To think my house looks empty and boring now that the decs are down and I have a sudden urge to buy a lot of house stuff?

[xAwaywiththefairiesx]

Decs only came down today so it's my first time sitting in my living room with it back in it's default state.

It suddenly looks so bland and boring 😭 I know I'll get used to it again but it's making me want to go online and buy loads of crap for my living room.

Anyone else feel like this when the decs come down?

Fairy lights, some nice candles and fresh flowers in a clean house helps to bridge the transition after Christmas. January is always one of the coldest months so it helps if everything is warm and cozy.

Decs down on twelfth night and internal fairy lights at Candlemas on 1st Feb.

Your dog! 😍

Exactly, most people aren’t Christian these days.

It looks stark here but I do love the clean lines and lack of clutter which the decorations create. I’ve got some decorative vases which I’ve added some fairy lights to so it keeps it a little cozy.

Don’t take your decs down so early then!

@xAwaywiththefairiesx- I’m sorry but I agree with a lot of people on here - next year wait until 12th night, or the day before the dcs go back to school (if that’s earlier), just means you are then into school routine and not at home with all the decs gone.

perhaps put your decorations up later in December next year if it’s too long with the house festive.

Is it really baffling that people live different lives to you and don’t follow Christian traditions. Are you part of a cult or commune?

I'm a maximalist so my living room is already full of things, lots of colour etc. The decorations are nice but they are somewhat stuffed in! So it will be easier when they're down. Although that won't be yet, sometime next week most likely.

If you want more stuff in your living room then get it. There's a bit of a cult of minimalism atm but your home should make you happy!

If you are putting a tree up you are already doing the tradition though aren’t you.

(not a Christian either, but the tree stays up until at least 1st Jan).

I leave some fairy lights up around the fire place until about end of January. I also have ‘winter’ lights outside in the front garden (a bit more subtle than Xmas lights) and I leave these out until the evenings start to get a bit lighter. I think one of the reasons everyone has such a downer on January is that everything looks so drab and gloomy once Xmas decs and lights come down

Oh I love mine so much. So does my youngest dc. She switches the lights on each morning when we come down, she'll be so sad. For that reason I'll be leaving them up as long as I can (until dh loses the plot 😆)

DH bought me some daffs yesterday and they do cheer me up.

I def get the post Christmas blues and feel sad when it goes away.
Think it's also my lovely adult DC heading back to their lives-which I am very proud of.
I have to tell myself to look on the bright side as their won't be lots of shoes in the front hall to trip over 😂😭

I always have lights around my bereau in hall , around my book case in sitting room , around side press in sitting room , around the mirror in bathroom , nice little tea light holders around house , makes the place cheery .
You won’t miss the decorations so much then .
You can buy lovely plug in cherry blossom trees , get one for your kitchen or Sitting room , I bought a lovely one in the range but the cat chewed the wire where the adaptor is !

It’s clearly a holiday that’s long had a separation from practicing Christians. Anyone can participate in the traditions as they see fit. Like yourself, taking it down as “early” as the first. Being baffled that some people don’t follow “christingletide” or whatever the fuck, is just ridiculous.

I've deliberately left mine up because I decided once they're down, they're down and we may as well enjoy them now the weather is turning chilly again.. Log burner in crackling away, it's snowing outside and the lights are still twinkling away.

If it was Spring as soon as Christmas was over, I'd have been more keen to get them down but it's not, it's freezing and we're still deep in winter.

Goodness me.

I took them down yesterday (New Years' eve) because we were at the MILs all day today and were then going abroad for a funeral early tomorrow and won't be back until 7th, and the kids are back at school and we are back to work from 8th

It's really irrelevant why I took them down, I would be asking the same thing if I took them down on 6th. So just pretend it's 6th if you are struggling with the concept of someone doing something differently and having the audacity to make a light-hearted post about how it makes them feel 😆

Thanks for all suggestions. I'm going to pull the fairy lights back out when we get back and it them around my fireplace :)

I've got loads of artificial flowers in vases everywhere so I'll probably just get some more

My granny always did this because she said that otherwise you took the luck of the old year into the new. I think this is probably a symptom of a difficult life where the possibility of some sort of improvement was seductive, but I still stick to it most years.

Yes but you’re not complaining about the house being bare on Mumsnet!!

You say it isn’t spring yet, but I did spot these in the shop on Boxing Day 🤣

I always leave some fairy lights up until Spring. Always sad to pack up the tree, it's my favourite thing about Christmas 🎄

Nope. It’s a relief to get all that shit taken down and put away for another year. I did it all yesterday and got the house clean and straight. The lights and decs mean nothing to me once Christmas has been and gone and I like a clean, clutter-free home, so would never be looking for more crap to fill it up with.

Dear Lord, don't admit to having artificial flowers on mumsnet......the villagers will be on their way with their pitchforks 😉

I will be taking mine down today. I hate going back to work with the decorations still up as work is manic in January and it just adds more stress of a job not yet done.

due to the bank holidays, we aren't back to work/school here until Monday, but I would/have taken them down earlier if back at work on the 3rd (am in Scotland so 2nd is a bank holiday).

so much judgment about others not following "tradition". People do what's right for them, but it's still ok to miss them when they are down irrespective of why someone has chosen a certain day to take them down. If the op had waited, she still would have felt the room bare when they were away.

i love fairy lights, so have them on the mantle all year round. Also have flowers I have put away for Christmas to come back out as well.