I saw riding on the el train in Chicago tonight, the Christmas trees are up and the decorations are a-shining.
So once again I present you with the question.
When should you put up our Chistmas Tree. And when to take it down?
Feel free to substitute Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or any other seasonal holiday with similar rituals.
I feel the Christmas tree and decorations go up the day after Thanksgiving and come down a few days after New Years Day.
And you…
When I put mine up: never.
When I take it down: never.
I guess I could say that I would expect other people to put it up on the Friday after Thanksgiving and take it down the day after Christmas. But since escaping from my mother’s “yeah I’m pagan but let’s put up a Christmas tree because it’s tradition” talons, I frankly haven’t bothered to pay much attention.
Whenever I feel like it (Usually around Dec. 10th or so - 2 weeks prior)
Whenever I feel like it (Usually after the New Year)
You put up Christmas decorations the Sunday after Thanksgiving, or sometime that following week, and take them down sometime between 12/26 and 1/3, depending on travel schedule. Putting up Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving is well and truly over is a hanging offense, imo.
We put up the tree on Christmas Eve and take it down on January 6.
We put ours up the day after Thanksgiving, and generally take it down a few days after New Years. (Jan 6th)
Except…last year. We started the day after Christmas, because Annie and Luci wouldn’t stop stealing the ornaments. My mother thought ahead and bought all new, generic ornaments, KNOWING they’d play with the tree. However, it was worse than we anticpated, and I was tired of playing “Tree Guardian”, so my dad just said “fuck it.”
(And it’s not like you can squirt a cat that’s climbing in a Christmas tree – not with all the lights)
Up: Thanksgiving weekend, Saturday ideally
Down: Epiphany (January 6th)
Why? Because that’s how everyone in our (mostly Catholic) family has done it forever - forever being for at least the past six/seven decades. Even those of us who aren’t Catholic still do it that way.
Up: 3rd Sunday of Advent (12 December this year)
Down: Epiphany
Up: Dec 1st or later (no earlier)
Down: When I feel like it. Depends on delayed Christmas parties, school work and laziness/procrastination. Ideally mid-January, and I tend to feel bad if it’s still up by Valentine’s day. We have a new cat this year - it might only last a day or two!
Up:Winter Solstice
Down:New Year’s Day
Now I only use a 3 footer, and my son puts it up early December, me -it would be mid December. I am thrilled to take everything down and wipe all remnants of xmas out of my house on Christmas day.
Up: First weekend of December
Down: ASAP after January 1st
Put the tree up early Christmas Eve.
Begin drinking eggnog.
Load up the BB gun and shoot all the ornaments.
Take tree outside, place in front yard and place gifts under tree.
Sing carols and set tree on fire.
I know. I’m a bourgeois traditionalist.
Bah! Humbug!
I have three Christmas trees that I put up each year. an 8’ in the kitchen, a 7’ in the dining room, and a 4’ in the living room. This year, I’ve got another one, but it’s just a ceramic, 1 1/2’ thing. It belonged to my mom, and when she passed away a couple months ago, it became mine. I think it will reside in the bathroom, until I can come up with somewhere better to put it.
I like to have at least one tree up by Thanksgiving. It just adds a little something to the festivities, I guess. Everything comes down the day after Christmas.
I want to hang the lights outside this weekend, since the weather will be perfect for it. The outside lights don’t come on until Thanksgiving night, in our area. We’ll see what I get accomplished. I don’t hold out much hope for getting anything done by Thanksgiving, though. I’m in ‘lazy’ mode.
The tree goes up no earlier than Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, which (to steal a line from Unca Cecil) for those of you who grew up thinking impure thoughts and eating hamburger on Fridays, is the same thing as two Sundays before Christmas Day. Because Advent is long this year, that makes it pretty early - December 12th - and we may decide to wait, out of respect for my husband’s sanity level. (He grew up with the tree going up on what Norwegians call “Little Christmas Eve”, December 23rd.)
The tree comes down absolutely no later than the Epiphany, January 6th.
Flod hath spoken.
Up: On or around Dec. 14, the anniversary of our first date
Down: Epiphany
Up: After 12/5, as that’s TheKid’s birthday and I don’t want Xmas to override “her” day. We usually put it up the following weekend.
Down: New Years Eve or Day
My tree goes up every year the Sunday after Thanksgiving and comes down usually 1-3. At the most I’ll do it the following weekend.
The people kitty-corner from me already have their holiday stuff out on their lawn. Ick.
I don’t bother with the tree, but If I was so inclined, I’d put one up no earlier than the week before x-mas and have it down no later than two days after.
