(LEX 18) — It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and it's not even Thanksgiving. Every year, it seems people decorate earlier and earlier.
That's the case at the Birdkidds' Richmond home. The couple loves Christmas so much Bryan proposed to Austin in front of a Christmas tree! They begin decorating for the season the day after Halloween.
"We have a lot of Christmas to put up," Bryan said. "We have to start early if we want to get it up by December 25th."
"With our crazy schedules, you just want a place where you can enjoy the decorations and this time of year," said Austin.
Some research suggests people who decorate earlier are happier. That's partly because holiday decor with bright lights and colors can trigger feel-good hormones.
We took the idea to psychologist Shannon Sauer-Zavala at the Clinic for Emotional Health.
"Does decorating early make you happier, or do happier people decorate early?" she said. "And I don't want to suggest people who don't decorate early aren't happy, but maybe they find joy in the season in different ways."
She said if decorating early makes you joyful and nostalgic, go ahead and deck the halls.
"It actually is really helpful to kind of lean into things that bring joy to us, so if decorating early for Christmas is a thing that brings you joy year after year, you absolutely should, and not worry about whether people are like, 'It's too early!'" she said.
As for the Birdkidds, they say they've developed a reputation for their over-the-top decor and love of all things Christmas.
"Put up the tree, turn on the radio, and enjoy it!" Bryan said.
"If decorating early makes you happy, if the yummy Starbucks drink makes you happy if blasting music makes you happy, go ahead and do it and enjoy this time of year," Austin added.
