Time to break out the Christmas Spotify playlist! What could be better than getting ready for the most wonderful time of year? When it’s November 1, Halloween is old news and it’s time to prepare.

Some people like to start getting in the holiday spirit right after Halloween, but others… not so much. It’s best to get started right away! There’s nothing wrong with spreading more Christmas joy, and it may even have some personal benefits!

In fact, Christmas music can be good for your mental health. According to Narcity, “The feeling associated when listening to music can be sorted into two categories, perceived emotions, (when we appreciate the emotional tone of the piece, but not feel that emotion ourselves) and felt emotions. Felt emotions are when we connect to the feeling behind the piece we are listening to and it can impact our emotional state.” Christmas music can raise these felt emotions to lower stress levels and make us happier, just like other holiday activities can!

How soon people start decorating has a lot to do with their psychological state as well. In the Journal of Environmental Psychology, a study showed that people who start decorating earlier are perceived to be more friendly as well as have nostalgic feelings. Lots of kids, teens, and adults love nostalgia. A poll of 200 MCHS students and found that 87% of them are ready to start getting in the holiday spirit! However, this isn’t the only benefit of decorating sooner.

Decorating early is not just fun, but also much safer. Since there’s usually an abundance of snow and ice in the midwest it’s better to put the lights up before that. The CDC reports that, “One out of five falls causes a serious injury such as broken bones or a head injury.” So if you can avoid the ice and snow by decorating early, you can reduce your risk of injury.

Some will argue that getting ready for Christmas in early November will skip over the importance of Thanksgiving. However, Thanksgiving is defined as “an act of giving thanks; an expression of gratitude, especially to God.” Christmas is not much different! Plus it’s not like you can’t celebrate Thanksgiving, even if you’ve decorated for Christmas just use that day as a break so you don’t get burnt out!

This year is the most important year to spread love and joy with everything happening in the world. Don’t be a Grinch — embrace the Christmas spirit!