It might seem a little early to be decking the halls, but some festive fans have already been getting their homes ready for Christmas – and the pictures are sure to put you in a good mood.

In a bid to boost spirits during lockdown, many Instagram users have been sharing their impressive trees, Christmas wreaths, garlands, lights, and dazzling front door displays earlier than ever before.

While the classic 12 days of Christmas tradition sees trees go up on 13th December, previous research by psychologists found that putting the tree up earlier can modify the happiness hormones in your body, stirring up feelings of pure joy.

Dr Elena Touroni, consultant psychologist and co-founder of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic, backs this up, saying that decorating the tree can help to provide a temporary break from what's going on in the world.

She told Yahoo!: "This year has been hard on all of us, and news of another lockdown, with further disappointments and cancelled plans, is likely to have brought up all kinds of difficult thoughts and feelings.

"Planning enjoyable events and activities is a psychological strategy that can help build our capacity to cope with daily life. So in this sense, it makes sense that people might be doing these things a little earlier this year."


Christmas decorating inspiration:


Need a mood boost? Take a look at the images below...

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Lisa Joyner
Deputy Daily Editor, Country Living and House Beautiful

 Lisa Joyner is the Deputy Daily Editor at House Beautiful UK and Country Living UK, where she's busy writing about home and interiors, gardening, dog breeds, pets, health and wellbeing, countryside news, small space inspiration, and the hottest properties on the market. Previously, she has written for Conde Nast Traveller, House & Garden and Marie Claire magazine. Lisa studied at University For The Creative Arts, where she completed a BA in Fashion Journalism.