Was it always this bare?!

Ours will stay up until Twelfth Night and we are pretending to have a holiday at home, so forget the dusting. As for Christmas cards, ours are sellotaped on to the door frames and don't fall down. At least very seldom.

nannafizz, I enjoy the minimalist look, with lots of empty space.

I had a small tree in the porch (just for the local kids - out of my way).

I reluctantly put up the cards on the mantelpiece and shelves, out of habit - although they really irritated me.

The other day, I flung them into the recycling box - with joyous glee!

I’m certainly not dying to bustle round with a hoover? just meant it does look bare when the tree etc disappears. We wouldn’t normally take ours down yet . It just went up a bit early!

The Christmas cards came down today. The greenery will probably last until the weekend, and the little tree (artificial) and the lights in the windows will stay until 12th night. That way I avoid that bare anticlimax feel.

I absolutely love my decs and they won't come down until Twelfth Night. Despite cleaning the rest of the house ready for New Year.

It's beautiful with all the (fake) candle lights when we turn the main lights off and settle down to watch a film in the evening. We leave the blinds up so we can see the outside lights twinkling away behind the tree, like lots of stars. We have Christmas scented oils in the oil burner, so it smells like Christmas too.

All decorations, trees and outside lights stay up till 6/01, cleaners arrive 7/01 am.

I really am a Christmas person and replace Christmas candles/lights with tea lights dotted around downstairs, always light a nice candle in bedroom whilst I get ready for bed. ????

Hetty58 , I like your style !

Our Christmas decorations may be up for several extra days after 12th night.

Out of the blue DH has been told he will probably be discharged from hospital early next week, so we are keeping the decs up, and we have all his presents waiting - and half a turkey so that we can rerun Christmas day entirely for his benefit.

You have very good reason to leave the decorations up a while longer Monica. That’s good news.
I don’t understand this alien concept of dusting before twelfth night.

Ours are coming down at the weekend. I like to replace them with a couple of bunches of daffodils as soon as they are on offer in the supermarkets. Won't be able to do that this year as we have not been to the shops since March.

12th night here as well.

Not looking forward to it really. It takes some getting used to, being all stark and bare again!

My small dog will be over the moon though. The armchair that sits beneath the window will be dragged back in and she'll be able to get back on her favourite perch. Sat on the back of the chair, looking out of the window.

Twelfth night here as well, still nuts and stollen to eat and an excuse to take things easy.
I love the decorations and cards, always 're read the cards as I take them down. Once they are all packed away though I can enjoy things looking clearer. One of our dogs can have her space back as well Lucretzia

I don’t think I have ever in my life been dying to start bustling around with hoover and duster!

I'm with you on that Witzend although it must be good to have the enthusiasm for it.

I have always loved the medieval 12 days of Christmas and don’t hold with the Christmas is one day modern thing?? So my decorations stay up until 12th night and (usually!) I have a twelfth night meal/feast. Winter is so long grey and wet that I need the glitter, lights and glamour of the yuletide season to get me through

I can hear my mother's voice urging me not to take the tree and decs down until 12th night, so I shall obey...

Ours only went up a couple of days before Christmas and came down the day after boxing day, and what is this cleaning you speak of?? ?
I'm currently busying myself with making a garland of little houses, colourful birdhouses on one side to be kept up all year round, and on the reverse they are gingerbread houses for next Christmas.

Oh, yes, I feel sad every year when I take the decorations and especially the tree down on Twelfth Night.

I like to buy hyacinths to brighten up the place once the tree is out and all the decorations put away.

To me, January and February are the gloomiest months of the year, which is not helped by tomorrow being the 5th anniversary of my sister's death.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Decorations went up on the 18th and will come down around the 6th, to cover 12th night, otherwise the Kings won't get to visit the baby in my nativity set

Our decorations will come down by 12th night, as usual.
Then, I suppose I will have to dust & clean, I really do the minimum these days......

On Birthdays I always leave the cards standing for ages, if people have taken the trouble to send them, I feel it would be rude to take them down just so I could dust the sideboard....!!!!

I didn’t put up many decorations this year as I couldn’t have my usual family gatherings. Just a few lights and garlands, no tree. Cards are always pegged on gold ribbons hanging from the bookshelves and I have a door wreath. I never put them up before the weekend before Christmas so not fed up with them yet.
Our local Facebook page has requested us to leave some pretty lights up in the windows over the winter to brighten people’s evening walks. Lovely idea which I might follow.

Yes I feel the same. It always looks bare after I have taken them down. I will take them down this weekend. It always take me ages as I have quite a few things out. I always put things away carefully in their proper boxes as some things I have had for years. I will give a good dust once they are put away.

I quite like the feel of a post-Christmas decorations feel of the clean and clear sitting room. Haven't taken the tree/cards down yet, I'll wait until the new year but I might have to vac when I come off Gransnet.

Yes it can look bare, so I take mine down in stages. I don't send or receive many cards now, but took the dozen or so down yesterday. Today I will take down a Christmas wreath and a couple of other things, and leave the rest until the 2nd as I always do.
Great ideas about replacing with flowers and bulbs btw.
Happy New Year everyone.

It always feel bare when they come down doesn’t it. But def easier to clean! We’ve only had outside decorations this year as we have 2 new young cats and I don’t think they were compatible with a Christmas tree etc. I have missed them and really enjoyed looking at other peoples when we’ve been out for our daily walk.

Take them down on Epiphany. That's the end of Christmas. Decorations went up a bit early this year, about a week before Christmas. I like to leave it until just before Christmas Eve. But each to his/her own.