How early is too early for putting up Christmas decorations

[Guest]

 

[Eilan]

I put 'em up late, but then I'm not much of a decorator for any holiday. I must confess, though, that we've had a Christmas wreath on our house since 2001, just because my husband likes it.

The city workers started putting up lights and wreaths last week--BEFORE Halloween!

 

[TBKahuna123]

When I was little, we used to put up the christmas tree the second week of December. These days the christmas decorations go up in the mall right after Halloween. By the time I retire I expect to see santa in the food court in mid July.

 

[Iron_Horseman]

Holiday decorations

I put up the outside decorations the Saturday after Thanksgiving (a family tradition) and the inside things, including the tree go up the following weekend.

 

[silverwhisper]

black friday, although i personally prefer to wait until mid-december.

a few years back, the local saks fifth avenue (i think) was decorated in august.

ed

 

[KarenDee]

Hey ease off baby...I still got my Halloween decorations up!

 

[SonOfAGhost]

Indoor - nothing before December 1st
Outdoor - lights can go up and/or be left up any time as long as they're off until Dec. 1. Decorations other than lights stay packed away until then.

Indoor or outdoor decorations come down 1st week of January and outdoor lights stop getting turned on at the same time.

 

[Guest]

 

[midwestyankee]

I get a little curmudgeonly about the holiday decorations, though eventually they warm my stony little heart. Our outdoor lights typically go up around Thanksgiving and come down the first warm weekend in January (one year that was just after St. Patrick's Day).

For any of you who use the icicle-style lights, I devised a storage solution that keeps them from getting tangled between seasons. I put a series of nails into the roof joists in our attic and hang each string of lights from a line of nails. That way the warmth of the attic and gravity work together to keep the strands straight and it's a snap to pull them directly from the attic onto the outside of the house without spending an hour untangling all the little dangly strings of lights on each strand.

 

[Flora]

Last Sunday while I was closing up and putting away summer things, I noticed my wife was starting to put outdoor Christmas lights out. They won't get turned on until Dec. 1, so doing it in warmer weather, as it was Sunday, is not a bad idea.

But as far as my wife is concerned, Christmas decorations can start being put up indoors any time Nov. 1 and later. Although our tree doesn't get put up until usually the second weekend in Dec., a lot of other stuff is out before Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, she set up a small village of ceramic type houses that light up. She gets so much enjoyment out of decorating that I don't say anything unless it starts to get out of control. So, she'll be decorating for the next 6 weeks.

This morning she asked if we (meaning me) could remove the front window screens and wash the windows. I agreed since the weather is supposed to be nice. Then she asked if it was too early to put up the wreaths (we put artificial ones on all the front windows) and I said yeah, its too early. We can do that Thanksgiving weekend.

As far as taking stuff down, the tree is usually first a few days after Christmas. The outdoor lights stay on until New years day then come off first nice day after. The indoor stuff takes weeks for my wife to pack it all away properly.

Many, many trips to the attic are in store for me.

Sorry about all the trips to the attic. I totally agree with your wife though. I'm actually ready to get all decorated NOW. I can usually hold out until the week before thanksgiving though, then I have to have it all up.
I love Christmas and all the decorations.

 

[Guest]

 

[midwestyankee]

This is a great idea. I think ours are all rolled up in a ball. It was cold the day we took them down.

Thanks. My inner engineer, at your service.

 

[Guest]

 

[h_i_s]

How early is too early for putting up Christmas decorations?

... anytime prior to Thanksgiving Day is too early.

 

[Flora]

I don't mind making the trips to the attic, bacause if I let anyone else do it, the attic storage will turn into a disaster. It's at least semi-organized right now.

If she can just wait til thanksgiving to pull out any santas, miniature Christmas trees, and glittery stuff, I'm OK with it. She just gets way too much pleasure out of it for me to make a big deal about it.

I'm glad to know she's not the only one though.

No she's definitely not the only one.

 

[phoenix1224]

... anytime prior to Thanksgiving Day is too early.

Agreed.

When I was a kid, my family would put them up the day after Thanksgiving.

 

[EJFan]

if they're nice decorations and you have decorating skills, leave them up all year long!

i don't know about anyone else, but a beautifully decorated house is one of the nicest sights to behold... why do we only have to see them for a few weeks each year? i mean, really... there's so much stress in life, do we really have to conform to some societal structure and defer pleasure in the process?

i don't celebrate christmas, but i sure love looking at a well decorated house... unless it's tacky looking and/or poorly designed. put the stuff up whenever you want and know that people are getting a moment of joy from your hard work.

 

[Cathleen]

Sometimes I wait until the 20th of December or later - depends on plans, mood, design ideas and anything else I can think of to delay. I have so much Christmas stuff, but have lost interest in decorating to the hilt. I've noticed I decorate with fresh flowers and fruits more often. I do different things each year.

Some indoor lights will stay all winter, the outdoor wreaths come down late Jan. or before Valentine's day... a neighbor had hers up so long it turn orange, so I asked if it was an early Halloween decoration. She took it down and threw it down to my deck.

 

[Guest]

 

[AppleBiter]

I usually put up the Christmas tree/decorations the day after Thanksgiving and take it all down the day after new year. I don't normally put any lights up outside.

 

[1HF]

What's your earliest acceptable date for indoor decorations?
And how about outdoor decorations, even if you don't turn them on?

anytime after thanksgiving

 

[midwestyankee]

Sometimes I wait until the 20th of December or later - depends on plans, mood, design ideas and anything else I can think of to delay. I have so much Christmas stuff, but have lost interest in decorating to the hilt. I've noticed I decorate with fresh flowers and fruits more often. I do different things each year.

Some indoor lights will stay all winter, the outdoor wreaths come down late Jan. or before Valentine's day... a neighbor had hers up so long it turn orange, so I asked if it was an early Halloween decoration. She took it down and threw it down to my deck.

You Know You're Sexually Frustrated when you wonder if Cate puts up a Yule Log carved from a zucchini in such a way that it stands erect from her table, flanked by a couple of walnuts.

Ohh.....sorry, wrong thread. My bad.

 

[Malich]

December 24th... Bah Humbug.

For me it's the first saturday after December 4th (historical reason in my family) and then they're down by 12th night.

 

[Kiss Me]

Since Australia doesn' t get the extra holiday celebrations of Halloween and Thanksgiving to give a timeline to the Christmas setup, most people I know work off the 1st of December..... or at the latest when school lets out around the 9th. I'll have everything up inside by bedtime on the first just because I'm obsessive and the backyard lights are already up... though I swear they're only there for the kids when we've got people over for pool parties.

The front yard lights will probably have to wait until the first free weekend after the 1st since that's not my job, though since it's already so hot I wouldn't be suprised if he doesn't put them up until the last minute.......and if it's like last year he'll do it in the middle of the afternoon and get heatstroke. Got to love a summer Christmas!

I don't care how early people decorate since it's all in good spirit. I did mind though last year when my neighbours left their yard full of lights on all the way through the holidays until school went back on the 1st of Feb....... talk about pain in the arse getting the kids to sleep at night!

 

[Cathleen]

Since Australia doesn' t get the extra holiday celebrations of Halloween and Thanksgiving to give a timeline to the Christmas setup, most people I know work off the 1st of December..... or at the latest when school lets out around the 9th. I'll have everything up inside by bedtime on the first just because I'm obsessive and the backyard lights are already up... though I swear they're only there for the kids when we've got people over for pool parties.

The front yard lights will probably have to wait until the first free weekend after the 1st since that's not my job, though since it's already so hot I wouldn't be suprised if he doesn't put them up until the last minute.......and if it's like last year he'll do it in the middle of the afternoon and get heatstroke. Got to love a summer Christmas!

I don't care how early people decorate since it's all in good spirit. I did mind though last year when my neighbours left their yard full of lights on all the way through the holidays until school went back on the 1st of Feb....... talk about pain in the arse getting the kids to sleep at night!

Folks, do NOT doubt this woman. If the lights are to be up by 9pm on a given day you can bet your life they will be up. I want pictures this year Kiss.