# When do you put up your Christmas lights?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 24, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245 "2003-10-24T03:03:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/1 "2003-10-24T03:03:13Z")
I ask this question because I just walked out front to enjoy the late Texas night - and, WTF? A house across the street has their Christmas lights up. Checking my calendar, I see that it is October 23; as such, I have life-size skeletons, pumpkins, and spooky Halloween stuff in MY front lawn.
Am I missing something here - was there a secret memo that called for us to put out our X-Mas lights early?
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### Author:  [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/2 "2003-10-24T05:22:59Z")
The earliest is Thanksgiving weekend, any time before that is just ridiculous. Usually they’re up within the first or second week of December.
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### Author:  [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/3 "2003-10-24T05:28:58Z")
[ul]😃 [sup] **When my wife tells me to!** [/sup][/ul]
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### Author:  [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/4 "2003-10-24T06:11:55Z")
**Yumblie** - It is too early, right? It’s horrific enough that I have to encounter Christmas decorations in the stores when it’s only October. We just moved into this area (north of Dallas) last December, so I had no idea the lights would go on in October!
**kniz** - you got that right! You’re the man, and as such you better break out that ladder 😃
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### Author:  [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/5 "2003-10-24T06:24:25Z")
One or two weeks before Christmas. That is, unless I manage to recover from Thanksgiving any earlier.
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### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/6 "2003-10-24T13:07:52Z")
Right after Thanksgiving.
I mean, Black Friday kicks off the Holiday Season, so it’s okay to go for it after Thanksgiving.
I’m old school. Wife goes shopping while I try not to fall off the roof while cursing every other string of lights. Gotta get the trains up for the kids, too.
If you get all the stuff up right away it’s the same amount of energy used as if you wait, but you get a chance to get everything working and you have a chace to enjoy them.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/7 "2003-10-24T13:10:56Z")
Sheesh - I haven’t even put up my Halloween decorations yet!
We don’t put up lights - just something on the door. I like to keep things simple.
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### Author:  [@Stephi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephi)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/8 "2003-10-24T13:17:47Z")
Right after Halloween! I’d rather do it when the weather isn’t arse-chillingly cold!
(I’m crazy, I know!)
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### Author:  [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/9 "2003-10-24T13:20:18Z")
What are you talking about? I already put them up a few years ago.
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### Author:  [@Qburn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qburn)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/10 "2003-10-24T16:12:54Z")
Uh…some of my neighbors leave them up year round. Isn’t that part of that joke “you know you’re a redneck when…”
We put them up the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend, because we get bored having them up longer than that.
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### Author:  [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/11 "2003-10-24T20:23:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by lost4life \*
> \*\*What are you talking about? I already put them up a few years ago. \*\*
Heh - yes, I’ve had neighbors that left the lights on the house year-round. But these were LIT! I told someone else about the phenomenon, and they said “are you sure they weren’t orange Halloween lights?” Nope. Blue/white lights, all over the front of the house. It’s just not right, I tell you…although I will admit that after Thanksgiving dinner I rip the fall decor out from beneath my family’s plates and put up the X-mas stuff, it’s rather a family joke at this point.
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### Author:  [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/12 "2003-10-24T21:04:59Z")
We don’t usually do lights outside, but I put up the tree and string garlands through the porch railings the weekend after Thanksgiving. Since I’ll probably be on my own for Thanksgiving this year, though, I’ll probably do a lot of it before work that day.
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### Author:  [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/13 "2003-10-25T01:16:07Z")
Guys, I feel very stupid about right now. :smack:
I live in the Telecom area of Richardson (north of Dallas), and we have a high population of Asian and Indian neighbors. My husband asked someone about the lights today, and it appears that those of the Hindu religion are celebrating the Festival of Lights tonight.
Live and learn!
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### Author:  [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/14 "2003-10-25T03:44:48Z")
I wondered why the lights were blue and white.
That’s really funny.
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### Author:  [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/15 "2003-10-25T05:36:49Z")
Hey, they could’ve been Hanukah lights!
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### Author:  [@sKipping\_girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sKipping_girl)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2003, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/16 "2003-10-25T12:25:33Z")
We put up our lights and Christmas tree on the first Sunday of December
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### Author:  [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/17 "2003-10-25T14:04:48Z")
No earlier than Thanksgiving. Wife’s rule.
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### Author:  [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/18 "2003-10-25T15:16:57Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by j66 \*
> \*\*I wondered why the lights were blue and white.
>
> That’s really funny. \*\*
Well, for the last several years, it’s been quite the thing to have your house done in all blue or all white or in blue and white. People tend to think it looks simpler and classier.
Of course, around home, the fact that blue and white areUK’s colors don’t exactly hurt the odds of finding that combo. I used to live down the street from a couple of guys who always made their lights into a huge UK emblem on the roof. Oddly, though, they did it with multi-colored lights instead of the blue and white ones.
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### Author:  [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/19 "2003-10-25T15:57:49Z")
I put mine up around 6 years ago. I have no idea if they still work. I even left them up when they re-roofed the house.
Yes, I am lazy.
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### Author:  [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-lights/209245/20 "2003-10-25T18:07:38Z")
Heh, we only live in an apartment, but last year I brought a string of lights and hooked them along the curtain rod (which has no curtains) in the living room. They are still there, though the extension cord that let us plug them in was put away in January. I’ll likely start plugging them in again sometime in the first week of December - during exams! Makes things a bit less dreary! And since we don’t actually spend Christmas in the apartment (we go home) we like to enjoy them as long as possible.
Although just thinking about it now makes me want to plug them in! I love seeing Christmas lights - at home, I’m usually the one turning them on, and they still put a huge grin on my face!
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