Okay, we are done with Christmas for another year. When do you take down your Christmas tree and other related decorations? I'm ready to start the process today but my lovely SO wants to wait until first week of January. So I will wait. Happy New Year!
I actually stopped putting one up - or decorations - to start with. It didn't seem worth it just for me, apart from which, I started to hate the 'empty/bare' feeling when they were taken down. At least I saved myself all the work - and storage space
I've been known to take it down after supper on Christmas Day. Usually, it's December 26th when I start working on it. When I was a child, we always took everything down New Years Day. This year, I've been in a particularly good mood for Christmas, so it might just sit there for a few more days.
When I was growing up, we all loved looking at the Christmas tree, so we left it up as long as possible. I was an only child, and my birthday comes early in January, so i always asked for the tree to be left up until my birthday, which we generally always did, unless it started getting too dry and shedding needles, and had to come down sooner. Now, we have a little 22 inch fiber optic that is sitting on the counter, so it could stay up all year and not be a problem, but Bobby will probably put it away after New Year’s Day.
This is exactly the way I was for the 22 years I was single/divorced. Basically, I just looked forward to having the holidays off and paid. Then, after meeting my wife in 2000, and seeing just how much her family decorated/celebrated Christmas, I really got into it. Every year we have put up a Christmas tree (fake and real) since we met and later married.
I just asked my wife the "when?", about taking down decor, question just last night. She has the Monday after NYD off, so we'll begin then. No outdoor decor this year, so don't have to worry about that.
We always put up the tree one evening right after school was out for Christmas vacation. Took it down January 1st, or at least before school started back up again. I don't do a tree now, but sometimes decorate the porch or the banister on the stairs, with a string of lights.
I went to a friend's house once in July and there sat a fully-decorated Christmas tree, completely bare of needles. She said, "I haven't had time to take it down." She had been sweeping up needles as they fell until they were all gone. Okayyyyy......
I didn't put one up. I decided since two friends coming over had babies just learning to stand and attempt walking, that I wouldn't move the chair to put up a tree and the little girls could make the horseshoe loop hanging on to furniture and have a safe place to crash when they attempted to jaywalk across the room. That allowed for only the fireplace area to be guarded by great-grandma and grandma while I and the kids played cards and other games. I hosted the annual friends and family Christmas eve day shindig. Lots of Christmas stew and cookies and everyone had fun. I do a no-gift thing with the fellowship of loved ones being the gift exchange. A couple of my fake nephews think they are ousting me from my rightful throne of comic sarcasm, but they were wrong. The one that prides himself on being the family king of comedy, failed to get more than half-ass smiles at his best jokes, so he directed what he thought was gut-splitting funny about me, drawing a few smiles and expected me to laugh ...... but I didn't! Faye: "The next time you attempt a joke Leroy, and expect me to laugh, please notify me beforehand, so I will know my cue when to laugh." That made everyone laugh including the babies. Old fake auntie is still in the game.
Normally, we would after New Year's Day. However, we have been observing Christmas on January 7, as far as exchanging gifts. While that is the day that some of the Orthodox Churches observe Christmas, we do it so that we can take advantage of the after-Christmas sales. While recognizing that Christ was almost certainly not born on December 25, we do acknowledge that day as Christmas, just not the gift part.
We didn't put one up this year so all I have to do is take the Christmas wreath off the front door, which I'll probably do now since it's on my mind.