This is why you need to put up your Christmas tree right now

It’s a debate as old as Christmas itself: when is it the right time to put up your tree and decorations? Most people would say December 1 is an acceptable date to deck your halls with boughs of holly. Others might say the closer to Christmas, the better (I, for one, am planning on getting my tree this weekend).

Now experts have weighed in to suggest that getting out the tinsel and slapping up the twinkly lights early can actually make you happier.

Psychoanalyst Steve McKeown told UNILAD: “Although there could be a number of symptomatic reasons why someone would want to obsessively put up decorations early, most commonly for nostalgic reasons either to relive the magic or to compensate for past neglect.

“In a world full of stress and anxiety people like to associate to things that make them happy and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of the childhood. Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement. So putting up those Christmas decorations early extend the excitement!”

Psychotherapist Amy Morin agreed that putting up decorations early can improve well-being by reminding people of their childhoods. She said: “The holiday season stirs up a sense of nostalgia. Nostalgia helps link people to their personal past and it helps people understand their identity. For many putting up Christmas decorations early is a way for them to reconnect with their childhoods.”

So it seems that getting into a Christmas mood as early as possible can help us to relive happy childhood moments, which can then boost our overall well-being.

Now you know that it’s never too early to get into the festive spirit, here’s a checklist of things you need to do to ring in the Christmas season:

• Put up your Christmas tree
• Hang thousands of twinkly lights from your house
• Set up your traditional Greggs-Baby Jesus Nativity scene
• Send out Christmas cards to everyone you’ve ever met or ever will meet
• Prepare a full Christmas roast dinner for every meal for the next 5 weeks (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
• Throw out all your clothes and replace them with jaunty Santa outfits
• Kill a turkey every day until Christmas as a sacrifice to Elf
• Have Last Christmas by Wham! playing on a constant loop in your office 

(Image: iStock)