Too early to take the decorations down?

[Jenasaurus]

Ive just taken the tree down, as find the decorations depressing after Christmas is over, but my DD (24) thinks I have taken them down too soon. I know its unlucky having them up after 6th January but is there a date that is too soon to take them down.

I put them up in November as we were away for 3 weeks of December, so they have been up a while, I feel bad that I have upset my DD though.

So many of you cannot wait to put the tree up and are putting it up earlier and earlier. Then as soon as Christmas day is over cannot wait to take it down. Crazy.

Totally not bothered what other people do. But I don't like anything up in December apart from Advent things - calendar, candles, etc. I put my tree up on Christmas Eve as a rule and take it down at Epiphany.

We put our tree up just before the solstice, and take it down on Epiphany. I leave the wreath and the fireplace decorations until Candlemas, when I switch to seasonal early spring decorations. Our village church used to leave decorations up until Candlemas but the last few years they've been taken down for on 6th January.
Maybe someone got fed up of being told they'd forgotten to take their tree down.

I usually take mine down well after New Years but I think this year it's going to have to go as we need the space for a new years party.

Mine came down yesterday. Up for 5 days. A record even for me.

I think it's your house and you can do what the hell you like . Mine are down because Christmas is over.

surlycurly I do get where you're coming from re. hypocrisy but I also think that this business of putting the tree up so much earlier is relatively new. I genuinely don't remember people having their decorations up throughout December when I was a child. Maybe some people have always done it but it wasn't a thing amongst my family and friends.

I also detect a certain amount of smugness in the "My house is now ultra-clean and tidy unlike you with all your messy Christmassy houses" brigade. Otherwise, why post about it?

Our decorations went up mid December and my tree is down but other stuff is still up. DH's birthday was the 27th so it feels less Christmassy after that

@PegHughes agreed re the decorations going up much earlier than in our yoof... but retail starts selling in mid Nov so it's not a shock that people buy into it earlier and earlier. And as for the smugness of the OP, that I didn't detect. I do have autism and find the mess of Christmas pretty stressful so like to go back to my original environment as soon as possible, and I'm aware of people with OCD who are similar. And maybe some people are smug. But I'm not religious so I'm not keeping stuff about for no reason when I feel like it's coming in at me like that scene in star wars! Each to their own and all that.

@surlycurly Yeah, I'm probably reading a smugness in it that isn't there. And I do see that some people would find the mess rather stressful. Ignore me - I'm just being a bit grumpy today.

Each to their own and all that. Absolutely, vive la différence

@PegHughes it's still the holidays- have a gin. Hope your day improves x

have a gin Good idea! It might help me get over myself.

@PegHughes

I get what you're saying, and I think you're right, people rarely used to have Christmas decorations/fairy lights up til around 20th December. Indeed, when I was a child, Santa's elves my dad didn't put the tree and the decorations up til the night of Christmas Eve Eve. (23rd December.)

I would go to bed at 8 or 9pm on the 23rd, and wake up on Christmas Eve morning, with everything decorated; crepe paper streamers hanging from the ceiling, balloons pinned up (in threes) in the corner(s) of the ceiling, and a lovely 6ft Christmas tree, 🎄 covered in tinsel and glass baubles, with a star on top. I have goosebumps right now thinking about it, coz it was sooooooooo exciting. 😊 (Then they all mysteriously disappeared when I came home from school, or out from playing with my friends, on the Epiphany... 6th of January.)

We started putting ours up on the first week of December (between the 3rd and 7th depending on where the weekend fell,) when the kids were little, because they found it so exciting. We'd do it when they'd gone to bed, and they'd be SO excited when they saw it all the next day, and would sit under the Christmas tree, looking in wonder and excitement at the lights, and the baubles, and the tinsel glistening with all the fairy lights making it twinkle.

And it's just kind of stuck with us.

I also think people put the lights and decorations up around 1st of December now, because even though it's 'twelve days of Christmas' (25th December to 6th Jan,) as people keep saying; a lot of people go back to work on 27th/28th December these days. (Some are even made/expected to go back Boxing Day! )

Pre 21st century, most people I knew (including me and DH) would be off work from 2 to 3 days before Christmas, right through to 2 or 3 days after New Years Day. So we'd get a full 10 to 12 days off.

Not many people get a 10 to 12 day break anymore (like from 22nd-23rd December to the first week in January. And also, many Works Christmas parties are between the 5th and 10th of December. So many people do have the spirit of Christmas by the first week of December.

I put my tree up on 01 December but have been away visiting family for a week over Christmas, I'm back to work tomorrow and don't want the hassle of taking it down on new year's day so I'm just in the process of taking it down. It's started dropping needles so it's time. I'm not sure how I'm going to get it through the shared hallway of the flats without shedding loads of needles, any advice welcome.

Seems a shame to me. It's not traditional to take down before 12th night (though this is the evening if 5th, not 6th January).

Also some of us poor old full time working folk were flat out until Christmas Eve. I don't think I got to sit in my living room for more than half an hour at a time in December, until Christmas Day. I go back to work on 2nd and this is my lovely "Christmas slump" when I lay in the sofa finally enjoying the tree and its twinkling lights, munching quality street and drinking wine/ brandy etc. Also we meet up with various friends and relatives between Christmas day and new year's day, exchange presents, eat festive food and even still wish each other merry Christmas (gasp!)

I love the decorations. If you think they just look like "clutter" you need to get some nicer ones like mine!

@honeylulu I wouldn't embarrass myself by assuming that 1) other people on the thread don't work full time or 2) we all have tatty decorations. Or maybe you were trying to be funny. You should work on that.

Put them up on18th. Said to D today as we were going for a walk ‘ when shall we take the decorations down? “Soon “ he said . We exchanged a look , turned on our heels and - voila , all gone ! Lovely
Enjoyed them when they were up but hate them dragging on into the New Year . ( No visitors left or expected and no children in the house, though - used to leave them until New Year’s Day when our DC weee small. )

@MistyCloud Yes, you're quite right about people working to different schedules nowadays - I hadn't considered any of that. Also, thinking about when I was a child, most of the mothers I knew were at home - so that would probably have made a difference to the way things were done.I didn't think it through, did I?

In any case, as surlycurly said, it's all down to individual preference. It doesn't affect me if other people take their tree down on Boxing Day or whatever. And I must admit that, even though I don't decorate until much later, I enjoy seeing other people's trees and lights all through December.

So, having admitted to being a bit of a hypocrite, I'll shut up for now.

Mine came down on the 28th. Although the past few years I’ve taken them down in Boxing Day. I love Christmas but I also love getting all the decorations away, having a good clean and sort out and getting the house straight before the new year.

@PegHughes

You haven't been hypocritical!

Have to agree with @surlycurly though. @honeylulu probably didn't mean anything by it, but her posts did come across as assuming people who put their decorations/tree/fairy lights up in early to mid December don't work!

I have always worked (full time and part time and then full time again and then part time again,) as well as running the family home and raising kids (along with DH,) and HE has always worked full time. Yet, SHOCKER!!! we have still always managed to get the decorations, and Christmas tree, and fairy lights up before the end of the first week in December. (As well as managing to buy all our Christmas gifts for people!)

Makes me wonder how anyone functions from day to day, let alone copes with Christmas, if they can't manage to pop up a few bits of tinsel and a few streamers, and the Christmas tree and a few fairy lights before Christmas Eve. Also very odd to be 'exchanging gifts with friends 'during the week between Christmas day and New Years Day...'

Most people exchange gifts with friends before Christmas day!

Mine are all down and packed away. Just had a quick clean and feel ready for the new year now. Have always disliked waking up on ew years day with the decorations still up.

Also very odd to be 'exchanging gifts with friends 'during the week between Christmas day and New Years Day...'

Most people exchange gifts with friends before Christmas day! confused

I don't think it's that strange. For a lot of people Christmas Day and Boxing Day are with family so between then and New Year is the perfect time for catching up with friends and exchanging gifts then

Mine came down today.

Just wanted them down, and to be able to relax over the remaining time off.

Visiting family tomorrow, and new year's Day. Leaves New Year's eve to chill completely. Before back to work on the 2nd.

I can't get worked up about what other people do in their own homes. Your house, your tree, your rules.

I'm in no hurry to take ours down. DH and I are both back at work on the 6th of Jan so we'll probably take ours down on the 5th.

We buy a real tree so it’s dead as fuck and ready to be taken down, I just feel a bit guilty about it because it’s still December. I usually wait until early January if I can, depends on how bad the needle drop is which varies year to year. This year it’s pretty bad.

We usually take ours down on new year's day, but we have done it this morning.

This was mostly because our £65 'non-drop' tree was absolutely fucked and the branches were so bare, the expensive glass ornaments were sliding off them and smashing on the wooden floor.

I was a bit sad to see the mantelpiece greenery and lights go, but it does look lovely and clean and bare in our sitting room now.