When to decorate?

I love Christmas. I'm one of those people so filled with holiday cheer that I start shopping in July and planning out festivities in detail by September. So people are often surprised when my house isn't "decked with boughs of holly" come Nov. 1.

Now, I must admit, I have been tempted to pull out the reindeer ornaments and set the hot apple cider simmering upon seeing some horrifically early in-store displays, but I always stop myself.

Part of the charm of the holiday for me is that the decorations are around for a limited period of time (and, as my mother has always said, the last thing you want to do is find yourself dusting your Christmas tree!).

Growing up, our tree - at the earliest - went in two or three days before Christmas Eve. And it wasn't due to a last minute rush, it was just tradition. It also meant that decorating the tree was a special event that the whole family was around to share.

Keeping with this tradition, I'll normally pop up the first decoration in my home at the first snowfall or the end of November - whichever comes first, as both make me feel festive - and then slowly build from there.

So, with Christmas still over a month away, you won't find any candy canes or snowmen in my house. But, I'm no grinch, there is a carton of eggnog in the fridge.