On November 8, I began putting up Christmas lights outside my house. The weather was perfect—a high of 58—and I knew colder days were on the way. That warm weather is pretty rare for Omaha, and I wanted to take advantage of it. As I worked, my neighbor Pat called out,
“I’ll be putting mine up next weekend! Looks great!”
I smiled back, a little sheepish. Was I jumping the gun? Was it too early?
“Don’t worry,” I called, “I won’t light them until after Thanksgiving! I just wanted to take advantage of the warm weather.”
Pat shook his head and laughed.
“Why wait? You put them up; might as well turn them on!”
So I did. And every night since then, our street has been glowing with Christmas cheer. Two weeks later, as I write this on November 23, five days before Thanksgiving, over half our neighbors have joined in. Christmas came early to our little street!
I understand why people might “bah-humbug” about putting up lights early. In the famous Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving show when seeing Christmas ads Sally remarks, “I haven’t even eaten all my Halloween candy yet!”
I’ve even said a lot of these myself. Here are some common objections:
“Jumping into Christmas skips over pausing to give thanks.”
“You’re overshadowing family and gratitude with gaudy lights.”
“Let’s keep things in their proper order—December is for Christmas.”
“You’re feeding the commercialization frenzy.”
“I want to savor the fall colors and pumpkins. Don’t rush into green and red!”
“We can’t sustain the Christmas hoopla for two months!”
“What is this—Thanks-mas?”
I get it. Truly, I do. But as a wife and mom, let me make the case for doing the Christmas prep work in November.
I think of Christmas preparation like a farmer’s harvest. In the past, farmers worked tirelessly through September, October, and November, harvesting crops before the freeze. It was backbreaking, high-stakes work. Miss the timing, and the crops would rot or freeze. Meals and sleep often had to wait.
But when the harvest was done, Thanksgiving came—a time to sit, rest, and reflect on the fruits of their labor.
I need that cadence as a mom. I want to harvest in the fall so that December can be a time of Advent. You can’t fully embrace Advent—a time of waiting, reflection, and preparation—if you’re scrambling to “do all the things” at the last minute.
I don’t have crops to gather or potatoes to bag. But my harvest is no less labor-intensive:
As mothers, we often shoulder the bulk of the holiday workload.
If the work has to get done, why not do it during the “harvest” season so we can have a little better chance of creating some margin in December?
Here’s what I want December to look like:
Preparing for Christmas in November isn’t about rushing or skipping Thanksgiving. It’s about creating breathing room to embrace the beauty and reflection of Advent.
Our Red Letter Advent book is the perfect way to take time and think about what really matters this Christmas. Through twenty-five daily devotionals, you get to unwrap the four gifts Jesus: hope, peace, joy, and love. (No wrapping required!) For more information on how you can use the Red Letter Advent devotional, click here.
When I sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, I want to know the work of the season is done, allowing December to be a time of joy and connection—not stress and chaos.
So yes, I put my lights up on November 8. And I turned them on.
Please, let me harvest in the fall, so I can truly Advent in December!
