To feel so sad about getting rid of Christmas decorations

[Powerups]

Every year it’s the same, I spend all year looking forward to Christmas so much, planning my decorations and making it beautiful and so twinkly and festive. Every single room has the magic of Christmas,

I love how my home feels and looks at Christmas yet today have started packing it all away and feel so terrible, the excitement and twinkly lights are gone, my home feels bare and I feel really sad.

I do recognise that there are far worse things going on In the world and this is a bit trivial in the grand scheme of things but wondered if anyone else feels the same and any advice to help with the post Christmas blues?

This! There's no rule you have to take things down!

I take down cards/santa decorations/really christmassy stuff but lights and candles and tealights and tree all stay for January. I used to dislike January until I started doing this. Now it really gets me through it and I actually enjoy it.

Question for Aussies/Kiwis/anyone who's lived there - how do you get through your dark winter without the twinkliness of Christmas in it? Is the winter just not as dark and gloomy as in the UK?

During the lockdown Xmas/New Year lots of people left their outside Xmas lights up into February in order to make days cheerier.

So adorable, no wonder you can't face it going BooksandCats123, please tell me your lovely husband is planning a Valentine window!

I’ve left some of my twinkly lights up. Not the trees, I took those down, but some lights I have left up. Think I will leave them for a while at least - lord knows I need some cheering up at the moment, and they are so pretty.

I wish people wouldn’t “rush” Xmas to be over and embrace Xmas not being finished until 2 February

@BooksandCats123, Is your husband the one who did the frankly awesome windows? If so, I’d leave them up! He should really do new ones for every ‘festival’.

I hear you.

I was going to take everything down today but I’ve picked up a low level bug and so not feeling it today.

I’ll try for tomorrow after work but I think I will leave a few twinkly lights up in the kitchen and light some tealights around the fireplace.

I always feel a bit melancholy at the end of the Xmas break and the Summer break.

That’s lovely and I definitely wouldn’t be washing that off now!

Everything packed away except warm white lights - ‘winter lights’

I have fireplaces, candles and blankets for simple coziness in two room downstairs and one upstairs.

I switch up my accent cushions too.

I see it as a visual reset aligned to renewal and planning that is also about comfort

We have a "tradition" where when the tree comes down (today) we get half a dozen bunches of daffodils to brighten up the gaps. (Cornish, M&S)

Really looks fresh and lovely.

The tree and other stuff came down yesterday, not so many cards the last few years. The window fairy lights will stay till 2nd Feb.

I'm going to gently theme every month this year. The tree came down today, and I've added white and red scented candles, and white and red themed flowers and house plants.

February, I'm going to add red and pink etc.

I'm very tempted to get some lights out of the loft.

I do, I have some twinkly lights in candle holders, candles etc. I’ve given everything a good clean today too.
I put up lots of external fairy lights all year.

even with loads of vacuuming you will probably be finding pine needles until june so you can look back fondly

We are well known in our area for our living room window! It isn't even OTT but just some well-placed neon lights and candy cane etc. decorations. It's always the talk of where we live, lol. Only takes us 10 minutes to put up.

It is sad taking it down, so I always keep one item from the display up all year round. Just not in the window. This year we have kept one of the neon lights but moved it into the living room. I also "forget" to take tinsel off at least one picture. That sort of thing.

Packed our trees away today too… and am looking at holidays too!!

I’ve packed away all the Christmas decorations, but I still have plenty of twinkly lights left out. It looked so bare, and made me miserable so I’ve decorated my wall mirror and vase of twigs with icicles, pine cones and faux berries. It looks gorgeous - wintery but not Christmassy. I’ve also left my outside Christmas tree up - I bought a real tree from home bargains at the beginning of December for my decking, and decorated it with iridescent white baubles and pink/teal/purple/lilac lights. It looks absolutely beautiful, hasn’t dropped any needles and makes me happy so I’m keeping it up for a while yet!

I'm planning on doing this this year, just keeping the string of lights outside. It looks so much cheerier on the dark evenings. The tree will be taken down tomorrow though, along with all the other decorations around the house

The church's tree and nativity stay up until Candlemas, February 2nd this year.

It needs to go. Christmas stuff after the 6th is tawdry and depressing and has an air of Miss Havisham

You spend all year looking forward to it? There must be other parts of the year you look forward to- holidays/summer/birthdays etc?

No regrets, I'm ready to move on to the calmer, quiter pace of January now after Christmas excesses. If it was Christmas all the time it would lose any meaning. There's a calm and peace to early Jan I quite like.

I took the tree down today but the many, many fairy lights in the hall, dining room, living room and front and back gardens will stay up as they have done for the last 5 years. When outside is dark and dank nothing lifts my spirit like a house full of twinkle.

I think we will try paint pens next year, they look awesome and better for the environment. Dds are pretty creative so I think they'll look good.

Keep these until at least mid February - they are lovely perfect winter decorations!