Kelly Barrett is an unapologetic anti-Scrooge who doesn’t waste any time decking the halls of her Toronto home for the holidays. Within the first few days of November, she had her tree trimmed, her door wreathed and her fireplace festooned. After the traditional day of rest (eggnog plus Christmas movies), she posted a few images of her decorating efforts on Instagram, which is when the pushback started.

“I had one friend write ‘too early’ in the comments, other people were calling me out in my DMs,” Barrett told me over the phone. Amidst the bah-humbugging though was some seasonal solidarity. One friend told her that she had also decorated early but didn’t want to post for fear of the negative reactions.

Barrett, a marketing executive whose parents were also proponents of the early Chris

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