Why does Monica's apartment look different in s01e10?

Question

I may have missed the explanation of this, but Monica's apartment looks very different from every other episode of Friends in episode 10 of the first season. Why is that?

Answer 1

The reason the apartment looks different is it's the build up to the gang's New Years Eve party and decorations are up (possibly from Christmas?). Apart from the obvious monkey...

• Red and silver tinsel around the apartment door (just off screen on the left)
• Silver star hanging from the ceiling behind the apartment door (just off screen on the left)
• Gold tinsel in the kitchen work surface
• Red Christmas lights in the kitchen
• More silver stars hanging in the kitchen
• Decorations on all of the wooden beams in the kitchen
• Some kind of tree with decorations between the kitchen and the living area

• Fake snow on all of the bay windows
• Christmas lights out on the balcony (it's worth noting these are missing from the above screenshot but appear in the scene before the credits and later on... 10/10 for set management)
• Big tree (that gets decorated later in the episode) near the bay window
• Wreath hanging from the bay window

Oh, and lots more people than usual (later in the episode, during the party).