When does Christmas begin and end in your house?

[thelegohooverer]

No judgement allowed! I’m just curious about how other people do it.

When does Christmas begin for you, and what does that mean? Is it decorations going up, or the nice food coming out? Is there a particular event, or does it just creep up?

Start getting presents and wrapping in September to take advantage of sales and spread the cost.
Tree usually goes up first weekend in December but might be earlier this year as we need some sparkle. We make Christingles in mid December.
Tree comes down after New Year before I go back to work

December 1st when we get out the new christmas wasjig, new Christmas books for DS. I usually do decorations sometime in that first week depending on my shifts.

I like all Christmas including decorations to be gone by news years eve. Like my house to be fresh and clean for the new start on New Year's day

Next weekend will be the Christmas clean, decluttering and cleaning the rooms that will have decorations. The Christmas decorations will start creeping in from the following weekend. Not rushing it this year as my children are a bit older now. Nice food comes out xmas week, I'll be working up til 23rd Dec so there will be a variety of events going on at work to keep me in the christmas spirit (work at a nursery). Christmas feels like it's finished just after New Year and everything is tidied away when the children go back to school, so this year around 3rd Jan. Mainly because I won't have time once I'm back at work to sort things properly otherwise.

Tree arrives and decorations go up second weekend in December, everything comes down 6 January. 4 weeks is quite enough for us!

Decorations up in the first week of December to get in the mood before Christmas starts - which isn’t officially until the 24th and then I try to observe the official Christmas period by keeping them up throughout until 5th Jan but sometimes I take them down a couple of days early if it’s a weekend because it’s a bit of a mission for a weeknight!

Decorations usually go up the first weekend of December, going up a bit earlier this year though. We usually go ice skating at some point in December also, but that’s off the table this year. So on Christmas Eve we will get a takeaway watch whatever craps on tv . Christmas morning the chaos ensues, kids open presents, we have breakfast, kids play with said presents, my uncle comes around, we have dinner late afternoon, then everyone chills for a bit, then we play cards from around 6pm -10/11. Boxing Day the local football teams usually play each other, so we watch that, then have a Buffett whilst watching normal football. Nothing really happens then till New Years when we go to my uncles house, DS birthday is 5th January and we take the decs down the 6th.

Christmas to me is roughly 18th December when the tree goes up to 6th January when it comes down.

Starts Christmas eve.

Ends when we're bored.

We usually keep christmas day low key, anyhow, as autistic boys can't cope with any more than that.

Ours go up on 1st December down on 30th December as hate them up for New Year’s Eve.

Christmas tree up sometime between 5th and 15th December (although it has been as late as 20-somethingth of December in the past); decorations down on 6th January (sometimes later).

Some members of the family ban discussion of Christmas until December! We enjoy advent before Christmas though and like to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas rather than getting bored of Christmas by Boxing Day (which is only the 2nd day of Christmas!!).

I have advent calendar from 1st December and start listening to Christmas music from then. In normal years go to one or two Christmas concerts during advent (but obviously not this year!).

Put up decorations about a week or so before Christmas. Take them down early January.

For me, I feel it really starts on the last day of November when I go up in the loft to get down the box with the Advent calendar in it so I can refill it and hang it up. The tree usually goes up on the first Saturday in December and comes down on 12th Night. Although last year I think I got bored with looking at it all so I started taking the cards and nick-nacks down on about the 2nd Jan.

Up on advent Sunday down after 12th night

November

Starts 15th Dec ( after DHs bday)
Ends 6th Jan (Spanish Xmas 3kings)

Decorations go up the weekend before the first xmassy event so normally just before the opening of our xmas lights that we do on our house. This year we can't do it because of social distancing so we are going to Christmas at Kew instead on 9th - decorations will go up on 5th then xmas has begun. Will take them down on 2nd or 3rd Jan since that is a weekend.

I start getting festive about now/ back end of November, this is because usually that's then Christmas choir rehearsals are getting into full with practicing carols etc.

Decorations start going up the first weekend of December, all decks are up by the 20th.

All down by 12th night 5th/6th January

Decorations are going up today, but I guess we don't really start celebrating properly until the day after schools close for the holidays so that'll be the 19th of December this year.

Ma Bah Humbug here 😊
If adults DCs here then whilst they’re here, if I had my way I wouldn’t bother at all. I hate the mess and muddle.
DH would have two months of them. My record is up Christmas Eve, down 72 hours later 😀

Advent calendar from 1st.

Decorations and feeling festive from mid-December.
Christmas eve box for kids and special calm family day.
Christmas day and boxing day last year was basically two Christmas days, spent the same way.
Then we spend the whole of the Christmas season as a family, days out after having special Christmas breakfast as a family every morning.
This year ive bought a Christmas 12 day calendar too.
End with (significantly fewer) presents on the 6th of jan.

Outside decorations go up 1st December (just put together the John Lewis 6ft lit up birch tree, it's gorgeous!). About a week later, I'll be putting on the Christmas Duvets, and the Christmas teatowels and bath towels). And doing things like garlands and wreaths and the Christmas hedgehogs, and trying to sneak a few more reindeer into things. . . that's also the kick-off for when I'm officially allowed to play Christmas movies and music. . .

The first Saturday after my birthday (the 18th), we'll go and get the tree (much discussion, debate, and downright argument as to which is the one true tree, can we get it into the car, no Mbos, we cannot fit that tree inside the house. . .),bring it home, put it up, drinking bubbles and eating mince pies.

The tree comes down just before New Years, and everything is put away for another year. . .

I'm going to be pedantic and say that it's not Christmas until the first mass of Christmas on Christmas Eve. And it lasts until Twelfth Night on 6th January, when everything is packed away.

The advent calendars will be out on the 1st December - we have several. Outdoor lights and the tree will go up around 12th December, and a few other bits and pieces around the house.

The Christmas season starts on 1st Dec, when songs are allowed to be played and sung. Decorations go up around second weekend of December and tub of celebrations goes out on the table, nice food is bought in, such as mince pies, yule logs etc, Christmas baking can be done and festive activities can be enjoyed; present shopping, Christmas fairs, mulled wine, Bailey's hot chocolates...presents get wrapped in the week running up to Christmas with songs on, glass of wine and Christmas treats. Then Christmas eve is a nice family meal and festive film. Family meal on new years day. Decs stay up until 2nd Jan, down by the 6th at latest and that's where it all ends and normal boring life must resume!

I do all my Christmas food ordering , shopping for pantry/alcohol and gift shopping in November after Remembrance Sunday,;

Start my Advent reading on Advent Sunday (29th November this year) decorations go up from 1st December (takes 2-3 days) tree bought around 10th, and they all come down on 12th night (5th Jan)

Christmas 'ends' depending on the Advent book, I've had one that went through to around Jan 6th

Films mid November.
Decorations closest weekend to Dec 1st... music fair game from then too.
Indulgent eating usually when schools finish.
All packed away by January 5th.