Is it still Christmas with you?

[OpheIiaBaIIs]

Definitely is here! I've just had Christmas cake and coffee from my shiny new machine for breakfast with the tree twinkling away. This weekend we'll be catching up on Christmas TV we've missed, eating the rest of the Christmas food and having our Twelfth Night Party before we reluctantly pack everything away and DH goes back to work on Monday. It still feels very festive here!

So many of our neighbours have taken their decorations and lights down - the street that was so twinkly and pretty a few days ago looks so bare and dreary now, the spoilsports . I leave lots of fairy lights up through January because I think the darkest part of the year needs them. And I leave some up all year, with extras at Easter which we 'do' like a mini-Christmas. Very much of the belief that Christmas is a season, not a day!

Feeling a tad griefy that it's coming to an end but looking forward to a last lovely weekend! How about you?

All the chocolate got finished today so Xmas is officially over chez nous! Everything is put away now apart from the lights on the outside tree, because it was pouring and they’re lovely!

The decorations are down as from today. Full clean done, bedding and towels etc washed and stored for Christmas 2020. Ive purchased some new pieces to give the house a lift. Bedroom has had a mini makeover now the garlands, lights and festive scents have gone, replaced by new cosy bedding, throw and pillows, room diffusers and some lanterns with remote wax led candles ( I don't do real candles in bedrooms). I'll miss the Christmas decor in there but I'm looking forward to chilling out in there tonight. new giant Aldi candle brought out to go on the coffee table, some large lanterns with wax led candles in bought today now sit on the floor, it looks very cosy. I haven't spent that much but it cosys it up for the dull months ahead before spring. Just need a new rug and that's finished for now. Still have two bottles of Bailey's left and some Christmas food leftover, chocs, nuts etc. Oh and two unopened pate in the fridge to eat this week. I'm not quite ready to let go just yet though, I'll prob do a Christmas dinner this week and watch some Christmassy bits I've missed.

We've still got the tree and decorations up! We probably won't keep them up until Candlemas (2nd Feb) [traditional] but we've definitely enjoyed the Christmassyness over the last few days!

I do not understand the 'Up in November, down on Boxing Day' school of thought at all! Christmas starts on 25th December! I wish more people celebrated the full 12 days.

Tomorrow is 'Three Kings Day'/Epiphany so it makes sense to still have the decorations up!

Kids are back to school/nursery today (thank goodness!) and it's just me and the baby. I put the decorations away yesterday but having a day of watching holiday baking championships, eating the left over Treeselets and Pringles, finishing the Christmas cordial.

Going to sit with a candy cane hot chocolate (hot chocolate with creme de menthe, marshmallows, spray cream and crushed candy cane dust) and go through my Christmas planner to make notes of who sent cards and make notes on what I want to do differently this year while it's still fresh in my head.

I do not understand the 'Up in November, down on Boxing Day' school of thought at all!

Likewise, I don’t understand the ‘up on Christmas Eve and still around in January’ option

It depends on what Christmas means to you - for many it’s about the build up to Christmas, for others it’s religious, hence the 2 schools of thought

And some of us aren’t religious at all but like fairy lights —and leave them up all year—.

Happy Epiphanytide!

I'm a bit confused about when 12th night should be. Christmas starts at sun-down on 24 December, and counting 12 nights forward from that gets me to sun-down on 4 January, ie the evening of 4 Jan is twelfth night and then 5 January is the twelfth day of christmas, until sundown of 5 January when it becomes Epiphany until sun-down on 6 January. Is that right?

Still Christmas season here absolutely BTW! We progressively decorate the house through Advent this is a compromise because DP would festoon the place on Advent Sunday given half the chance and I would decorate on Christmas Eve and progressively un-decorate the place through January until Candlemas. I agree January is too depressing to get through without nice candles especially this year. Apart from anything else I want to wring as much value as possible from our ridiculously expensive Weihnachtspyramid; I needed a stiff Glühwein mit Schuß after we bought it in Munich a few years ago. Unfortunately the stiff Glühwein mit Schuß was also ridiculuously expensive.

We got all the boxes down on Saturday to start taking everything down yesterday but haven’t started yet. So it’s still Christmas here.

It will mostly be coming down this afternoon. Will be keeping some candles and fairy lights though.

Just put our tree and decs in the loft :(

Taking ours down today. Everyone has been back at school/work since the 2nd though so it’s just sheer laziness on my part that it hasn’t been done already. I won’t miss the tree in the living room but I love the family room one. It makes it feel cozy.

Kitchen, dining area and sitting area done.

Hall, living room, study, small sitting room and outside still to do.......

So that’s the main tree and two small trees to do.

Having a breather just now.

We took down the decorations on Saturday and packed them away. (Mostly because DD was away so there was peace and quiet for DH and I to get stuck in!). There are still a stack of books (that I forgot) and a couple of teatowels (in the wash) that need to get put away.

There is light again in the sitting room and also the playroom, now that both trees are not blocking the windows. The cards are also down off the shelves so I can see my books again.

We will still have the fire going many evenings, and candles lit for atmosphere.

But I now have space again to get back to trying to do some reading, crafting, and general life admin in comfort rather than "stuff" everywhere.

We took everything down a few days after Boxing Day. Then a few days ago we were in B+M Bargains and we saw they had a few things left reduced so we bought them and rather than pack them away I’ve put them up! 😂

I've got a tea-light screen ( but it's on the kitchen windowsill rather than the fireplace) with LED tealights (cat safe) .
It's not Christmassey so it's still there.

And my tablecover (red and green paisley) that I left on the table (one meal eaten on it then ignored for every more )

I have just finished my one annual Terry's Chocolate Orange, so that's another bit of Christmas gone!

Still quite Christmassy otherwise.

Got a few days yet until Christmas needs to be danced out the door on tjugondedag jul (20th day - in Sweden) on January 13th

The old tradition is to have a final dance around the Christmas tree and then "plunder" the tree for any edibles such as cookies and sweets before the tree is thrown out. Where I live the local authority runs its own event in the town square where old Christmas trees are collected and thrown on a lorry and then there is some organised dances and bags of sweets, cookies and fruit for kids. Then they ship the trees off to the power station and burn them to provide heating and hot water for the Council housing.

Sitting here with the tree and beautiful lights on!

We switched off the tree on Monday evening and then dd snuck back down and switched it back on

I love the slow days after Christmas Day when everything is relaxed and chilled. It’s my favourite part of Christmas. One of the luxuries of being a sahm is taking time over the de-decorating so it’s more ritual than chore. And because I’m not back at work my Christmas doesn’t end until the dc go back to school.

I like the clean sweep when it’s all done too though. There’s a nice return to rhythm and routine now, and it’s still brisk and wintry, just without the frenetic energy of Pre-Christmas.

New year always feels out of place to me. I have absolutely no urge to diet or exercise or implement major life changes right now.

Tenement flat in Edinburgh here. I can see four Christmas trees still up in neighbouring flats. Saturday 11 January!

I bought a lovely silver glittery garland and matching twigs from the White company sale and have put some micro lights on the for the warmth. It's not the kind of decor I'd have for Christmas so just feels lovely and wintery without that bare feeling once the Christmas tree has gone. I've still got Christmas chocolate and Bailey's and a tiny bit of cheese left so the diet will have to wait a bit longer.

I've really enjoyed this thread and it made me think about how to hold on to the cozy feeling to get through the remaining dark months.

God no. We took the decorations down on new years day (too late imo) I'm more of a summer person. I feel so much better now xmas is over and we're on the way to longer days.

There's a house near us that does go in for decorating in a big way ( Hallowe'en, Christmas ) they still had their garden full of Snowman, Sleigh, Santa, big wordy signs .

I have the last roll of M&S silver star loo roll and some paper Christmas straws to use up, then we're done . Except some chilli cheese .

We’re having mulled wine just now, and finishing off the last of the Christmas cake with cheese, walnuts and dried cranberries. 🎄❤️😊

Christmas tree is now down here (as of Saturday). It's chopped up ready to use on the wood-burner (mostly as kindling) once dried out. TBH it was a big fat one and a bit in the way; the place feels bigger without it.

It's still Christmas though until Candlemas, so there are candles, the Weihnachtspyramid and incense burners out, which will go away early Feb. It still looks festive but in a more dignified, solemn way which I rather like, and it's much less cluttered. I'm still getting through the last of my back-log of Epiphany music to listen to.

Our parish church is still fully decorated for Christmas, fwiw.

We have almost, but not quite, found somewhere for all of the kids' presents to go.

We ended up taking everything down in dribs and drabs and half of it was just dumped in the study until this afternoon. Mainly as I haven’t been well and hurt my back so couldn’t be bothered sorting it all.

Just spent time sorting it and packing most of it away this afternoon with DH so nearly there.

I’ve left candles out - got some lovely battery operated flickering ones which are on timers and have them on living room mantelpiece and they really make a difference. It’s always the lights I miss.

Have also ordered a new chair, table and lamp to go in the bay window where the tree was so that will hopefully all look nice when it arrives. Make the place look less empty.

Still have Christmas cheese and biscuits and cake left. And wine. Might have mulled wine later!