Counting down the days until Christmas is a great way to build anticipation for the holiday season and get you and your family in a more festive mood. Mark a few dates for decorating to begin your Christmas celebrations, and the excitement for the upcoming season will continue to build. You can easily get started with planning the upcoming season several weeks or months before December arrives.

start your Christmas countdown

Pick a Time to Set Up Your Christmas Lights

For many people, the holiday season begins as soon as the Christmas lights are up, which means the countdown to Christmas often starts as soon as you’ve arranged your decorations. If you’re feeling enthusiastic about Christmas, it’s never too early to start shopping for lights and other home décor.

For outdoor lighting, you may want to consider picking up a few sets of C9 Christmas lights. There are plenty of flexible battery-powered mini LED sets for indoor decorations or smaller displays that allow you to create everything from a mason jar decoration to a table centerpiece. If you’re ever in doubt about which Christmas lights to choose, the classic M5 Christmas lights are sure to serve you brilliantly, whether you’re decorating indoors or outdoors.

No matter which lights you choose for the upcoming season, you’ll want to make sure you’re picking up LED lights rather than incandescent bulbs. There are numerous benefits to LED lights, the first and certainly not the least of which is their cost. LEDs are typically cheaper in the long run than incandescents, last for many additional hours, and use less electricity. In addition, they typically generate less heat, which means they are less of a fire hazard. Check out our handy guide on the benefits of LED lights to learn more.

When is a Good Time to Put Up Christmas Lights?

You’ll start to see Christmas lights in your neighborhood around the end of November, just a few days after the Thanksgiving holiday. For many people, Black Friday is a popular date for beginning their Christmas decorating traditions. Luckily, there are no rules for when you should put up your Christmas lights. It’s never too early to at least begin planning your decorations for this year, and it’s never too late to set up an impressive light display.

Christmas Countdown Décor

Many Christmas decorations are available that allow you and your family to turn the countdown to Christmas into a holiday ritual. Countdown signs, novelty clocks, and even specialty Christmas wreaths can help you mark off the days until the 25th of December. However, the most popular Christmas countdown decoration is undoubtedly an advent calendar. Each window on an advent calendar has a special surprise or reward for every day in December leading up to Christmas. For this reason, this decoration is often very popular with kids and families.

When Should I Put Up My Christmas Tree?

Similar to Christmas lights, most families put up their tree right after Thanksgiving or in the early parts of December. If you have an artificial Christmas tree, there are no restrictions on when you can set up your tree. You’re free to begin decorating the tree and ornaments even earlier than Thanksgiving.

If you’re decorating a commercial space, you’ll have to spend time planning to make sure the tree goes up as soon as possible after Thanksgiving ends. The time to start shopping for a commercial Christmas tree and an accompanying lights display is now, as many logistics are involved with commercial Christmas displays.

getting excited for Christmas as a familyWatch Your Favorite Christmas Movies

Christmas movies are a genre of their own and are some of the most rewatchable movies we know.  Every family is sure to have their favorite Christmas movies that are worth watching every year as a holiday ritual. You can countdown the days until Christmas by planning out the holiday movies you want to watch as well as the times you’ll watch them, well in advance of the season. A Christmas Story, Home Alone, and Rudolph are the most popular, but there are sure to be several Christmas classics out there you may not even know about yet.

Christmas Countdown Websites and Apps

There are a variety of apps or widgets available for your phone and computer that can help you count down the days until Christmas. Most of these apps are free and fun ways to celebrate the coming season. There are also a handful of websites that are solely dedicated to counting down the days until Christmas.

Make Your Favorite Holiday Treats

There are plenty of easy Christmas cookie recipes out there that you can make at any time of the year, well in advance of the holiday season. Decorating cookies is a popular way to spend time with your family, similar to watching Christmas movies. If you’re ready to make more than a few cookies, there are also plenty of other recipes for branching out towards cupcakes, candies, and other sweets. Your favorite holiday treats are sure to give your home a festive spirit and are always great to have during your Christmas countdown.

making christmas treats

DIY Christmas Countdown Ideas

There are plenty of great DIY Christmas countdown arts and crafts projects if you aren’t interested in purchasing a countdown decoration product. Creating and decorating stockings, writing up a few Christmas cards, or making a new nativity scene are all great ways to get started. Looking for something that helps to count down each day? Consider building your own advent calendar with a few fun outside-the-box rewards.

When is The Right Time to Celebrate Christmas?

There is no right or wrong time to begin your Christmas celebrations or to begin planning for the upcoming season. Even if Christmas is still a few months away, you can help build anticipation for the holidays by picking out your Christmas lights and décor.

Christmas Designers is here to help with all your lighting and decorating needs year-round, so you’ll never have to wait to get started on the countdown towards Christmas. For more information or decorating tips, check out our blog and YouTube channel. Let the Christmas countdown begin.