How Early Is Too Early To Put Up The Tree?

I'm one of those people, who starts getting Christmas gifts and decorations early, and could be the reason that the stores start playing Christmas music in October.  Sorry!  I love the holiday season and want to squeeze every day out of it that I can.

When do you put up the tree?

I told a friend at dinner last night that I just bought my Christmas tree, and she said she might consider putting her tree up early too, but she hosts Thanksgiving and she said her family would have a cow if they were tripping over Christmas decorations on the way to fill up their plates with turkey and trimmings.  She waits til the weekend after Thanksgiving to put up the Christmas decor, when the Thanksgiving guests are gone.  Like most normal people probably.

My tree is still in the box (yeah - it's not real), but my plan is to have it up the weekend of the 15th - a full twelve days before Thanksgiving.  It's a stress-avoidance move I say!  If the tree is up early, I don't have to worry about it later.  And I can focus on the shopping.

Sometimes I think the holidays aren't actually all that stressful, and it's just people talking about stress that makes them appear that way.   Hmm.

But here's some advice from the experts on how to avoid stress over the next couple of months if you need it.

Give yourself a budget and stick to it.

Watch eating habits, and have a plan to stay healthy and weight-gain free.

Reflect on a good year, and embrace the holiday spirit.

Burning apple cider candles and drinking maple nutmeg lattes helps too I think.  And that stuff works no matter when you put up the tree.