Readers divided over ideal Christmas timing

Christmas spirit — and a fair bit of sass — poured out of the comments as Independent readers waded into one of the biggest festive debates: when should the tree actually go up? Far from agreeing with etiquette experts declaring early decorators "common as muck", many in our community proudly embraced starting Christmas in late November, arguing that the joy is in stretching out the season. For them, the tackier and more chaotic the decorations, the better.

Others mounted a spirited defence of tradition, insisting trees belong firmly in the final days before Christmas. A few lamented how commercialisation has dragged the season earlier each year, sweeping away older customs and turning December into one long advert. Several readers shared fond, funny, and fiercely practical reasons for doing Christmas their own way — whether that meant multiple trees, a beloved fake one rescued from a fête, or keeping the house festive from December 1 until Twelfth Night on January 5.

If there was any real consensus, it was that co-ordinated, picture-perfect trees feel a bit soulless. The true spirit of Christmas, readers suggested, comes from mismatched memories, inherited baubles and the sheer chaos of children "helping".

Here's what you had to say: For the kidsMy 5-year-old granddaughter will be helping decorate it when we put it up tomorrow, with lots of decorations she chose. Heaven knows what it'll end up looking like, but hey, as long as she's happy!

Tacky and gaudy is better: I think tree decorating-wise, the tackier and more gaudy the better. A tasteful colour-coordinated tree looks frankly both ridiculous and depressing at the same time. We put our tree up yesterday; it's fake, so no needle clearing for us. I'm happy to be low rent when it comes to Christmas.

All in the timing: Personally, I think anyone putting their decorations up before December is a bit dopey, but each to their own. I have more of an issue with those who put them up early in November but then take everything down on Boxing Day (I know a couple of people who do this), so no decorations for most of the actual Christmas and the New Year.

Early and eco-friendly: Well, I must be common as muck then because I put my tree up last Saturday and I'll be taking it down on 30th December, but I certainly don't need psychoanalysing over it because I know exactly why I do it. I like the build-up to things, whether it's Christmas, which I love, or a holiday I'm excited about, and I'm always early for everything. I put the bins out the morning before the day they arrive, I arrive early for work every day, and I'm early for every appointment because I hate being late.

There won't be more pine needles on my floor either, because there won't be any; I got my 6-foot fake Christmas tree from a fête for a fiver, and I love it. By re-using one that somebody didn't want and getting it out every year, I'm also helping the planet. When New Year's Eve comes around, I've already switched my attention to partying that night and what my New Year's resolutions will be. But I love Christmas, and I spend almost all of December enjoying it. By the time my Christmas tree is up, half my street's are too. Each to their own, as they say.

Anti-climax Decorations: used to be strictly for the twelve days of Christmas, though I don't suppose it's the end of the world. I do think two months of Christmas just makes the day itself a bit of an anti-climax. And people with American-style illuminations on their roofs really need help.

Over-commercialisation: How things and ideas have changed over the last eight decades since I was a lad.

After reading most of this article, and being someone who puts the tree up on 24th December, Christmas Eve, with the pressies for the grandkids under the tree these days, and, of course, if some of the grandkids are staying with us, at the end of their beds a "stocking" with some goodies, and next to that a mandarin and an apple and a glass of Graham's Organic Port (which is delicious and not expensive) for Santa and the reindeer... But what is not being said is the over-commercialisation that has brought Christmas earlier and earlier, purely from a marketing and profit aspect. It's all about the money, nothing else, unfortunately.

The Independent