Just packed away christmas

Nothing comes down until Twelfth Night. Christmas isn't over until the Wise Men have been. I remember when schools never went back until after 6th Jan because most went to church on that date.

I’ve made a start, things like cards, wreathes and ornaments, but the trees will come down on 12th night. Starting to look rather bare again 😊.

My tree and decorations will be coming down on Twelfth Night but for some, in the Catholic tradition, the Christmas season lasts for 40 days, right through until the beginning of February. Our outdoor fairy lights (and some indoors too) will be staying up for January as I think they brighten up what can often be a gloomy and depressing time of year. We started doing this after Christmas 2020 when the country was still in the grip of the pandemic/lockdowns and things seemed very bleak. I found it very cheering to look out of the window and see lights twinkling outside many of the houses in our street for most of January. I wish they could become more of a winter tradition rather than just for Christmas.

Always the 6th January for us.

Our decorations, including 2 trees, start to go up 1 December and we take a couple of days to get it all down by Jan 6th. Both trees now artificial so no recycling to do there.
Like Georgesnan, we buy Spring flowers so the place doesn't look so empty. Candles and tealights are of the wintry season rather than Christmassy so they stay.

Can’t decide whether to pack away as quickly as possible or do the thorough sort out like GrannyGravy13. It will depend on my energy level when I get round to it 😁

As the weather’s so grim am leaving it all until at least another week or two to pack away.
The lights and glitter are really welcome.

Didn’t bother putting any decorations up this year, so nothing to take down, thankfully.

Usually happy to tidy it away around now but this year I don’t feel I want to everything looks so pretty.

What we used to do was to take out the tree out on 12th night, but then balance it up in the garden and then we gave the birds a new years tree. We used to put a fat ball on, and my sister and I used to put strings of peanuts out and sometimes half a coconut etc and it was a halfway house which helped us to not miss all the ornaments being put away but we knew the next day we would be adding things on to it outside. This year didnt even have a tree and couldnt find any decorations . Ah well next year something better

Nope, no till Thursday. We like to observe Twelfth Night.

I have taken down the tree and thrown it on the front lawn

I've left some fairy lights up though as they cheer me up

We have just finished taking all of ours down. We now have a much late living room .
Anyone fancy making us a cup of tea please?

Because they like the decorations and want them to be up as long as possible! Every year I say, I am going to do it earlier from the first week in December, but they didn’t get put up till the 20th because there were other things I needed to finish first. Although I think it’s ridiculous when people put them up in November and now people are putting Halloween decorations up about a week or more before the day, which is a load of crap anyway. Halloween has gone too far American commercialised crap.

I’ve taken mine down gradually this year so the house doesn’t look too bare all at once. The tree still looks lovely though and hasn’t dropped a single needle, might put it in the garden room till it looks tired. Everything else but the crib scene will go on 12th Night. The crib scene will stay out till Candlemas. We’ll light candles all winter and keep some warm white lights up. I love winter because of all this.

All done today but I am loathe to take down any warm white fairy lights, indoors or outdoors. It is such a dark gloomy time of year and I would be happy to see fairy lights outside until the clock changes to BST.
I am with you keeping them up for January at least Grandmagrewit and haven’t removed any from the back garden and may not take them down at all, equally pretty on a late summer evening.

All gone today - so refreshing!

I live in a street where no one apart for me and my brand new neighbour put any visible lights or decorations up. I have been here nearly two years and have found them to be rather a miserable lot with blinds permanently shut.
I have always loved Christmas and put my decorations up in the first week in December. I hate taking them down. Light in the windows give people hope at a time when things are really pear shaped for so many people. I'm keeping some lights going regardless.

Cards down, but haven't had time to dismantle tree. I don't like the decorations hanging around for too long.

All done today , spring flowers tomorrow I hope

I took down the lights in the hall that I usually leave till it’s lighter. I may put them back - it’s so dark grey and wet

I went back to work today, my partner took down the tree and lights. I came home and put all the tree decorations away. All very clean, tidy and bare.
The tree has been put in the garden and looks lovely. Hardly any needle drop this year.

I took the tree, cards and decorations down today and left the two miniature potted christmas trees in the window with the old brass oil lamp which look quite effective together, we'd just bought them both for christmas, but i'm going to water them and when they grow put them in bigger pots outside the front door...

We didn’t have a real or even artificial tree this year. We had a silvery, sparkly sort of tall triangle, think obllesk,(I obviously can’t spell the word I want). I found myself thinking that it was a pagan symbol then thought “so what”, that is what a Christmas tree is after all. I’ve taken down everything except that and the glass crib. DH wanted to keep everything up ‘til 12th night but has decided that he too is fed up with it by now. But the sparkly thing has been extremely cheering to us and anyone driving past in the dark and I will be sorry to see it go.

As I (childishly) LOVE Christmas decorations, I decorate most rooms (including trees) so have a lot to put away. Bit of a seasonal hobby really! Started today and will do it leisurely, cleaning and changing beds as I go! Should be finished on Friday. Also a bit of decluttering while I’m at it, as I do every few months. Then it’s off to the charity shop and relax in my still wintry (but sadly not Christmassy) home!