Winter Is Here, Start Decorating for the Holidays!

By Jordon Lawrenz, Kelsey Keller, and Brock Mackinnis

 

Students Share Their Strong Opinion on When Holiday Decorations Should Go Up

Snow on the ground means Christmas is near, but some people like to decorate for the holidays much earlier than others. There are no ground rules stating when holiday decorations can be put out. However, many have a strong opinion on the topic. A total of 40 individuals were surveyed on this topic to determine when the majority began to put up decorations.

First, the survey asked individuals to identify which winter holidays they celebrate. There were only two people who indicated that they do not celebrate Christmas. Other common answers included: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s. In regard to those holidays, Halloween and Christmas are usually the only ones that people go all out to decorate for, with Christmas by far being the most popular.

Out of the responses, one respondent singled themselves out by saying they leave up their holiday decorations all year long. This could be out of pure laziness, or they never want to get out of the holiday spirit. On the contrary, three people claimed they have no holiday spirit by answering that they never decorate for the holidays. Those three should get in contact with the Grinch, a holiday loather because it seems like a match made in heaven.

Roughly 68% of the responses indicated that they put up their decorations after Thanksgiving or at the beginning of December. Six people believe that putting them up right after Halloween is too early but waiting until Thanksgiving is too late. The other four answers are brave souls who responded that they put up their Christmas trees immediately after Halloween.

In an open-ended question, individuals were asked when they considered it too early to put up holiday decorations. Ultimately, 25 of the 40 responses indicated that Halloween and the first week of November are too soon. Three people made their opinion known that it is never too early to start decorating. These responses spiraled into the final question, where people were allowed to speak their minds and leave any final comments.

Christmas music is another very polarizing topic that many have a strong opinion about. Mike Kaufmann, a junior, stated, “I can’t stand people who put up Christmas decorations or play Christmas music before Thanksgiving. A month-long is plenty of time.”  Another junior, Mimi Hansen, agrees, “I put my decorations up a few days before Christmas.” A response like this opens up another can of worms as the people who wait until after Thanksgiving agree that a few days isn’t enough time.

Speaking of, Lee Watson, a senior, mentioned, “I’ll leave some up all year but only actually decorate after Thanksgiving.” This is an extraordinary response, as Watson follows the trend of not decorating everything until after Thanksgiving. However, he’s in the minority by leaving some things up year-round.

One of the most interesting answers came from senior Alaina, mentioning, “I keep my Christmas decorations up until Valentine’s Day.” Keep in mind that Alaina is in the group of four that decorates immediately after Halloween. Other than the individuals that leave up their decorations all year long, Alaina seems to keep hers up the longest. That’s a solid four or so months of decorations, and she was the only person to mention Valentine’s Day in her response.

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong answer. Everyone has their thoughts on when the right time is to put up holiday decorations, and everyone’s opinion is valid. Some individuals have a strong opinion on the topic, which results in some friendly banter, but everyone celebrates and decorates differently. On top of that, the poll revealed some people don’t even decorate at all!