NJ man puts Christmas tree up now, but doesn’t understand the danger

New Jersey is about to get festive for the holidays, with mid-November marking a critical time for those decorations to go up. In fact, this is in line with about a third of the country, according to a national survey conducted by Today's Homeowner.

Around 34% of Americans said before Thanksgiving is when those holiday decorations should be going up. And honestly, who can blame them? It gets so dark early anyway that it is nice to see some spots all lit up with holiday cheer.

About 40% say between Thanksgiving and Dec. 1 is the ideal time, with about 18% saying the first week of December is when to get those holiday decorations up. And when I asked this question during my Sunday morning show, most of you seemed to be in line with this.

But that's the decorations, what about the tree? Or, is the tree not considered to be part of the decorations? This is where I'm mixed on the issue. Although the Christmas tree is part of it, shouldn't that one wait until we're into December?

In my opinion, I just feel having a Christmas tree up in November is way too early. The absolute earliest I believe it should go up is right after Thanksgiving. Apparently, my neighbor doesn't seem to agree.

To paint the picture here, my neighbor already has his Christmas tree up in his house, which you can clearly see from the road through the window. He doesn't, however, have any outdoor decorations up yet.

I first noticed this about a week after the clocks fell back. At the time, I was convinced it had to be a fake tree. I mean, who would put up a live tree so early in the season?

Well, I recently ran into my neighbor and commented on his tree, thinking it was fake. To my surprise, it wasn't. According to him, it's a real tree. Now I didn't think to ask him where he got it so early in the season. Heck, I didn't think you could get one so early in the season. I apparently was wrong about that.

I also asked him if he was concerned about the tree drying up being he had it up so soon. He said he thought about that but figured there really wasn't any true danger in doing so. He then jokingly said that he'd just go through insurance if it were to catch fire.

To each their own, and I think it's great he wants to get into the spirit so soon. But I just can't help but think how much of a risk it is to put a live tree up even before we hit the halfway point in November.

Either my neighbor clearly doesn't realize how dangerous that is to have such a dry tree in the house for so long, or it just doesn't matter to him. He is an interesting character so both of those could be true.

Would you ever put a live Christmas tree up in November, or would the risk of a fire also prevent you from doing so until we get closer to Christmas? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Being we were on the topic of when to put the tree up, our conversation got me curious. When do most people feel is the right time to put up their Christmas tree? I was very surprised to discover that I'm actually in the minority with my thinking.

Apparently, 54% of Americans believe you should have your Christmas tree up in the month of November. Not after Thanksgiving, but during the month (read more on the Architectural Digest survey here). Maybe for a fake tree that's fine. But for a real one? Not so much.

Again, perhaps not as many are concerned about the fire danger with dry trees in their homes as I am, and that's OK. Maybe I'm just overthinking the potential of an overdried Christmas tree going up in flames.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.