PATCH POLL: How Soon is Too Soon for Christmas?

I violated my own holiday etiquette this year.

While putting up Halloween decorations — the orange lights, tombstones, flying ghosts and talking skeleton — one sunny October afternoon, I asked my son to string up the outdoor Christmas lights, as well.

"You'll thank me in November when the cold wind blows," I told him matter-of-factly.

He stared at me with a "Who are you and what have you done with my mother" look. What about our No-Christmas-Before-Thanksgiving rule?

I love holidays and am happy to squeeze many more than 12 days out of Christmas, but the red and green decorations NEVER come out of the basement until the turkey is in the Tupperware.

Part of our Thanksgiving tradition is to spend two days of it putting up Christmas decorations. Who has time to worry about Black Friday when there are lights to inspect and repair and Christmas CDs to crank up?

Even then, I couldn't seem to achieve all my Christmas goals in a mere 28 or 29 days. How much better to have the fudge and peanut brittle made to give as gifts to relatives when I see them at Thanksgiving?

At some point it dawned on me that the best Christmas wrap and ornaments at the store often were picked over after Thanksgiving.

And maybe I might want to spend Advent actually getting spiritually ready for Christmas, instead of being exhausted from shopping, decorating, baking and, once again, missing that critical Dec. 20 holiday card mailing deadline.

So, I've dipped a toe in the early-Christmas pond. The lights are up, but not turned on. Should I jump in?

Take our Patch Poll and share your advice and philosophy in the comments section.