Last weekend, I put up our Halloween decorations, and by November 1st, they’ll come down. For the past few years, this has become my quiet tradition, saying goodbye to pumpkins and hello to twinkle lights. It started during Covid, when the world felt heavy, uncertain, and a little gray. I needed something, anything, that felt like comfort, like hope. So I pulled out the Christmas bins earlier than usual, and something beautiful happened.
The soft glow of lights in the evening, the smell of pine-scented essential oils, the quiet hum of holiday music in the background, it shifted the energy in our house. It lifted my mood, my family felt it too. Since then, I haven’t gone back to waiting until mid-November.
From Halloween to New Year’s, life doesn’t really slow down. In our home, it’s a blur of celebrations and commitments, my oldest’s birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, school concerts, choir events, my birthday, my youngest’s birthday, and of course, Christmas and New Year’s. It’s a lot, joyful, but a lot.
Decorating early has become a way for me to ground myself before the rush. It’s like creating a little sanctuary before the calendar fills up.
The Science of Joy
People sometimes laugh or roll their eyes when they see the Christmas tree up “too soon,” but studies actually show that decorating early can make you happier.
When we see twinkle lights, our brains release dopamine, a feel-good hormone associated with pleasure and reward. Psychologists say early decorating taps into nostalgia and gives us a sense of comfort and safety. It connects us to memories of simpler times, and it provides a spark of excitement to look forward to during the darker, colder months.
In a world where we’re constantly rushing, worrying, and juggling, why wouldn’t we choose joy when we can?
Reclaiming the Season
For so many women, especially moms, the holidays can be exhausting. The invisible load doubles. There are school parties, meals to plan, gifts to buy, decorations to hang, emotional expectations to manage. It’s easy to forget that we’re allowed to enjoy it, too.
Putting up my Christmas decorations early is my way of reclaiming that. It’s a small act of resistance against burnout and perfectionism. It’s a reminder that joy doesn’t need to wait for the “right time.”
Maybe your joy looks different. Maybe it’s baking pumpkin bread in September, blasting Mariah Carey in October, or binge watching holiday movies while folding laundry, maybe it’s skipping traditions that drain you and creating new ones that fill your soul.
Whatever it is, you deserve to do it.
Do What Brings You Joy
When you start to feel the world’s noise, the opinions, the pressure, the “shoulds” come back to this question:
Does it bring me joy?
If the answer is yes, then that’s enough.
Decorate early, take the long walk, skip the party, light the candles, wear the cozy pajamas, play the Christmas playlist before Halloween if it makes you happy. Let your home become a place of peace long before the chaos begins.
This time of year isn’t just about gifts and gatherings, it’s about grounding yourself in gratitude, connection, and simple pleasures.
We can’t control how fast the months go, but we can choose how we move through them.
So go ahead, put up the lights, pour a cup of tea, hot chocolate, or coffee with Baileys, turn on the music, smile at your tree every time you pass it.
Let joy lead the way this season, it’s not really about Christmas decorations, it’s about permission, to rest, to feel, to create, to savor.
Nikki Lanigan
Nikki Lanigan is a yoga, HIIT, and Barre instructor, she is also a Holistic Health Coach through Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Nikki is trained in Yoga Shred, Yoga Psychology, meditation, chakra balancing, and EFT/Tapping. She has done trainings with Sadie Nardini and Ashley Turner. She got her 200 hour yoga teacher training in 2017 at the Carrie Treister School Of Yoga. Nikki takes a holistic view of health, helping her students and clients reach a place of self-love not just through movement, but with mindset and lifestyle guidance as well. Nikki is also show prep writer for The McVay Media Show Prep and host of the podcast Fit, Fun, and Frazzled. Connect with Nikki on Instagram. www.instagram.com/nikkilanigan.yogaandwellness www.instagram.com/fitfunandfrazzledpodcast
