When do you take down the Christmas decorations?

[JosephFrancis]

I am always itching to do it on Boxing Day. I don't, but I want to. I usually last until New year's Eve, but I think this year has felt really unchristmassy and I want everything taken down now! I will keep it up for the kids but does anyone else just want it all put away?

We usually take the tree down about twelfth night as it's getting dry and brown by then, but all the other bits we leave up till Candlemas on 2nd February! Keeps the house feeling cosy and festive through the dreariest months of the year :)

That's really good for you. Glad you have that flexibility.

Off the top of my head, we have:

Twelfth Night
Epiphany
Plough Monday
Wassaling at the Community Orchard
Ice skating
Ski-ing
Burns' Night

in the diary so far for January.

DC will choose their poems for Burns' Night when they return to school and will need to practise daily if they want to win the school trophy!

I have tiny micro fairy lights wrapper around a wicker chair and across my shelves that stay on until spring!

@RafaistheKingofClay - this is a really nice seasonal book. I’ve just finished reading it - Wheel of the Year

Yep- me too!! Clean and tidy for New Year's Day. I like to wake up to a fresh start.

I take ours down on New Year’s Day. We always have a party at home then so I take them down the following morning when I’m tired and hung over! Dh is usually away from 4-9th January so it’s good to have it all packed away in the loft before he leaves.

Our decorations were gone and away by 10am this morning

Ours are up from the first weekend of December until Twelfth Night.

Why take them down on Boxing Day? 🤔 It's only the second day of Christmas! We haven't even got to five gold rings yet 😂

You use Boxing Day as the second day of Christmas but many of us don’t and Christmas is now over and the focus is on looking forward to the NY.

I only finished putting them up on Christmas Eve! We’ll start taking some high up ones down on the 2nd as my husband is going away but normally take them down on the 5th/6th. 2nd January is a public holiday here in Scotland so we’d normally be hosting or going to friends parties on the 31st, 1st and 2nd and the decorations are still up for all of those.

Ours will come down on Twelfth Night. They went up on 22nd December so they will have been up for two weeks when they come down. I never understand those taking them down when it's still Christmas.

I put the decorations up 18/19th and they won't be coming down until 6th Jan.

@Parker231 But New Years is part of Christmas too :) New Year's Eve is the seventh day of Christmas and New Year's Day is the eighth. I can't imagine having the house looking bear for New Years Eve.

Ours are solstice decorations and are coming down today. We are about to start redecorating the dining room so some of them are in the way. The wreath will probably stay up for a few more days until the greenery starts to look dry.

Because they want to?

It isn't using it as the 2nd day of Christmas, it just is the 2nd day of Christmas. You chose to only celebrate Christmas during Advent and on the first of the 12 days but that doesn't stop today only being the 2nd day.

@TheBirdintheCave - yours isn’t a tradition we follow. Christmas starts with Sinterklass on 5 December and Christmas Day is the main event (not the seventh day - not heard of that before). I like a fresh clean house for the NY - don’t want any decorations hanging around.

New Year and Christmas are separate, very different celebrations.

My theory is it moves. I’m basing this on the fact that I attempted to buy Christmas decorations around the 15th and 16th and lots of places had got rid of them or were selling the last few bits discounted. Sainsbury’s had definitely replaced their display with New Year stuff. M&S had virtually nothing other than food left.

Shops clearly weren’t expecting people with no decorations to start decorating towards the end of December.

I’m normally a 1st or 2nd January person. I used to follow the 12th night system but now I’m a teacher, by the time we get to the 6th January my workload is already rocketing into orbit at the end of that first week back and the last thing I want to face is taking it all down. So I aim to get it all down and give the house a full clean up before I return to school, which this year is the 3rd.

Do you put up all the decorations for Sinterklaas? Just interested as you don't come across many on Mumsnet.

We put up a few paper decorations, specifically St. Nicholas themed- the boat, horse and so on, but the actual decorations and tree not up until a couple of weeks later.

This is me and have a deep clean

Some time between NYD and 12th night - depends a bit on when school term starts.

My uncle and auntie used to put their tree up on 1st December then take it down on Boxing Day because 'Christmas is over now' 🤔. I suspect that was more his doing than hers but now he's dead so I'll never know. Bit odd though, especially as he was a big fan of Christmas.

Jan 6th.