Taking down the Christmas decorations is such a bitter sweet experience. After all, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, so who wants to hurry it along?!!
Several years ago I remember leaving my Christmas tree up until almost February, and that was just too long for sure. I don’t know the perfect time for taking down Christmas decorations, but I generally like the job completed by the first week of New Years.
Last year I began a new tradition of decorating for Christmas prior to Thanksgiving. I had family over for a meal the week of Thanksgiving, and my house was already decorated for Christmas, so I decorated the dining room table for Thanksgiving. It was perfect! Kind of Thanksmas, I guess?!!
One of our Christmas decorating goals for next year is to put lights on the outside of the house. I’m sure it will be basic and nothing extravagant, but with all the work it will take, I’m thinking the first week of November for outdoor lights!
Decorating early has been perfect the last two years! I’ve enjoyed my Christmas decorations and have been ready to take them down by that first week in January. In fact, we plan to remove our Christmas décor this weekend.
Despite having plenty of time to enjoy the Christmas spirit, taking down the Christmas décor is still just a tiny bit sad to me.
Our Post-Christmas Family Tradition
In an effort to make the experience pleasant, I began a new post-Christmas tradition last year. We had a family party complete with pizza, salad, and sugar cookies. The kids decorated them, and it made the evening a fun event rather than a sad one.
This year we are continuing our tradition of pizza, but I’m serving raw carrots and cucumber rather than salad. We plan to make the no-bake peanut butter chocolate oatmeal cookies too. They are simple, tasty, and fun to make! I plan to make them with a stevia baking blend so they will even be “healthy-ish” too!
We have a miniature Christmas tree that I will be leaving up through the winter. It has lots of sparkling lights. I added a red burlap bow to the top and would love to find some mini heart ornaments for Valentines. I like our winterish/Valentines tree because it lights up our kitchen on so many of the dreary, winter days.
One of the wonderful things about taking down the Christmas decorations is the home organization that accompanies the task. I love donating the items that are no longer needed and reorganizing the things we want to keep for next year!
Do you have any post-Christmas traditions? When do you take down your Christmas décor?
Happiest of New Years!
