Today the Wickeds air their dirty decorating laundry. Tell the truth ladies, are your holiday decorations still up? If not, when do you take yours down? Do you do things on basically the same schedule each year or was this one an anomaly?
Liz: No way! I love Christmas and I love decorations, but by New Year’s Day, I’m done. Every year that’s the day everything gets boxed up, put away and stacked in the back of the garage until next year. And the house gets a good cleaning too. This year we redecorated bare walls with affirmations from last year’s Louise Hay calendar. Now, wherever we walk, happy thoughts are visible. It’s really added to the good vibes!
Sherry: Define decorations. We have some Christmas light wrapped around our banister that we left up all year. They became Presidents Day lights, Valentine lights, Easter lights and then party lights. During the very sunny late summer and early fall days we kept them off. Now they look cheery during dark, gray winter days. We also left our Christmas tree up longer this year. It was so beautiful. I took all the ornaments off before New Years Day but left the lights on. We finally dragged it to the curb a week ago.
Jessie: I have to confess, we are the people who leave their outdoor Christmas lights up all year. Sometimes I turn them on just because I feel like it. I also still have a wreath on the front door. It looks as green and fresh as it did the day we hung it so I have no plans to remove it any time soon. Maybe, like Sherry’s lights, it could be a Valentine’s wreath and and Easter wreath too. After all, in northern New England it is usually still winter when Easter rolls around!
Barb: THIS year everything got put away by December 27, because we left on the 28th to drive to Key West, Florida. Usually, we leave our tree up until the weekend after my birthday which is on the Feast of the Epiphany. One year, many years ago, when the kids were much younger, and I think there was a business trip or two involved, I remember sneaking our tree out to the curb on Superbowl Sunday, wrapped in garbage bags and hoping the neighbors didn’t notice!
Julie: I have a pewter tinsel tree with pink lights and blue rope lights. Needless to say, it can pass for Christmas (OK, a little Ab Fab Christmas), but putting it away seemed like a shame. So I have decided it is my 2014 tree. I made some Valentines ornaments (see circle to the right), put a few fab ornaments and a couple of art pieces on the tree, added these crazy sparkly glitter bows and BAM, a Valentines Day tree. St. Patrick’s Day is next. And the lights are a joy on these cold, January nights.
Edith: I’m with Liz. I’m not one to put the Christmas tree up too soon, but it and all associated decorations must be away before New Year’s day. I want a clean sweep for the new year. I leave the window candles up for another week or two, just until the light in the sky starts returning in earnest (just as the temperatures really drop). And the lovely wreath on the door? Every time I returned from my walk the last week or two I’d resolve, “I have to take that thing down!” But by the time I got into the house, I’d forget. It wasn’t until yesterday that I remembered to persuade the tall person in our household to unhook the wreath from the top of the door.
I love Julie’s year-long 
decorative, tree, though. Happy Valentine’s Day, all! For Hugh and me, this year it marks the ten-year anniversary of our meeting. Plenty of happy in that.
Readers: You? Any holiday decorations that persist perhaps year round? Or for a ritual month? What about just plain liking bright colors in the dark of winter?
The Christmas decorations in our house stay up until Little Christmas. I cry a little every year when they come down. This year we went through each box and decided which ornaments needed to be retired. We went from twenty-seven boxes down to eight! Now they are sitting in the living room while we decide if they should be stored in the attic or the basement. This could take another month!
Actually our oil burning Chanukah Menorah is still sitting on the living room window ledge. It needs to be cleaned and neither of us feels like doing it. Waiting to see who gives in first.
My Christmas decorations are all down and put away. I spent my afternoon and early evening taking care of that on Sunday otherwise they’d still be up.
My tree just came down yesterday!
I confess I looked up at dinner two nights ago and realized there was a decoration still hanging from the light. Then I found a Santa Claus plate on the bottom shelf of an end table. I plan to put them away today.
Mine are still up, I have extended family coming to visit for a gift exchange. I even have wrapped gifts under the tree waiting for my 4 year old Niece.
Oh Sherry–the one that got away. We have one ornament we call Suicide Santa because he’s small and pewter and tries to sneak out with the tree every year.
Our Christmas tree that I loved so much this year ate one of my ornaments. I might not have noticed but it was a White House ornament and has its own box. I searched high and low but nothing. It is truly the one that got away! Interesting that the same ornament tries to sneak out every year!
I just arrived one town over to the empty house of some friends who are in Cuba. They offered it to me for a writing retreat (I said YES, of course). Their children are all back in (boarding) school and college. The parents are off in a warm land. And the dedecorated tree stands shedding mightily in their living room! I’m not touching it…
Perfect! You can enjoy it with none of the — I still have to take this down angst!
We had a very simple Christmas this year. There wasn’t much to do for pick up and put away. That makes me a little sad to see what I write about it now. I think next year will be better. I look forward to the return of messy Christmases in our house. xo
Sometimes simple is best Reine!