You question why you can buy these decorations and gifts so soon; is it because by providing them earlier companies are looking to increase their sales?

Do they think by encouraging you to purchase items earlier in the year you splurge and buy them, because you want to get your shopping done early. And then the companies plan on you getting close to Christmas and think maybe you will grab those few extra toys, just in case.  

We are now in an age where it is debatable whether Christmas is more about the celebration of giving or just plain consumerism. In 2017, it was estimated Australians would spend $11billion on Christmas presents. The survey where this information came from also found the average person would spend $593 over that festive season. 

It is not just about gifts. Christmas decorations were put up in Bega’s Sapphire Marketplace six weeks before December 25. 

But whether it is related to consumerism or not, it turns out putting up decorations early could in fact be good for you. 

According to a psychoanalyst speaking to UNILAD, the most common reason people put up Christmas decorations early was to “relive the magic or to compensate for past neglect”. They said decorations were a pathway to old childhood emotions of excitement, so by putting up the decorations early the excitement was extended.

Also, decorations can affect how others perceive you. One study found not only were Christmas decorations used as a cue the residents of a house were friendly, but if decorations were present those in the study applied greater sociability to the non-sociable residents. This suggests no matter the normal appearance of your house, if you throw up colourful decorations at the end of the year people will like you. 

But like many enjoyable behaviours, it can become addictive. “Christmas lighting addiction” is where you go overboard with decorating your home during the festive season. In a Psych Central article, a psychologist suggests the reason why people may become addicted to installing more lights was due to a desire to show off. 

When it comes down to it, it is the giving season. So instead of adorning your home is it better to pass on the money you were going to spend on lights to the less fortunate, even if it does make you less excited?