What is the optimal date to buy a Christmas tree? The Arwa-Mahdawi-approved answer is 26 November, which is when I bought mine. There was a time when I would have been aghast at anyone buying a Christmas tree in November. That was when I didn’t have a small child and the world didn’t seem to be on the brink of disaster. Now, however, I am a parent and the world has gone to hell so I seek comfort and security anywhere I can.
And you know what? Christmas trees are very comforting. They’re a calming constant in a world of rapid change. Christmas trees are the same every single year. They smell the same, they look the same, they act the same. They don’t get software updates … hang on, has some Silicon Valley bastard invented a “smart” Christmas tree? I bet they have. Wait a sec while I Google this. Oh my God, they have. Of course they have. That’s not very Christmassy of them.
But enough about Silicon Valley and its stupid smart Christmas trees. Let’s get back to a more interesting topic: me. I spent my 20s and much of my 30s jaded and cynical about Christmas. I was full of arguments about how Christmas was a consumerist capitalist nightmare blah blah blah. Those arguments have completely disappeared now. One of the great things about having a small child is that you get to see the holidays through their eyes. My toddler spent the weekend running up to the Christmas tree and sniffing it ecstatically. Which was a little bit weird, but also very cute. And don’t just take my toddler’s Christmas-tree-sniffing as an excuse to decorate early. Psychologists say that decking the halls with boughs of holly earlier than usual can make you happy. Break out the tinsel, my friends. Fa la la la la, la la la la.
• Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
