Welcome back to Lilly’s Hot Takes! If you haven’t been here before, my name is Lilly, and I love sharing my controversial opinions. Let’s jump in.

The hot take of the week? Christmas starts Nov. 15. 

I love Christmas. From the lights, movies, hanging stockings, making cookies, decorating the tree, I love it all. 

Does that mean I think Christmas should start on Nov. 1? No. 

Don’t get me wrong, the idea is certainly tempting. It starts to get cold and feel like the holidays, so why not jump right in? Well, let me tell you why not. 

First of all, and this may sound a little narcissistic, but my first reason for not celebrating Christmas all through November is my birthday. My birthday is Nov. 13 and I don’t want to start blending the two. I’ve never had a tree up on my birthday, and I don’t want to start now. 

Secondly, why rush out of fall? As a Gilmore Girls fan, I just can’t do it. I need my time with pumpkin spice, fall leaves and moderate weather before I can jump into the holiday season. 

Now I know I’m saying I want to enjoy fall, but once we get to the middle of November by all means let’s put up the tree. It might as well be December at that point if I have to remember to warm my car before school.  

For those reasons, Christmas starts Nov. 15. The weather is too cold for fall and almost cold enough for winter, my birthday has passed and I got a solid extra 15 days to enjoy fall. It’s the perfect 50/50 split. 

We have to keep the holidays feeling magical. If you celebrate from November to January, is it really so magical anymore? By Dec. 15 you’ve watched all the movies, you’re used to all the decorations and walking right by, you’ve made all the cookies you could possibly need, over listened to your favorite holiday songs and you still have 10 more days.

Now, think about an alternate reality. It’s Nov. 15 and you start decorating the house. That takes you the weekend. By the 20th you’re ready to start putting decorations outside, and by Dec. 1 the stressful part is done and you can admire your holiday-ified house. Now, you have the month of December to listen to music, bake cookies, watch movies and any other tradition you may have. It stays magical for longer, without a rush to check off the “Christmas to-do’s.” It’s perfect.

And for the fall lovers who may be on the fence, jump on this idea. Lights can always be unplugged and Mariah Carey can always be paused for a fair weather day and Thanksgiving.