I'm with you on the over commercialisation of Christmas. What was a 2 day peaceful retreat with your close family and a single gift has become a festival of weeks, with sales and black Fridays and cyber Mondays and pressure to all have fun and lots of it, usually at vast expense.
The pressure to have food and to buy quite literally so much that you will be binning 80% of it the day after boxing day (especially if you are the sort of person who slavishly abides by sell by dates)
The pressure to not only buy more than you can afford, not only to fill your house with relatives, friends and enforced jollity, but the pressure to do it all NOW...
if not sooner.
I have put up my Christmas tree. I did it on Sunday, Sunday 29th November (coincidentally the first Sunday in advent). I don't have to explain myself to you, but I will. Since DD was born, in the first week of December we have always put up the tree before her birthday, it seemed fun to have the extra decoration for her celebration and once she was old enough to appreciate it she loved it too.
DD enjoys decorating the tree and now, finally just as she turns 16 she can reach to the top to add the star (for many years only the bottom 2 feet was decorated by her!)
This year was no exception, she will celebrate soon, and as a busy family, the weekends are our 'together' time. This weekend we spent that time putting up the tree for her celebration.
Is it too early? For you it may be, so don't put up your tree. For us it is just the right time, and our tree looks lovely. And no, we don't take it down early, it will be there until 12th night and we will mourn its passing. I can't help thinking soon I might be that mad woman that keeps the decorations up all year round, these dark dreary days need some extra sparkle.
