Add last-minute holiday shopping to the list of time-honored traditions being upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Retailers are kicking off the holiday season earlier than ever this year in hopes of avoiding big in-store crowds and shipping bottlenecks in November and December.

There are two types of people in the world: people who break out the Christmas décor right after Halloween and people who refuse to touch them until after Thanksgiving. Turns out, there could be a good reason for decorating early after all.

When it comes to choosing between a real and an artificial Christmas tree there is no debate. No, really, there is, actually, no debate. If you’re concerned about the environmental impact of your Christmas tree choice, you can choose a real tree, an artificial tree, or both kinds of trees as both have a negligible impact on the environment.

Now that you’ve found your perfect tree that will showcase all of your lovely Christmas decorations, it’s time to get decorating! So where to begin?

Don’t let Christmas ever heat up too much — with fire that is. Did you know that Christmas trees alone result in 13 million dollars, annually, in property damage? More importantly, these fires present real risk towards family and friends. When showcasing a live tree in your home, the combination of tree dryness, electrical malfunction with lights and poorly located heating sources can make for a deadly combination.