If you're looking to gain some favor with your neighbors this holiday season, you may want to deck your halls and channel your inner Griswald as soon as possible! It seems that people who decorate early for the most wonderful time of the year just may make your neighbors like you more, and everyone can use a bit of goodwill towards their neighbor.

We already know that decorating for Christmas early makes you happier, but did you know it can also make your neighbors happier too? A study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology shows that people who have their house lit up for Christmas seem more friendly and inviting than those who don't. It says that people who decorate their homes for the Christmas season do so almost as a way to give “cues as a way of communicating accessibility to neighbors.”

PREVIOUSLY: Be *That* Mom At The Holiday Party With Christmas Tree Hair

In the study those who participated where shown a variety of homes in all shapes and sizes from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Regardless of the size of the home or the neighborhood it was in, the homes that were decorated for Christmas were deemed to be "friendly and cohesive" which is probably exactly what the homeowner was going for.

Most people who decorate early for the holidays do so because it makes them happy, but they probably didn't realize it was making other people happy too, and even making them appear friendlier and more approachable to their neighbors.

Psychoanalyst Steve McKeown explained to Unilad the psychological reasoning behind why Christmas decorations make us so happy and why a home decked out in Christmas lights and cheer makes people appear friendly to perfect strangers.

"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," McKeown explained.

"Decorations are simply an anchor or pathway to those old childhood magical emotions of excitement. So putting up those Christmas decorations early extend the excitement!"

McKeown explained that the sense of nostalgia that decorating for the holidays often invokes in a person is often the driving force behind decorating early for the holidays. After all, who doesn't want to let the magic of Christmas last for as long as possible?

So get out those lights and trim your trees, deck your halls and let the decorating begin! Not only will you be happier for it, but you may even make a few new friends in the neighborhood while you're at it.

READ NEXT: 10 Family Christmas Traditions To Adopt With Your Kids This Year