Can I take the decorations down now?

Perhaps nobody wanted to comment on the obvious!

Obviously not MawBroon

A light tidy up this morning leaving the Christmas tree in all its glory and the well decorated mantelpiece. Big clean up, turkey taken off the bone to be cooked into separate dishes later today, feel better now and it still looks festive - not that anyone is coming - going to daughters for a few days - the fairy light queen!

Leaving mine up for now, not that I did any more than minimalist, but I know when they go it could look gloomy for a while.
Will do it when I feel like it!

Yes take them down! In the past I have been know to take them down on Boxing Day! Much to everyone’s amusement. But this year I will probably leave things in place until the weekend. Happy New Year.

Yes, Nannytee, I do.

Lucky you, Gin. Ours went up on the 20th, decided it had had enough and started moulting on Christmas Day.

I am looking sideways at DH, who is in charge of watering but has been pushing for an artificial tree for several years. He swears he is looking after the poor tree, and that no sabotage is involved.

Mine went up end Nov ,tree down yesterday as a month of rescuing it from the naughty cat was enough ? rest of it coming down today apart from candles which I always have , time for a good clean and some hyacinths for new year

In Sweden the outside 'winter lights' stay up till February and I really like that in the dark and gloom - I notice a few in the countryside here in the UK have caught on with this brilliant idea. As for the decorations indoors, by the 6th, several have already been removed!

Mine have to stay up till after Friday, as I have the second wave of grandchildren coming on that day. They spent xmas itself with their other grandparents. But they will definitely be coming down on Saturday lol

Twelfth Night falls on January 5 and Epiphany on January 6. Twelfth Night. Traditionally Christmas is a 12 day celebration, beginning on December 25.

Epiphany marks the end of Christmas, when Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist and the Three Kings came to visit bearing gifts, guided by the star which is now represented in the twinkling lights adorning our homes.

Really, lights are put up too early - Advent precedes Christmas.

Sadly, so many people are in a rush without knowing the tradition. Of course it is lovely having all the lights etc. but just as important to know the story behind why we have Christmas.

Growing up with a German mother, we had the German tradition of not having the tree up until Christmas Eve. I couldn't bear it to come down, and it sometimes went past 12th night.

My decorations now go up a couple of weeks before Christmas and I'm ready to take them down now, although it'll probably be at the weekend.

However, I am addicted to lights! I usually end up keeping one extra set of lights up all year. It's beginning to look a little like Nana's Secret Grotto all year round here!

When the 3 wise men walk in from the east, my tree wil be marched out in whatever direction ?

I haven't got all mine up yet, where did the time go?

Buy a small pre-decorated tree each year from Tesco which are really good value and can'be planted out. If one of them ever becomes big enough, I'll stick to it and get some real decorations for it. There are only 4 of us and none is Christian, so we tend to treat it as just "extra special family time".

I have two sons on holiday in Thailand over xmas so mine will stay up until the 7th. As we will have our second xmas day for them on their return.

My decorations are always up until 12th Night, but they don't go up until after my daughter's birthday on 11 December. Anyway, you decide - your house, your rules. Why do you want others to decide?

I have some people coming around tomorrow 28th. So that we don’t appear miseries, we’ll keep them up for then. They will come down on Friday. Yay!

It always amused us when I was working that one of our staff- who had a gorgeous old cottage that lent itself to Christmas decorations- was always itching to take then down the day after Boxing Day! She always put the decs up in plenty of time, and went to local woods to look for suitable branches and twigs to use natural decoration as well, and I must say the cottage always looked gorgeous, she was very artistic, but she had enough of them and wanted to move on after Christmas Day. One memorable and fraught Christmas she told us she was taking them down and hoovering around her guests on Boxing Day, as she had already had a houseful for three days- its was a broad hint for them to go! She was and is a lovely , generous, warm person, but that is one of her idiosyncrasies. Me - usually down 2nd or 3rd Jan to fit in with partner ( self employed) helping me before getting embroiled in day to day life. I do love the bright lights in the dark winter days tho.Good job we all so different!

I'll start thinning them out gradually from today.

One of the daughters has hers down on Boxing Day, if not on Christmas Day itself.

I think everyone should do as they please, both with regards to when they put up their Christmas decorations and when they take them down.

Our tree comes down on the 5th or 6th as the local scout troop is willing to cart off Christmas trees on the 7th - for the equivalent of £2. They rope in parents to drive cars with trailers. It's a great help as we would have a problem taking ours to the council dump, and the bin men here won't take trees.

The nativity scene will probably stay up for a few days longer, as I take both the decorating and the putting away in stages these days.

We Father Christmas left a packet of Christmas tree seeds in DS's stocking 30 years ago. We weren't expecting anything from them, but "his" tree is now flourishing in our allotment and is about as high as our house. Sadly not close enough to decorate!

mine will be staying up until after my son and his family come up on 14 january! they can't get here before as he's on call and can't leave devon. we've had to think about fitting in with his work, my daughter's work and schools as well.
so i'll be enjoying my decorations for a lot longer.

Mine always come down on the 3rd January, never before. Daughter's b'day is the 4th. Place always looks and feels so empty afterwards. But Christmas is over by then. Back to normality is what I do struggle a bit with.