Detty December: The Highs, the Lows, and the Hard Conversations We’re Avoiding

Every year, as December approaches, the energy shifts.

Flights sell out. Group chats light up. Instagram fills with countdowns. For many in the diaspora, Detty December isn’t just a holiday, it’s a pilgrimage. A return home to party until the new year, to reconnect, to remember who you are outside of survival mode.

There is excitement in going back home that’s hard to explain unless you’ve lived abroad. The music hits different. The jokes land faster. The nights feel longer. For a few weeks, you’re not “from somewhere else” you’re just home.

But alongside the joy, Detty December has also become complicated. And if we’re being honest, some of those complications deserve real conversation.

The Highs: Joy, Release, and Feeling Alive Again

Let’s start with the good because it is good.

Detty December gives people something to look forward to all year. It’s a release after months of grinding. It’s the freedom to dress how you want, dance how you want, spend time with people who speak your language — literally and culturally.

For many, it’s the only time they feel fully themselves.

It’s weddings, concerts, late nights that turn into early mornings. It’s being surrounded by people who look like you, sound like you, and move like you. It’s remembering that joy isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

And for the diaspora especially, it’s emotional. It’s reconnecting with roots that can feel distant when you’re living somewhere else. It’s laughter that feels familiar. It’s a sense of belonging that doesn’t require explanation.

The Dream: “I Could Live Here… I Could Build Here”

Detty December doesn’t just bring parties — it brings ideas.

Every year, people go back home and start thinking:What if I moved back? What if I started a business here? What if I bought land, opened a café, launched an Airbnb, did something meaningful?

And to be fair, some of those ideas do turn into real success.

Airbnbs have increased. Restaurants, lounges, creative spaces, tour companies — the growth is visible. There is money flowing. There is opportunity. There is a sense that “now is the time.”

For many returnees, Detty December feels like a blank canvas. A reminder that with consistency, patience, and the right approach, something could work.

But that’s where the fantasy often meets reality.

The Traps: Visiting vs Living Are Not the Same Thing

There’s a big difference between enjoying home and living there.

Detty December is a highlight reel. It’s curated. It’s temporary. It’s spending money without having to earn it locally. It’s moving with foreign currency, foreign timelines, and foreign safety nets.

Living back home is different.

Running a business is harder than it looks. Systems are slower. Processes aren’t always clear. Things you take for granted abroad — consistency, structure, customer service — often require extra effort to build.

Many people return full of excitement, only to feel overwhelmed months later. And lately, TikTok has become the place where people tell that side of the story.

• Videos about loss

• About being scammed

• About burnout

• About returning abroad quietly after “trying.”

Those stories matter too.

They don’t mean going back home is a mistake — but they remind us that it’s not easy, and it’s not for everyone.

The Tension: When Celebration Becomes Displacement

Here’s where the conversation gets uncomfortable.

As Detty December grows, so do the complaints from locals.

Prices rise sometimes aggressively, Rent spikes, Food costs increase, Transport becomes more expensive, Spaces that locals once enjoyed become inaccessible.

From the outside, it can look like celebration. From the inside, it can feel like displacement.

Locals begin to feel like visitors in their own cities. The very culture that draws people back starts to feel commodified. And resentment builds quietly.

This isn’t about blaming returnees for enjoying themselves. People should enjoy their money. People should celebrate. But it raises a real question: How do we celebrate without making life harder for the people who live there year-round?

The Price Question: Should There Be Rules?

This is where debate is needed.

Should there be guidelines around pricing during peak seasons?Should locals be protected from extreme increases?Should businesses balance profit with community responsibility?

Some argue that supply and demand is just business.Others argue that unchecked pricing creates long-term damage.

If the goal is to reconnect, rebuild, and eventually live as one — then affordability, respect, and sustainability have to be part of the conversation.

Because if “home” becomes unaffordable for the people who never left, then what are we really building?

Holding Both Truths at Once

Detty December is joy. Detty December is opportunity. Detty December is culture. Detty December is also tension.

All of these things can exist at the same time.

It can be exciting and complicated. Hopeful and frustrating. A blank canvas and a hard lesson.

The challenge is learning how to move with intention not just excitement.

A Question Worth Sitting With

As more people return home to celebrate, invest, and explore new possibilities, the question isn’t whether Detty December should exist.

It’s this:

How do we enjoy home without taking from it?

How do we build without displacing?

And how do we make sure that “coming together” actually feels like togetherness?

What do you think?