Ho ho how soon is too soon for holiday decorations?

SEATTLE, Wash. — Radio stations have Christmas music on repeat.

Light displays are beginning to twinkle.

Stores are already offering holiday deals.

But the Thanksgiving turkey isn’t even in the oven.

This begs the question: how soon is too soon to decorate?

Turkey first— tinsel later

It was once considered to be the general rule of thumb to wait until after Thanksgiving before decorating. For some—old habits die hard, and that tradition is a mainstay in their homes. In fact, there’s an old tradition that is strict on how long holiday decorations should stay up, too. It says you should take down your Christmas tree on Twelfth Night, which is the eve of Epiphany, or January 6.

Weather-dependent decorator

Not all of us are as ambitious as Clark W. Griswold and willing to climb the roof in the snow to put up the lights. Some folks prefer to rely on Mother Nature’s mood—and hang up their wreaths when the weather is merry and bright.

The more the merrier!

From Better Homes & Gardens editor Emily Williams to Etsy’s trend expert Dayna Isom Johnson— it seems that some people are fine with the festivities intermingling. The more decorations, the merrier?

Is there a science to it?

Research claims that people who embrace the holiday spirit earlier are happier. According to a Wakefield Research survey of 1,000 Americans, 79% of participants agreed that the earlier they decorate for Christmas, the jollier they are. 55% of participants have already decorated before Thanksgiving. Another study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that people who were shown pictures of homes that looked merry and bright perceived the people who lived there to be friendlier than those who didn’t.

KIRO 7 spoke with the Tomlyn family, who’s getting a head start on spreading holiday cheer with the Edgewood Light Show.

“This year we were like - why wait? We do a Halloween show as well and so it was like ‘Hey let’s just transition and take one down and put the other one up’ and so we started a little bit earlier,” said Aaron Tomyn.

It took them three days to put up more than 100,000 lights as part of a decade-long tradition.

The Tomlyns say it’s what happens behind the scenes that really shines.

“We build our structures, so you’ll see some of the features out here, we’ve created them by hand,” Aaron said.

The display is thanks to Aaron, his wife Rosie, and their two sons, Parker and Bennett.

“Just to stop for a moment and look at it. Like think, I help put this up. It’s pretty awesome,” Parker said.

The Tomlyns believe the most wonderful time of year doesn’t have to wait.

“Honest thoughts are find joy where you can, and so if you want it after Thanksgiving do that, if you want it before do that,” Rosie said.

For a guide to all things Christmas lights in Western Washington and where to find them, check out Pacific NW Christmas Lights.

Whether you’re washing down your Thanksgiving meal with a glass of eggnog or shunning anything Santa-shaped until after the leftovers are put away, one thing is certain: people feel very strongly about their stance on this topic. Let us know where you stand:

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