If picking out a fresh Christmas tree is part of your annual festivities, make sure you pad your pocket with a bit of extra cash this season. The U.S. is facing a holiday tree shortage this year, according to the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA), which may run up prices for shoppers. The shortage can be blamed on the Great Recession the country faced, which began a decade ago. The economic downturn forced some farmers to limit their crops to save money during this time of decreased demand for discretionary items like trees. Christmas trees can take around 10 years to reach full size, so we’re only now seeing the impact the economic downturn had on the industry. “In those years, we were in a recession and tree sales were down, prices were down, and we weren’t planting as many trees,” Doug Hundley of the NCTA told News 12, Long…
Putting up your holiday decorations early can make you happier
If you’re one of those people who scoffs at the neighbors for putting up holiday decorations before Thanksgiving has even arrived, you may want to reconsider your Scrooge-like stance. There is reason to believe that setting up your tree and lights early could make you happier. “In a world full of stress and anxiety, people like to associate to things that make them happy, and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of the childhood,” psychoanalyst Steve McKeown told Unilad. “Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement. So putting up those Christmas decorations early extends the excitement!” The Journal of Environmental Psychology shows that decorations can cue your neighbors that you are accessible, and accessible people are regarded as friendlier. In the study, participants were shown houses either decorated or not and asked to assess the homeowner’s sociability. Those with the decor were deemed more…