgiving because my dad was really big on making sure we celebrate Thanksgiving and being grateful as its own separate holiday.
Emerson: As soon as the last piece of pie on Thanksgiving has been eaten, we are doing a hard shift into Christmas!
Sarah: I actually don’t really know. I think it’s the way we’ve gotten in our country a little with all the overconsumption. People are sick of the commercials, the songs, the decor, the activities so much that by mid-December, the fatigue is real. Christmas is so magical to me, and it always has been, that I’ve decided my traditions don’t have to be so focused on the “doing, buying, consuming” and more about the feeling.
Paige: When I see Christmas stuff starting super early it feels like mega-Christmas-consumerism. I feel like I'm seeing all of the cheap stuff in stores that will be thrown away by January, and it just feels jarring. It takes you out of the season that you're in and trying to appreciate.
Bee: For me, it is very much tied to when my parents started the holidays. My parents had a similar tradition with setting the tree up on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so in my mind, that is just when the holiday season starts. My partner's family doesn’t really have any true holiday traditions, so for him, it was just whenever his mom felt like putting the tree up, and that’s when the holidays start and you can start playing Christmas music.
Ali: I actually have a video of my sister-in-law and my dad arguing about when Christmas celebrations start (lol). She feels strongly that we need to make the most of the holiday because it only comes around once a year. My dad, on the other hand, feels strongly that both can work, and that Thanksgiving and the power of the message can get lost if we skip over it.
This is such a good question because the holidays are so sacred to many and invoke such strong emotions that people will argue over it.
Emerson: My dad is a stickler for “no Christmas before Thanksgiving”. He is a big believer in the magic that the Christmas season brings, and wants to preserve and cherish it in the short time that it is. To him, celebrating for extended periods of time dulls the sweetness of the season.
Sarah: A lot of my peers are in a stage where they want to have really aesthetic looking trees and decor. I totally understand why that’s fun, and I want to have really beautiful ornaments and Christmas decorations, but I’m very content to find and keep things that feel beautiful to me instead of the next trendiest thing, so I guess it’s more like I’m skipping the aesthetic Christmas for the sake of aesthetics.
Paige: I honestly don't skip much–I think December is LONG and we have enough time in the month to fit it all in.
Bee: Putting lights up on the house. I thought it was something I LOVED and was a necessity and then we just didn’t do it one year and I didn’t miss it at all. Yeah, it’s nice to come home to a house all lit up, but putting the lights up and taking them down (especially taking them down in the snow!) is the worst. But now everyone is getting the built-in lights, so maybe this isn’t relatable anymore…
Ali: There are definitely some years I skip things and don't mind because it’s not a forever thing. For example, I do a fake tree instead of a real one and that's fine for now, but I might want a real one later on.
Emerson: My husband and I used to take a night to decorate the tree as a family, but now I just do it on my own in waves and it's honestly much more enjoyable that way! Plus I get full control of how the tree comes out.
Sarah: Going on walks and enjoying the late-fall leaves! People act like it’s already winter by the time Halloween is over, but fall is still really beautiful at this time of year and worth being in nature for.
Paige: Spending time intentionally being grateful! I wish people cared about the Thanksgiving season as much as Christmas. I love all of the family stuff surrounding Thanksgiving, and I think it's fun to spend that month appreciating what's around you, making space to see people in your life, and letting them know that you're grateful for them. I also like watching the Nightmare Before Christmas in November because it covers both Holidays. Win-win.
Bee: We like to have movie marathons since it gets dark early and go for fall hikes on the weekends. In Utah, especially, it's peak fall before it gets too cold and you have the best sunsets. We do lots of evening walks followed by hot chocolate bars.
Ali: Maybe I'm boring, but I like to watch movies and drink peppermint hot chocolate while looking forward to whatever Thanksgiving dinner is. Making turkey hands, the Turkey Trot song, and my mom's glass pumpkins always remind me of this time. Also, my house was always decorated for Thanksgiving.
Emerson: In the last few years, this time of year has really gotten to me because I grow so impatient for the holiday season to officially begin! I have started slowly merging Christmas in our house in the most subtle ways without explicitly decorating or going full Christmas. Like I will listen to A LOT of jazz because for some reason it just feels Christmasy? I do start my holiday crafting around this time, making paper chains and different handmade ornaments that will be ready for when we do officially decorate.
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