Why we all go all out with the Christmas decorations

It touches my green heart a little bit, but I am working on tree two. I still see myself standing at Intratuin on November 18. I had to/would/wanted that tree, even though the Christmas tree seller said it might just make it to Christmas. Back then, I thought it would be different for me. Boy, how I was wrong. In the meantime, tree one is outside recovering. It is balled, so who knows, it might be a survivor, and tree two is inside.

It's not just the tree, I also have a vase with festive branches and lights (thanks Postcode Lottery for the battery-operated string that actually belongs in that star), a vase with amaryllis, and a vase with eucalyptus, a large and a small homemade wreath (this sounds much more quaint than they look), candles everywhere (it's a miracle I still have oxygen), and this week I hung lights in the little tree by the front door (and suddenly you realize you're actually doing this for the neighbors and random passersby). What I'm saying: I'm going all out this year. It's a miracle I haven't draped a garland around my mantel yet (you can go too far). Normally, I stick to one tree, one vase, and some candles. After a round of inquiries, it turns out I'm not alone; the whole world is decorating their homes. But why?

Uuuuh, a lockdown, Adeline, I hear you thinking. I know that too, but what is so soothing about Christmas decoration that we all reach for it? Grazia UK put it aptly. It's a bit like we're dressing our living rooms like the lobby of Claridge’s. Just Google that last part and you'll see it's true. Statistics from Not On The High Street show that our desire for Christmas and Christmas decorations is greater than ever, leading us to start Christmas shopping as early as August (!). Our spending on decorations even doubled in November.

It compensates a little for the rather turbulent year and also handy: everyone understands that. The winged saying ‘if it can't happen in 2020, it can never happen’ is heard everywhere. Furthermore, Instagram is in our lives and is about the only way to show how you're doing, so we happily tinker and fiddle to display this. All for the Gram.

And suddenly you realize what a pandemic unleashes (besides conspiracy theories and polarization): pure cuteness of society. And that's totally okay this year.