54 Comments on When do you take down Christmas decorations?
12:01 AM Dec 26th
4
My daughter is taking them down today while I’m at work and before the cat can knock down any more Christmas ornaments.
7
Since it is just me taking decorations down this year–all outdoors come down on the 1st and then I close the shutters to block the inside lights from shining out! I will take them down inside as I can and put them away and reflect on my first Christmas without my husband.
34
Today. Now that my batteries are dead in almost everything I put out, gets put away today. No point in keeping it all up. Well I guess I could, then I won’t have so much work to do next year. š
6
Jan 1 2022.
8
1st week of the new Year or so. My in-laws go to February.
4
January 7th, if the tree makes it that long–January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany-and that for my family is the end of the season.
18
On or about the first of the new year.
3
When I was a kid I lived in an apartment building, and there were balconies. We had a family that would put a giant wreath on front of balcony, and it would sit there and go brown, and wither until June. I’m not kidding.
19
About the only ones I have now is a small tree made of wire coat hangers and a big fir tree outside with thousands of lights wound around it.
I put the little tree in a closet and unplug the outside tree.
Easy Peasy, already done.
5
The first week of the New Year. Last night for outdoor Xmas lights is Jan 2. Every year Iām tempted to leave the window candlelights in/on all year long. I loved seeing them in houses when I lived in Pennsylvania.
9
Starting today.
No hurry though.
3
Take them down? January 1, 1999, and they never went back up again. The first year after our second son went off to college, my husband asked in December “When did you plan to put up the tree?” I responded by saying “Me? When did YOU plan to put up the tree?” He got the message and we haven’t decorated since.
12
What decorations?
9
We’ll be dismantling the Christmas decor this weekend.
We only go into the New Year with pork and sauerkraut!
3
On January 7, the day after the Epiphany.
11
Early enough that I have time to get the Kwanza decorations up in time
14
If you are Mexican – NEVER!
5
Scrooge here, nothing to take down. Watched allot of old xmass movies and they had the works.
4
@TFR We do pork and sauerkraut too for New Years. For Xmas, I baked mince meat(less) pies and for New Years Iām baking a ShooFly pie. Feeling nostalgic for those old timey recipes.
1
My great grandparents immigrated from Serbia and we grew up Catholic (now a recoverd Catholic and simply a Christian) and Serbian Orthodox. Jan 7 is Christmas by the Julian calendar so our Christmas lights stay on through Jan 7.
6
December 31st. My mother was a great believer that how your home looked on New Yearās Day was how it would look the rest of the year. I make sure the vacuuming and laundry is done, too.
4
Some time between Christmas and New Year’s. It depends on the year and the activities we are involved in. But it has been shorter since the kids moved out.
1
Illustr8r – I’ve never had ShooFly pie, but my mom used to make the best pies from scratch including Mince Meat(less) as you say! My wife is a great cook, but she does not like Mince Meat so we do without.
2
Heh, I remember my Mom leaving the tree up until Valentine’s Day once.
4
BFH – we keep our ‘fake’ wreath on the front door until
St Patrick’s Day š
5
… then some drunken Scott steals it.
4
You’re supposed to take them down?
6
Un-decoration IN PROGRESS! If we were to wait until the HALLMARK channels quit running their sappy Christmas theme movies, they’d never get taken down!
3
One year my dad put a big lighted star of Bethlehem on the peak of the roof. Wired it to a light switch in the upstairs bathroom. Never took it down. You could see it all the way across thee vacant land to the other side of town. In the middle of the summer one of my brothers friends came over and said: āYeah, you can always tell when someoneās in the can at the Kavanaughās because the star lights upā. I was mortified
16
My wife passed away in September so I put up no outside lights. My daughter and grandsons were very picky about what went on the tree this year. I was never big on decorating but this year even less. Everything comes down after New Years day
7
I’ve never really thought about it. They just go up in time and they come down in time. At the 48th parallel, it’s nice having the outside lights all winter. Many in our neighborhood just leave theirs up.
We “trim” the tree with loppers and stuff it in a yard waste bag about the 2nd week of January. The other stuff gets put away about then, too.
I always miss the decorations when they’re removed.
Illustr8r — I make Norwegian meatballs (better than the Swede’s) for New Years’ dinner, served with lingonberry sauce. Geoff C. got a recipe (off MOTUS) for a gingerbread/pear upside down cake served with cognac whipped cream (it’s very pretty — and yummy).
3
Great topic
Usually take down around the New Year sometimes earlier.
Mom used to keep some up all year, drove me crazy, finally I just gave up. If that is what she wanted why argue. š¤
Miss ya Ma, may just leave a couple Anna Lee’s up just for you. šš
2
In 1983 Marshall Fields’ flagship store commissioned Maurice Sendak to create giant figures of his Nutcracker characters (from his book) to decorate their store. Many of them were animated. After the display was taken down the figures were shipped to Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet company, where they were displayed each Christmas during the Nutcracker ballet season. After 30 years of use by the PNWB, the lead harpist for the ballet orchestra acquired them and, since 2014, he has been displaying them at his home (a wonderful “storybook” house) in Ballard, a community just north of the ship canal from downtown Seattle.
We took a drive on Christmas to go look at them. I wish I could upload the pictures. The largest is the Nutcracker Prince figure, about 15′ tall.
6
It takes me 2 days to put up the outside lights so I am in no hurry to go out take them down I just unplug them after the epiphany.
3
I solved that problem by not putting any up.
4
After the Twelve Days of Christmas, i.e., after the Epiphany, Jan. 6. My boyhood town, Port Chester NY, would schedule a massive bonfire for old dry Christmas trees on the night of the 7th. Right on the Post Road (where a mall exists now) all townspeople would pull up and add to the fire. It was quite a memorable ritual. Of course a huge carbon footprint (GFY snowflakes).
7
Just finished!
1998 for me.
5
As today is the 3rd Day of Christmas (as i am writing this), They stay up for the remainder of the Christmas Season which ends on Epiphany (Jan 7). I don’t usually put them up until the week before the 25th.
1
Not until after Epiphany (January 6th) although sometimes they stay up longer!
1
By Easter at the latest.
3
Whenever the cats feel like it, sometimes days before Christmas.
Pro tip; the little white outdoor string light can be left up year round. After Christmas, they become “ambiance lights”.
3
Oh, there I am. Thought I had been given the Joe Stalin treatment.
1
I don’t decorate, ever.
2
January 16th. Two weeks before I leave this failed state for the greatest state in our union. FLORIDA!
7
I was raised that you put the tree up on Christmas Eve (keeps the kids busy) and take it down after Epiphany.
Dad tried to convince Mom that we should actually do the presents on Epiphany, like the 3 Kings bringing gifts to Baby Jesus. He wasn’t being theologically correct; he figured he could shop after Christmas and get everything on sale.
4
I’ve already started celebrating ST. PADDY’S DAY!
2
I rushed to get the decorations out of the basement and attic right after Thanksgiving and I even put up the fake tree and strung the outside lights that weekend. I don’t decorate the tree because the wife is in control of the ornaments. The tree sat there bare until the 23rd. I rushed the empty boxes back into the attic and basement that same day. Now she says she wants them back out so she can put stuff away before new years. I’m not flexing a finger to bring them back out until at least January 2.
5
My adult children like to tease me about how late in Advent Iād finally get a tree and how quickly after Christmas Iād dismantle it. I do like to wait til Epiphany but it rarely happens. My problem is I dislike how much the tree displaces the rest of my furniture and I really like my house feeling peaceful and tidy. Back when we cut a tree, the pine needles made me irritable
1
Didnāt feel like putting any up during this first year of bidens regime. Did the same thing during obama.
4
Named the tree Amy Winehouse because it’s gonna die and leave needles everywhere.
7
For the lov of god, never have I ever hurd such language, officially when the tree no longer such up a single drop of… oh christ it’s over.
Mid January.
Mom never took our tree down until Valentine’s Day. She hated to take out the tree (always had to be fresh cut when we put it up one week before Christmas). She loved the smell. By mid February, the needles started to drop (she watered it judiciously). We would prop it up in a pile of snow by the bird feeders and put bread in the branches.
12:01 AM Dec 26th
My daughter is taking them down today while I’m at work and before the cat can knock down any more Christmas ornaments.
Since it is just me taking decorations down this year–all outdoors come down on the 1st and then I close the shutters to block the inside lights from shining out! I will take them down inside as I can and put them away and reflect on my first Christmas without my husband.
Today. Now that my batteries are dead in almost everything I put out, gets put away today. No point in keeping it all up. Well I guess I could, then I won’t have so much work to do next year. š
Jan 1 2022.
1st week of the new Year or so. My in-laws go to February.
January 7th, if the tree makes it that long–January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany-and that for my family is the end of the season.
On or about the first of the new year.
When I was a kid I lived in an apartment building, and there were balconies. We had a family that would put a giant wreath on front of balcony, and it would sit there and go brown, and wither until June. I’m not kidding.
About the only ones I have now is a small tree made of wire coat hangers and a big fir tree outside with thousands of lights wound around it.
I put the little tree in a closet and unplug the outside tree.
Easy Peasy, already done.
The first week of the New Year. Last night for outdoor Xmas lights is Jan 2. Every year Iām tempted to leave the window candlelights in/on all year long. I loved seeing them in houses when I lived in Pennsylvania.
Starting today.
No hurry though.
Take them down? January 1, 1999, and they never went back up again. The first year after our second son went off to college, my husband asked in December “When did you plan to put up the tree?” I responded by saying “Me? When did YOU plan to put up the tree?” He got the message and we haven’t decorated since.
What decorations?
We’ll be dismantling the Christmas decor this weekend.
We only go into the New Year with pork and sauerkraut!
On January 7, the day after the Epiphany.
Early enough that I have time to get the Kwanza decorations up in time
If you are Mexican – NEVER!
Scrooge here, nothing to take down. Watched allot of old xmass movies and they had the works.
@TFR We do pork and sauerkraut too for New Years. For Xmas, I baked mince meat(less) pies and for New Years Iām baking a ShooFly pie. Feeling nostalgic for those old timey recipes.
My great grandparents immigrated from Serbia and we grew up Catholic (now a recoverd Catholic and simply a Christian) and Serbian Orthodox. Jan 7 is Christmas by the Julian calendar so our Christmas lights stay on through Jan 7.
December 31st. My mother was a great believer that how your home looked on New Yearās Day was how it would look the rest of the year. I make sure the vacuuming and laundry is done, too.
Some time between Christmas and New Year’s. It depends on the year and the activities we are involved in. But it has been shorter since the kids moved out.
Illustr8r – I’ve never had ShooFly pie, but my mom used to make the best pies from scratch including Mince Meat(less) as you say! My wife is a great cook, but she does not like Mince Meat so we do without.
Heh, I remember my Mom leaving the tree up until Valentine’s Day once.
BFH – we keep our ‘fake’ wreath on the front door until
St Patrick’s Day š
… then some drunken Scott steals it.
You’re supposed to take them down?
Un-decoration IN PROGRESS! If we were to wait until the HALLMARK channels quit running their sappy Christmas theme movies, they’d never get taken down!
One year my dad put a big lighted star of Bethlehem on the peak of the roof. Wired it to a light switch in the upstairs bathroom. Never took it down. You could see it all the way across thee vacant land to the other side of town. In the middle of the summer one of my brothers friends came over and said: āYeah, you can always tell when someoneās in the can at the Kavanaughās because the star lights upā. I was mortified
My wife passed away in September so I put up no outside lights. My daughter and grandsons were very picky about what went on the tree this year. I was never big on decorating but this year even less. Everything comes down after New Years day
I’ve never really thought about it. They just go up in time and they come down in time. At the 48th parallel, it’s nice having the outside lights all winter. Many in our neighborhood just leave theirs up.
We “trim” the tree with loppers and stuff it in a yard waste bag about the 2nd week of January. The other stuff gets put away about then, too.
I always miss the decorations when they’re removed.
Illustr8r — I make Norwegian meatballs (better than the Swede’s) for New Years’ dinner, served with lingonberry sauce. Geoff C. got a recipe (off MOTUS) for a gingerbread/pear upside down cake served with cognac whipped cream (it’s very pretty — and yummy).
Great topic
Usually take down around the New Year sometimes earlier.
Mom used to keep some up all year, drove me crazy, finally I just gave up. If that is what she wanted why argue. š¤
Miss ya Ma, may just leave a couple Anna Lee’s up just for you. šš
In 1983 Marshall Fields’ flagship store commissioned Maurice Sendak to create giant figures of his Nutcracker characters (from his book) to decorate their store. Many of them were animated. After the display was taken down the figures were shipped to Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet company, where they were displayed each Christmas during the Nutcracker ballet season. After 30 years of use by the PNWB, the lead harpist for the ballet orchestra acquired them and, since 2014, he has been displaying them at his home (a wonderful “storybook” house) in Ballard, a community just north of the ship canal from downtown Seattle.
We took a drive on Christmas to go look at them. I wish I could upload the pictures. The largest is the Nutcracker Prince figure, about 15′ tall.
It takes me 2 days to put up the outside lights so I am in no hurry to go out take them down I just unplug them after the epiphany.
I solved that problem by not putting any up.
After the Twelve Days of Christmas, i.e., after the Epiphany, Jan. 6. My boyhood town, Port Chester NY, would schedule a massive bonfire for old dry Christmas trees on the night of the 7th. Right on the Post Road (where a mall exists now) all townspeople would pull up and add to the fire. It was quite a memorable ritual. Of course a huge carbon footprint (GFY snowflakes).
Just finished!
1998 for me.
As today is the 3rd Day of Christmas (as i am writing this), They stay up for the remainder of the Christmas Season which ends on Epiphany (Jan 7). I don’t usually put them up until the week before the 25th.
Not until after Epiphany (January 6th) although sometimes they stay up longer!
By Easter at the latest.
Whenever the cats feel like it, sometimes days before Christmas.
Pro tip; the little white outdoor string light can be left up year round. After Christmas, they become “ambiance lights”.
Oh, there I am. Thought I had been given the Joe Stalin treatment.
I don’t decorate, ever.
January 16th. Two weeks before I leave this failed state for the greatest state in our union. FLORIDA!
I was raised that you put the tree up on Christmas Eve (keeps the kids busy) and take it down after Epiphany.
Dad tried to convince Mom that we should actually do the presents on Epiphany, like the 3 Kings bringing gifts to Baby Jesus. He wasn’t being theologically correct; he figured he could shop after Christmas and get everything on sale.
I’ve already started celebrating ST. PADDY’S DAY!
I rushed to get the decorations out of the basement and attic right after Thanksgiving and I even put up the fake tree and strung the outside lights that weekend. I don’t decorate the tree because the wife is in control of the ornaments. The tree sat there bare until the 23rd. I rushed the empty boxes back into the attic and basement that same day. Now she says she wants them back out so she can put stuff away before new years. I’m not flexing a finger to bring them back out until at least January 2.
My adult children like to tease me about how late in Advent Iād finally get a tree and how quickly after Christmas Iād dismantle it. I do like to wait til Epiphany but it rarely happens. My problem is I dislike how much the tree displaces the rest of my furniture and I really like my house feeling peaceful and tidy. Back when we cut a tree, the pine needles made me irritable
Didnāt feel like putting any up during this first year of bidens regime. Did the same thing during obama.
Named the tree Amy Winehouse because it’s gonna die and leave needles everywhere.
For the lov of god, never have I ever hurd such language, officially when the tree no longer such up a single drop of… oh christ it’s over.
Mid January.
Mom never took our tree down until Valentine’s Day. She hated to take out the tree (always had to be fresh cut when we put it up one week before Christmas). She loved the smell. By mid February, the needles started to drop (she watered it judiciously). We would prop it up in a pile of snow by the bird feeders and put bread in the branches.