Is It Too Early For Christmas? 🎄

It's November. Halloween is over; the pumpkins are being packed away, and suddenly the shops are full of Christmas decorations, advent calendars, and enough fairy lights to illuminate and entire village. 

And every year, the same debate begins: When is it socially acceptable to start celebrating Christmas? 

Some people insist that Christmas belongs strictly in December. Others have been listening to Mariah Carey since September. And then there are those of us who just really like the idea of making the darkest months of the year a little cosier. 
Personally, I think there's something lovely about the anticipation. The planning, the decorations, the films, the music, and all those traditions that make the season feel special. But does starting early make Christmas more magical, or does it take away some of the excitement? 

When Does Christmas Officially Begin? 
A few questions for my November self: 

• When do I consider Christmas season officially open? 
  - Whenever people want. For me, it is November 1st. 
• When is the earliest I've ever decorated? 
  - June. I felt like Christmas. 
• Do I prefer decorating gradually or doing everything in one day?
  - Both! One day of proper decorating and then add as the months go on - yes months! November and December. 
• When do I listen to my first Christmas song? 
  - All year, whenever I feel like it. But I start the proper Christmas playlist on November 1st. 
• Am I someone who loves the build-up more than Christmas itself?  
  - Leaning more towards the build-up. 

The First Christmas Song of the Year
There's always that one song that makes it feel like Christmas is finally approaching.  

• The first Christmas song of the year: 
  Wham - Last Christmas 
• My all-time favourite Christmas song: 
  Darlene Love . Christmas (baby please come home)
•  One Christmas song I could happily never hear again: 
  Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas
• A Christmas song that reminds me of my childhood:  
  - Any of the old traditional ones

The Christmas Film Debate
Some films are undeniably Christmas films. Others have been the subject of heated debates for decades. And then there are films that aren't particularly festive but somehow feel like Christmas anyway. 

• The film that officially starts Christmas for me: 
  No specific film, just whatever I am in the mood for. 
• My Favourite Christmas Film of all time: 
  The Holiday
• An unpopular Christmas film opinion:  
  Die Hard is a Christmas film!! 

 
Little Signs That Christmas Is Coming
Sometimes it's not the decorations or the music. It's the little things. The evenings getting darker. The smell of cinnamon. The first frosty mornings. Candles in the windows. 

Things that make me feel festive:

1. When stores start decorating for Christmas
2. When we eat Risengrød with butter and cinnamon sugar
3. When the right Christmas film or playlist is put on
4. When it snows! 

So, Is It Too Early?
Perhaps the better question is whether it really matters. If putting up fairy lights in November makes a dark evening feel a little warmer, why not? 
If someone prefers waiting until December, that's lovely too. Christmas doesn't have to begin on the same date for everyone. 
And as for me - I will enjoy Christmas starting now