The holiday season typically brings out the good in people, but some individuals find it difficult to shake off their entitled ways even then.
This redditor recently shared a story about an entitled woman demanding that her grieving neighbor decorate his house for Christmas. The latter’s home would typically look like Santa Claus central, but with his wife having passed away, he didn’t feel like decorating this year. That was until Karen told him to, with which he maliciously complied.
Decorating for the holidays can be fun for both those who do it and those who get to marvel at it
Image credits: James Wheeler (not the actual photo)
This man was not in the mood to decorate his house for Christmas this year, but a Karen demanded that he did
Image credits: Mark Timberlake (not the actual photo)
Image credits: gpointstudio (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Jonas Leupe (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Rafael Garcin (not the actual photo)
Image credits: AQuietBorderline
Many people all over the world decorate their homes during the festive season
Creating a festive mood by decorating one’s environment can arguably benefit both the person in charge of the garlands and those who get to view and enjoy them. That’s likely one of the reasons quite a few people hang an ornament or two in their homes or go totally crazy with decorations during the festive time of the year.
A 2022 survey found that roughly 86% of consumers worldwide decorate their homes for Christmas, with Ireland and Norway topping the list of countries where they do it the most. The two are followed by the Netherlands, and five other countries fighting for third on the list—Sweden, Poland, Portugal, France, and the UK.
It’s unclear why people in some countries tend to decorate more than in others, as there can be hundreds of different reasons for that. But it’s safe to assume that the rising prices in countries all over the world may have something to do with it.
Take the US, for instance; according to Bankrate’s data, the prices of the majority of holiday staples now are higher than they were before the pandemic, in early 2020. And even though the situation this year isn’t as bad as it was in November of 2022, the numbers on the price tags have not exactly stopped ascending. Despite that, as many as 82% of consumers in the US say they decorate their homes for Christmas, but that is not enough for the country to fall within the top 10 of the list of places where people decorate their homes the most.
Image credits: Lobachad (not the actual photo)
Decorated homes make people think well of their neighbors
When it comes to home decorations in the US, people seem to prefer sprucing up the inside of their dwellings rather than focusing on the exterior; surveys show that roughly 70% decorate the inside vs just over 40% who embellish the outside. And while some start hanging their lights and garlands as early as before Halloween, the majority get to work between Thanksgiving and early December.
Needless to say, when the decorations are finally up, the neighborhood can feel like a much cozier place to live in. Not only that, research suggests that decorations can even affect the way people view their neighbors, as those who make their homes look festive are typically considered to be more social and friendlier to those living around them.
Unfortunately for Tim, Karen didn’t seem to be the friendly type of neighbor, as she didn’t really care for his loss and unwillingness to decorate his home this year. All she wanted was for her family to see a festive-looking house, which is exactly what she got, thanks to Tim’s malicious compliance.
Image credits: Erwan Hesry (not the actual photo)
Fellow redditors shared their thoughts and guesses in the comments
