Early Christmas decorations = working class

[FaLaLaLaLaaaar]

I know Mumsnet loves a class debate, so thought I’d share an argument I had with a friend last night.

She insists that only working class people put their Christmas decorations up in November, I insisted she’s a snob and class is more redundant these days so it’s a ridiculous argument.

So Vipers, I’ll ask the question as if it is coming from me to make it easier:

AIBU to think only working class people put their Christmas decorations up in November?

Yabu - No, don’t be such a snob, middle class people do too.

YANBU - Yes, it’s a working class thing.

I will be showing her the results of this.

I’m working class and I don’t up my tree up until week before Christmas down day after Boxing Day.
If it was left up to me, it wouldn’t go up at all. Do love a nice wreath on front door.

We don't do outdoor lights - I'm afraid I do find them rather naff

@TheKeatingFive

The real Christmas class stereotype is that the later you open the presents, the posher you are. Not something that I think, but know others who do.

The record in my house growing up was 5.30 am

This is likely because that’s how it’s done in the countries where there is a great deal of Germanic influence (don’t know about all of them, but certainly in Denmark where I’m from) and it was Prince Albert who brought most of the traditional Victorian Christmas with him when he married Queen Victoria.

As children we opened our presents very late on the day, after dinner and after singing carols and dancing around the Christmas tree, somewhere between 8 and 9 PM.

[quote FaLaLaLaLaaaar]@TatianaBis Funnily enough, she also insists anyone with blue Christmas lights is common.

She is a lovely person, I’m making her sound awful. I just never knew Christmas had all these secret class signallers![/quote]
Anyone with blue lights is just an inconsiderate arse.

They come from all classes!

I generally agree that it is a working class thing to put Christmas decorations up early, that does not make it good or bad, just something which varies between social classes.

Your friend sounds a snob and an idiot!

I'm working class (and very proud of it) and I don't put any decorations up until about 23rd December and only then to please my grandchildren - I hate the dust and untidiness of it all.

It’s extremely mc to agonise so much about not appearing ‘poor’

I would have said it was determined by whether or not you have small children? I don't bother at all as I haven't got kids.

@FaLaLaLaLaaaar

Load of shit. I live in a vair nice middle class/upper class village, and the Christmas decorations (and outside lights) start going up here around 20th to 25th of November for many. Including the vicar, several GPs and hospital specialists, a court judge and a magistrate, and several teachers, and upper management folk. Conversely, there are some working class folk on the fringes of the village who don't put them up til first or second week of December.

'Only working class people put up their Christmas decorations in November' is such a shitty thing to say, and is basically saying 'only chavs put them up in November.' That's what you are saying your friend is saying. At least own it.

@Kanaloa

But why does she need to comment repeatedly that blue lights and early decorations are ‘working class?’ What’s the relevance? Why the insistence? Why tell op that?

Exactly. ^ As has been said, people commenting on class, suggests not only that they don't want to be the class they are, but also that they want everyone else to think they are a higher social class. Bit pathetic really, not to mention crass.

@trappedsincesundaymorn

I'm working class and mine usually, go up on the weekend before Christmas and down again on New Year's day. I say "usually" because this year they are not going up at all as we're not "doing" Christmas until the 7th January so they will go up on the 6th and down on the 9th. I now have a class identity crises. Is Jan 6th 2022 too early or toolate for Christmas???

That's actually Old Christmas Day so you will be celebrating correctly

Following the old Julian Calendar rather than this new fangled Gregorian one is definitely very posh!

I don’t really think in terms of class but I do know that in my area the really ‘rough’ street all have their decorations up in early November. So they may regularly get visits from the police but at least their houses look nice and festive whilst doing so! In other streets one or two houses might do it early but in this notorious one they all do!

Thoroughly middle class here .

The real tree (used to) go up the first Saturday of the Christmas School holidays. So 20th ish. .. and comes down on the 6th Jan.

Our mum used to drive is round the council to estate to 'see the lights' whilst looking down in righteousness indignation at the 'ridiculous amount of money spent on tatt.' As a life lesson... (if you spend all your money on a plastic Santa for your roof then you will never make it to Knob Avenue) ... welcome to my 1980s children's Christmas....

Are Christmas lights dictated by class ? You bet they are . There is no change 30 years later. The Naice houses show not a twinkle before December 10... whereas the social housing estate kicked off on Nov 1 !

[quote FaLaLaLaLaaaar]@WorraLiberty Sorry, I’m a working class immigrant, so often miss the class signifiers that others do not (or somehow they intrinsically know).

It all started after 2 bottles of wine and a discussion about when Christmas decs would go up. With me wanting to put them up ‘too early’.

Although I do admit to saying at the time that this is going on Mumsnet and I thought she’d be proved wrong.[/quote]
But you've already started a thread sneering at a homemade Christmas table decoration, so you do have some idea.

Like I said, just own the bun fight

@3scape

Not all epileptics

I never said "all" and what's with the eyeroll? Are you always that rude?

[quote OhGingleBells]@TheKeatingFive

Even as small children we had to wait until after lunch - lunch being a 2/3 o’clock affair (at the earliest) that went on for a while! Presents around 5 or 6 o’clock.[/quote]
That was my family too, and far from being middle-class, we lived in a flat on a dead rough council estate.

Nah, I am common as fuck and I leave it until the last minute

I wonder what your friend would make of the Queen who leaves hers up until February.

I put mine up to coincide with DS birthday in mid December so he gets to kick off Christmas

That must make me practically aristocracy

I think there's this assumption among some middle class types that the working classes do/should aspire to be more like them. That's definitely not how the working class parts of my family see it

I agree with this. Nearly all of my friends are WC and we are all proud of being so.

@WorraLiberty Ah, but you’ve missed that I was looking to buy Christmas decorations in November, which is when I spotted the pasta/spraypaint/pearl monstrosity and posted it. I don’t think it’s controversial to say that one was pretty awful!

@BettysGotMoxie

I wonder what your friend would make of the Queen who leaves hers up until February.

Common as muck here and mine are up already. Had a shit Christmas last year DH was in hospital with Covid, so started earlier than usual. Usually put them up at the end of November. Couldn't give a damn what people think.

The assumptions always seem to be that if anything can be defined as being attributable to the working classes then it is somehow lesser or inferior
So tedious isn't it? I'm a 12th of December person personally but a fake tree so who knows what class I must be then

Anecdotal evidence only, but I live at the bottom of a very posh street (the bottom of the street is much less posh than the rest of it, hence I can afford to rent there) which is right opposite a council of estate. Nobody on the Very Posh Street has decorations up until December, and usually a week or two into December rather than at the beginning, whereas kids of houses on the estate opposite have had full on Christmas lights, trees and other decorations up for a week or two already.

I side with the posh street although I don’t in any way have the income that the vast majority of the street residents do. I just like my tree etc up half way through December because then it feels more special and Christmassy. It would annoy me if it was up for longer and it wouldn’t feel special.

I don't know anyone middle class / upper middle class who would put theirs up before the first of December, more commonly the middle of December. Also don't know anyone in that bracket who uses tinsel or coloured Christmas lights.