Stop Caring About When Your Neighbor Decorates for Christmas

Sadly (for some of us), Halloween is over. Personally, October is my favorite time of year and I do become sad when the Halloween festivities come to an end. I enjoy the whole month and celebrate Halloween throughout the entirety of October. I love scary movies, costumes, spooky decorations, pumpkin spice lattes, and just about everything else in between! I look forward to the Halloween season all year long.

This October was one of the best Halloween seasons I have ever had! We visited Salem, MA, and spent some time in Witch City, watched tons of scary movies, carved pumpkins, and even ended Spooky Season with a viewing of The Exorcist on the big screen. It was a month filled with awesome festivities and I was so pleased!

With the end of October, though, comes another great time of year, namely Christmastime. Christmastime is another one of my favorite seasons! Between the twinkling lights, Hallmark movies, hot chocolate and cookie baking, and music, it’s truly a joyous time of the year. Families finally come together, children believe in magic, and everyone just seems to be in an overall better mood. Like me with Halloween, some people wait all year to start celebrating Christmas because it is a time of year that makes them happy. The holiday is meaningful and very special to many people.

With the end of October, the holly-jolly floodgates are open. The stores are already selling Christmas decorations and playing holiday music. It is as if Halloween never even happened. Even the Pillsbury Halloween sugar cookies are gone and have been replaced cookies donning Christmas trees.

However, despite how happy this time of year is supposed to be, I always see posts online of people complaining about those who begin celebrating Christmas “too” early. Just this week alone I saw friends online complaining about Christmas music beginning to play in stores, decorations being put up in Macy’s, and even the Elf on the Shelf.

I have to ask: why does it bother you if someone else puts up their Christmas tree? This has always been a question on everyone’s minds, and this year the question is especially heightened due to the pandemic. Yes, it is true that Christmas is literally almost two months away. But it is also true that the source of another’s happiness is not anyone else’s business. Why do we always feel the need to bring others down? Does mocking Mrs. Smith next door for playing Christmas music make us feel better about ourselves? Should we shame others for participating in acts that bring joy into their lives?

I have to be honest: if you’re upset, frustrated, annoyed or have any negative feelings whatsoever about when another person begins celebrating a holiday, I think you need to reevaluate your priorities and begin minding your own business. This post was not meant to come across rude, mean, or even harsh. Rather, I am trying to be honest. So often people seek to make others feel dumb or silly for what brings them happiness, and the reality is that this is hurtful and unnecessary.

2020 was is a hard year. Between a global pandemic, a stressful election, confusion about schools reopening, natural disasters and just about everything else that could possibly happen, this year has been a tough one for everyone. If someone can find even an ounce of joy in the midst of this year, let them. It does not make your life any worse if your neighbor puts up their Christmas tree in November (or even October!). However, you could make someone else’s life worse by making them feel silly.

Participating in acts that make us happy is not a bad thing. We deserve to feel joy and no one has the authority to dictate how this joy should be administered.

So, in conclusion, if you’re going to be a Scrooge this year and not join in on the Christmas fun with everyone else, don’t ruin it for us.