So... when do you put YOUR Christmas tree up?

[TooMuchCaffeine]

DH and I are not really into Christmas and only really have the tree for DS. Last year ours went up in early December, and to be honest I got fed up with looking at it by the time Christmas came. Our tree always comes down on New Years Day - always.

The last couple of years as DS (now 8) has got older, it has been fun decorating the tree together and become somewhat of a ritual in our little family. We have always had Christmas just the three of us as our family is quite fragmented and spread out (physically and emotionally)

SOmeone on my Facebook wrote theirs is going up this weekend. I was thinking of doing it on the 16th when they break up from school which is when I feel the "holiday" really starts. What do you all think?

ours goes up the weekend before Christmas and comes down a couple of days after Christmas.

I've noticed this year that the number of people putting up their trees and decs extremly early are on the increase. Nov 9th saw four up in our village- far too early

I'd like to know that about the lights on windows too, 5moreminutes. I did it with white-tac last year and they fell off about three times an hour. Or so it seemed....

When we first put lights up in the window I used little rubber suckers which were (supposedly) made for the job. Problem was if you got any condensation on the windows they would pop off.

So now I use these little plastic hooks with sticky velcro fasteners on. I know some people just pin/tack them into the window frames, but I really don't want little holes all over my windows.

PS I got both types of hooks in B&Q last year - they had conveniently put them in the Christmas decorations section

We're putting ours up at the weekend, we love christmas but we normally take them down by new years day.

We usually have a massive Christmas tree, masses of decorations ( have about 20 crates of them) and generally at Christmas overdo everything. Have decided to do without a tree and just do all the other decorating. Just interested to see how it feels.

It will be going up on the 10th after we pick it up from the school Christmas Tree sale.

And down on the 2nd

Ah - thank you BadTasteFlump - I will investigate the DIY shop for little plastic hooks with sticky velcro fasteners - I had no idea such things existed! If I can find the hooks I will buy the lights! (DH will disapprove... the kids will be ecstatic).

After DDs birthday on 20th. Have a half scandi family so we also have a special meal on Christmas Eve.

DH and I have a annual tug of war about this. I'm scandinavian, so I don't want the tree up until the 23rd Dec and down on 13th Jan (20th night). DH is British and wants the tree up MUCH earlier and down on 7th Jan (day after Epiphany). We usually reach a compromise: up on the 23rd, down on the 7th. We also celebrate a Scandinavian Christmas Eve and and British Christmas Day, so DS (and we) get presents two days in a row .

Normally first weekend in December this has just been post child though-prior to that 16th/17th December.

Always down 2nd Jan in fact I start putting bits away on New Years day if I am bored- such an exciting life

We're a 12 before & 12 after family (or the nearest w/end to each). So this year tree will be up on the Sat 10th or Sun 11th and down again on the 6th or maybe Sat 7th .

Normally, up Christmas Eve, down on 12th Night.

This year for complex reasons (and for the first time in my entire life, as the Christmas Eve thing is my familiy's tradition) we will be putting it up a day or two earlier.

i love putting up a tree and all the decs but try to hang back a bit so as not to appear a nutcase. sat 10th this year for us. cant wait as its been a very tough year in so many ways and i think it will be very therapeutic for us as a family (me, dh and 3 kids) to buy it and decorate the house. we will make a deal of it and have a nice dinner and a few drinks that night. then we will just enjoy the build up and then im going to spoil my kids rotten on the big day!!! (ie spend lots of quality time with them, not just buy lots of toys)
we take it down on about the 3rd or 4th, but def by the 5th.

Before kids, the tree went up on the day after I finished work for Christmas - the day the school closed. It would usually be up for 2 weeks, then down again.

Now I have kids it goes up much earlier. I initially thought I'd put it up tomorrow (1st Dec) but now I am thinking that won't happen. My dining room needs a spring clean before the tree goes up and I haven't done that yet.

I may get off my bum and do it on my day off on Fri and surprise the kids (and annoy the DH as he is a bit bah humbug about Christmas) but then again....

It always comes down on 1st Jan. Christmas is officially over and it is deeply wrong as far as I am concerned to go to work when school opens again still have the tree up.

Goes up 21st / 22nd Dec. Whenever I finish work / school & nursery break up.

Will take it down on 2nd Jan.

I grew up with a real Xmas tree so don't mind leaving it 'til late.

10% late night shopping on a Thursday at garden centre so be buying Thursday 8th! You need to soak them good and proper so probably be inside for the weekend.

My birthday on 4th Dec, so usually like to do the tree for that (artificial only though - can't bear needle drop) as it makes my day feel more special!

BUT, having family round for lunch on Sunday and going out for day on Saturday so I put it up last Saturday (DH wasn't so sure) although still waiting to put boxes back in loft as I don't think decs look quite right...

DH wants to do it this weekend, which is a bit early really, but we probably will. I would quite happily take the damn thing down on Boxing Day but usually do it before the schools go back in january.

the week before Christmas, after DH and the DC have broken up so prob around the 17th, comes down on Twelveth Night, the 5th Jan IIRC

I'm getting married on the 10th and we have to decorate a massive tree at the venue so us and our immediate family are having to wait until after then as all our decorations are being used for that!

Our family tradition was always to decorate the tree on christmas eve, but DH prefers it earlier. So now it's generally bought the weekend before Christmas.

We always have a real tree, and it has to stay up at least until 12th night - so will probably come down w/e 7/8 Jan this year..

17th for us....dd (4) cant wait so may have to buckle and go for the 10th but currently holding out for 17th.

Wow - you are all so tasteful and restrained. I now feel slightly guilty, like I have festive incontinence or something.

I did say that DS1 could change the front door bell tune to something festive on Dec 1. What kind of fool was I? I can clearly see now that is far far too early (in my defence, I was under quite severe fire).

And once again, even though I was born of middle class parents, I can I have failed the middle class entrance exam. I might as well just go eat KFC.

I feel as though I ought to leave it as late as possible, but I don't, mainly because I really suffer on the dark days, and fairy lights REALLY cheer me up. I would like to FILL my house with them, from, say, October. But I don't.