Holiday decorating, when is, "too soon"?

Yes, we're here, the holiday season is upon us and we're seeing retailers push the boundaries of putting out Christmas items sooner and sooner each year.

What is the proper etiquette for decorating at home for Christmas, or any holiday, for that matter?  How soon do you put out your decorations?  Is it different times for inside versus outside?  How far to you go?  How far would you like to go with decorating?

Me, I'm BIG into celebrating holidays and wish I could do more for just about all the major ones, throughout the year.  For me, the "Holiday season" begins at Labor Day Weekend and goes through Valentine's Day... or maybe even year round, now that I really think about it, but my thoughts go to the upcoming holidays just after Labor Day.

Labor Day weekend was always special to me because I grew up thinking of it as a giving holiday, where you donated to make someone else's life better.  The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, volunteering and seeing Firefighters at the busy corners collecting donations in their boots.  That's what it still means to me to this day and always will.

Labor Day weekend was also the "official" end of summer because we always started school that Tuesday, it ran from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, seemed like a pretty good system for schools.

Then there is, Halloween 🎃, a great holiday for all, despite what some might say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating it!

The decorations in the house for Halloween go up on September 1st and the ones on the outside of the house go up the day after Labor Day, proudly.

This is also the time of year when the holiday specials/cartoons start showing on television.  I kind of miss the days when we had to wait all year from them, rather than having them on DVD to watch when we want, they were more special because of the anticipation. 

Decoratively it's also the change from summer to fall, my favorite of the four seasons.

In the stores, we see earlier and earlier signs of Halloween but also .... that dreaded thing .... school supplies 😆 

The Halloween decor is changed out on November 1st, but most can double with celebrating Thanksgiving, or The Harvest and Fall. 

An extra long weekend of family, food, football and 😬 shopping... 

But to a few of us we still honor the holiday with a showing of that classic episode of, WKRP in Cincinnati... "As god is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.." 😆  I've got 3 or 4 different t-shirts I wear over the weekend for it.. "Oh the humanity!" 

But, in the stores, the Christmas decor has been up for a while now, earlier and earlier, seems a bit nuts, but we really need a BIG, BOLD, BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS Holiday this year, no question about that! 🎅

My Christmas decor starts on Thanksgiving night indoors, and then the outdoor usually shifts that Sunday. 🎄

Finally we come to that big yule log of the holidays, Christmas, the day that eats us alive with stress until we wake up that morning and see the smiles, cheer and love of our families. 💗  Even as a non-believer I celebrate the holiday, as one of Love, and we could all use a bit more love in our lives.

The decorations stay up until the 2nd or 3rd of January, to try and hold onto that special cheer that only Christmas brings.

With the New Year comes the promise of rebirth, change, and promises we usually only half keep, but still make many of them each year.

However you celebrate The Holiday Season, please for yourself and others, celebrate it LOUD & PROUD!!!