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?

Oh I don’t think I was clear … don’t do it! Yes they look awesome. So awesome that they’re still there after hours of scrubbing 🫠

Oh haha! Yes sorry I misread and thought you were saying they were fab!! Maybe I'll steer clear.... 🤣

I was so pleased when I did the back windows that I did the front too. They looked beautiful. But NEVER AGAIN.

OP you absolutely don’t have to remove your decorations.
Embrace the lovely tradition of taking them down at Candlemas ( essentially another month away)
I love sitting by my tree on gloomy January evenings.

Ours are all down now - but leaving the Lego village out for a few weeks more until I can be bothered to swap the modular buildings back in
My house never looks bare as I’m a bit of a collector!
Poinsettia, cyclamen are both still flowering so they are staying and I’ve also got a bowl of hyacinths and pot of mini daffodils to look forward to
DPs birthday is in January so am taking him away for 3 nights in a spa hotel in Yorkshire
Then will be going somewhere warmer in February - due to work commitments I won’t be able to leave the country again till the Autumn
I do have lots of other things to look forward to this year from March onwards

Love Christmas and how the house looks. Was nice to get cleared up yesterday though but the front room looks naked.

That would be lovely! Chinese new year just around the corner too!

I remember going to work on December 27th to find building maintenance taking the tree in reception down.

I find it quite satisfying every year. Always do it on New Years Day and love the feeling of having more space where the tree once was. I keep neutral fairy lights on my fireplace and some candles all year round.

not in the same way…Christmas for me is about spending time with family, doing lots of fun Christmassy activities like panto, visiting my local Christmas market, Christmas afternoon tea, hosting friends and family. I literally plan and book in lots of Christmassy things along with planning my decorations and what colour scheme I’m going to do and what gifts I think people would love. I spend time on the wrapping of the gifts, paper co-ordinating with the tree. I light advent candles on the run up. It’s a whole thing, and I love it all! So whilst I do look forward to other things like birthdays holidays etc it’s not the same magical quality as Christmas.

Start planning which seeds you will buy for the garden /tubs this year. If you have a warm window or sunny place you can start a few off next month.

I’m definitely keeping up fairy lights over the fireplace, and this year I’ve decided to also keep my deep red velvet cushions and red accent throws on the sofas through January. I normally switch out the red for neutrals for spring but the red feels warmer and cosier. I’ve also treated myself to some flowers like lots of you suggested to brighten up the rest of the downstairs. It’s not Christmas but it’s cosy.

Hi OP, I completely understand this feeling so you’re definitely not alone! Would you consider getting some more neutral “winter” decorations that you can keep up through January and February? Or consider getting some decorations for other holidays that you like to celebrate as a family (Burns Night, Valentine’s Day, St David’s Day, Easter)? If you don’t particularly celebrate any holidays other than Christmas, maybe this year could be a good time to start? Even having just one lovely tradition for a few holidays in the year would help ease this feeling, I think. It would help you to look forward to the next thing.

I am Pagan and we have 8 major holidays in the year (including Yule which shares a lot of symbolism with Christmas), and I also enjoy decorating for other holidays like the ones I mentioned above, and celebrating them. You don’t need to go overboard if storage space for decorations is an issue - just a few accent pieces would brighten up the space - but because I decorate year-round I never have this sad feeling because I’m immediately replacing it with something and I know there’ll be something else to celebrate soon. My home is never neutral haha, it’s a lovely way to feel constantly grounded in the changing seasons as well (especially important if you live in a city)

Just took the garlands off the back and the rest comes down today. The feeling is ‘that’s another year over’, which at my age (60s) feels a bit regretful, like taking stock and what have I (not) done? One child has flown and my DD returns to uni so I won’t see her til Easter break.
Christmas is filled with such nostalgia- of childhood memories and if your parents (and in my case my husband too) are no longer alive it becomes more poignant. Taking it all down marks the passing of time, with less before us than behind for some of us.

I took mine down yesterday, it does look a bit bare. I think because they’re up for a short time is what makes the decorations special. The saying is always leave the audience wanting more!

I do change the decor seasonally and celebrate Easter and autumn, but I guess it’s not the nostalgia that comes with Christmas! I love the idea of winter decorations…to sort of ease out of Christmas so definitely going to investigate that…thank you!

Could you not have twinkly lights up all year? Maybe theme decorations to the season like people do with door decorations (spring / summer / autumn / hallowe'en etc.)
It's your home, decorate it with whatever makes you happy!

❤️

I’m leaving fairy lights up and other winter decorations.

I also feel sadder than usual at taking things down. I’m not sure why as I love January/February and also love to plan my gardening year.

Maybe it’s the passing of time.

Reframe what you're doing.

Your title calls what you're doing "getting rid of Christmas decorations". What an incredibly negative way to think about it. It isn't what you're doing. You're putting away decorations until next year. You're not "getting rid" of anything.

Reframe this process as a moment of renewal, change and a new phase. You're transforming your house toward a functional, clean, tidy family home. You're preparing your space for a productive and happy year ahead.

Then embrace Easter. Do Easter. Go big. Basically reproduce Christmas - lights, decorations, presents, jumpers, food, drink, TV. Make your house all festive and twinkly and beautiful at Easter. It won't be exactly the same but it'll be a different version of the same thing. It's wonderful. I love Easter. Shops have absolutely beautiful Easter-themed decorations these days.

I'm not religious BTW - this is purely about presents, decorations, food, wine, chilling, family, vibes...

Informal floral display here tonight - also bought a new snuggly blanket and a summer dress for next holiday!

Oh o move straight into spring decorations. Then summer, then autumn the Christmas. Why dos it just have to be a Christmas thing

Yeah, it's somehow just not as gloomy as it is in the UK. It's bloody cold still (comparatively, cold compared to the summer, but not as cold as here (UK)). I don't know how to explain it really, it just didn't feel so cold. So dark, so gloomy.

One reason I LOVE the UK is the proper 4 seasons. I LOVE NZ (for other reasons) but when I luve there u badly miss the seasons.

Ooh thanks for answering @WinterWooliesBaa ! It's something I've always wondered about. I know it might sound a bit naive, but I've never been there.

I struggle with uk winter due to the dark and cold, but Christmas gets me through it because it's like a bright mid-point. I just wondered what it was like in NZ or Oz if you don't have that sparkly bit in the middle of the dark season.

(I also can't imagine having Christmas lights in summer when it's sunny and the flowers are out!)

Like I said, some how it's just not as gloomy so I never thought about it.

But having grown up in the U.K. until I was 9, Christmas in NZ was weird! We maintained the British Traditional Christmas Dinner for a good few years, but eventually adapted & had a BBQ instead!

You have to wait until late at night to appreciate the lights. There is (or used to be anyway) one street in Auckland that they go all out & decorate outside & it's worth a late night drive to see.

You get to play with your outside toys! Bike/trampoline/body boards etc!!

but it's not Christmas & I love it here!! 😍

I miss spending Jan/Feb camping though.