Meet the people already celebrating Christmas with 100 days to go
Those who bemoan Christmas getting earlier and earlier every year may wish to look away now.
Yes, it’s true, although most of us are still clinging to the remnants of summer, a fair few festive fanatics are already throwing themselves head-first into the holiday period.
With 100 days to go, some already have their trees up, their lights twinkling and are intent on spreading the joy of the season…in September.
The trend for getting the party started early seems to have been amplified by lockdown, with many still upset at last year’s cancelled celebrations and the continued dirge of bad Covid news.
One person getting in the spirit is Caroline Gabe, 47, who has already turned on nearly 5,000 Christmas lights at her home in Caewern, Port Talbot, Wales.
The mum-of-three decided to go all out three months early last year because she was shielding with son Theo, six, who has asthma.
This year she set out to go even bigger and has spent more than £1,000 on decorations, including two 8ft inflatable Santas, a giant tree and a reindeer.
Her lights switch-on coincided with a mini-heatwave last Saturday and Caroline found herself unpacking a giant snowman while everyone else reached for the sun cream.
‘I did it last year because everything felt so miserable and uncertain so I wanted to bring a little joy to the street and put a few smiles on my kids’ faces,’ she told Metro.co.uk.
‘This year it feels like we are still not out of the woods yet and the dark nights have started drawing in again so I decided to get out the decorations early again.
‘People love it. The lights make everything really pretty and brighten up the evenings.
‘You do hear a few tyres screeching to a halt outside and people asking “what’s going on?” There are one or two grinches but we find the best strategy is to just smile and wave.’
Meanwhile, bemused commuters saw Christmas trees going up at Marylebone station in London last week – coinciding with a 30C hot spell in the capital.
It was later clarified that the shiny baubles were only being put up temporarily as film-makers were making a show ‘for Amazon.’
In Glasgow, Christmas trees in the lobby of the Dakota hotel at the start of the month raised a few eyebrows.
Santa himself has also made an early appearance at Whitechapel market – without his famous red coat as perhaps it’s still too hot for him.
He did however don his red hat and beard as he took part in a photoshoot for Ebay, encouraging people to sell their unwanted items to make some extra money for the festive season.
In some countries it is traditional to start celebrating Christmas months in advance. The Philippines in particular is known for starting its festive celebrations in September.
Philipino Jerry Acio has proudly continued the traditions of his home country while living in Hawaii, United States, despite some of his friends telling him it’s still way too early.
He has already adorned his house with sparkly tinsel, wreaths and flashing Christmas lights.
‘It’s a Filipino thing. As you know we’re in September and the next few months contain the words ber (OctoBER, NovemBER, and DecemBER). We’re in the BerMonths as they say in the Philippines,’ he told Metro.
‘When September 1st hits, people in the Philippines start decorating their houses. They even start to play Christmas music. And it’s a celebration up to the end of December.’
'I don't take my tree down until June'
Christmas 2020 was a bit of a let down for everyone but Naomi Bennett was determined to squeeze all the joy she could out of it.
The CEO of Lesflicks, a Lesbian film streaming platform, put up her rainbow tree in her flat in London on December 1 last year – and there it stayed until June.
It was a record even for Naomi who, in 2020, kept the same tree in place until March.
‘I’m now working from home all the time and the walls are white and a bit plain,’ she said. ‘The tree is colourful and bright and fun so why not just keep it up?
‘Otherwise it’s only there for a month and then it goes away in the cupboard.’
Naomi said she only decided to take the tree down when she realised it was closer to Christmas 2021 than it was to the previous year’s celebrations.
She feared she wouldn’t appreciate it when this year’s festive period comes around.
The entrepreneur did manage to take all the decorations off and rebranded it as a ‘rainbow’ tree, if anyone asked.
Despite her dedication to the cause, she describes herself as not a massive fan of Christmas and says she’s likely just to have a low-key celebration with her dad this year.
‘I think as with all celebrations now, you can cherry-pick the bits you like and just celebrate them,’ she said.
‘I certainly won’t be in any hurry to take the tree down once Christmas is finished this year.’
Christmas is traditionally a very lucrative time of year for all sorts of businesses, and pubs and shops are among the biggest offenders for trying to kick celebrations off early.
After last year’s celebrations were cancelled, this year’s festive period is all the more important so several businesses are planning to go all-out.
In previous years The Air Balloon in Filton, Bristol, has been known to put its decorations up as early as July and this week staff confirmed they are due to be unveiled imminently.
What started as a way of drumming up interest in bookings for the Christmas party season, has now become an annual tradition and the landlord has previously said its become a major talking point.
Meanwhile, one pub that has been in the Christmas spirt all year has decided to briefly pause celebrations to mark another big occasion – Halloween.
The Hanging Gate pub in Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak, was forced to abandon its Christmas plans when the country went into lockdown last December.
But all the decorations had already been put up and the landlord promised to leave them in place until whenever the pub reopened.
Five months later in May, with lockdown finally over, the pub stuck to its word and people have been commenting on the Christmas-themed decor all summer.
Staff at the pub told Metro that the decorations had since come down in the last week so that they could instead put up an array of spooky items for October 31, before the Christmas theme returns in mid-November.
While many may be scornful, experts say it might actually be good for you to start celebrating early.
Steve McKeown, psychoanalyst and owner of The McKeown Clinic, told Unilad earlier this month: ‘In a world full of stress and anxiety people like to associate to things that make them happy and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of childhood.
‘Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement. So putting up those Christmas decorations early extend the excitement.’
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