In case you haven’t noticed, the holiday season appears to have started early this year.

Families and local governments all over the country have already begun decorating for Christmas. And that’s a good thing, says Dr. Krystine Batcho, professor of psychology at Syracuse’s Le Moyne College.

“Lights, which obviously are associated with joy and bring back a lot of good memories, are a way of alleviating depression, sadness, feeling down, anxiety, stress,” Batcho says. “All the things the pandemic has increased.”

Do you have someone in your neighborhood who overdoes it every year?