Usually when I start putting decos away I do it room by room starting with the least decorated rooms working up to the rooms that have the big trees. That way if I decide to take a break I can do it between rooms and have "clean" areas finished. The outside decos get taken down on which ever day the weather's nice and dry. For some reason I usually take my main tree (which I decorate in pink) down last. Everything else is packed up and put away and for me the hard work is already finished so I can enjoy taking all of the ornaments off the tree almost as much as I enjoyed putting them on. I like to leave my decos up until after the Epiphany, but sometimes I take down all of the bedrooms' so I usually have everything packed away by about the 10th of January.

Mine are all down....I started right after Christmas & finished yesterday. I did alittle each day as I worked on some of those days too. Happy New Year!

Bonnie

I will probably start later today and be finished some time tomorrow. Then I'll be in my organizing mode!!

I was wondering the same thing. It took a little longer to get the tree up this year, it's only been up two weeks I am not quite ready to take it down. Mayby this weekend.

I will do a little each day this next week or so working from bathrooms then bedrooms and finally the main living quarters. I am never in any hurry. Outside will get taken down after we get through a cold snap that starts today but should be down by the weekend. Back porch will stay up the longest - through early spring - it is more of a nature/woodland setting anyway consisting of berries, grapevines and birds although I will take down the woodland Santas. I am going to do something new this year and keep up a tall slender 5ft tree and decorate it seasonally - snowflakes first then valentines, ect.

lol - I am really counting on you guys to keep me motivated in decorating for each season and giving me some great ideas......

Lynne

Belgians decorate their houses on mid-december and put them away on January 15th. Regarding my decos, I'll put them away on Saturday.

Since we started late this week, I think I'll keep them up through the week. I'll start gathering a little at a time and bringing to one room for my husband (to gleefully) put away.

Janine

meant started late this year

Our decos stay up till Little Christmas, the Feast of the Epiphany, Jan 6. Most people I know have that tradition. Entertaining during this period still goes on and it would be strange not to see holiday decos while visiting.
It takes me a long time to get everything down, and I really must purge and organize better this year, so hello more plastic bins!

I use to think that Jan 1st meant time to take things down and put away. Which is way I was raised. Now I think that as long as things make you happy and you enjoy them, leave them up. I have a little kitchen plate sign hanging I bought years ago that says "this is my house and I'll do as I darn well please". LOL. Works for me.
I especially think the greenery and winter looking items should be left out to enjoy as long as possible. Seems we all work so hard to decorate for Xmas right after Thanksgiving and don't get to enjoy our efforts near long enough if we take them down so soon.

Where are the JIMS ??????????? The decorating you guys do, I want to know for sure how long you keep yours up. It would crush me to take it down if mine looked like yours!!!

hugs, Karen

I live in eastern NC and it is hard to conjure up snow and ice when it is 70 outside but I really think this year I am going to keep up an ice and crystal theme going through February this year. Some of these decorations that I have seen you guys doing are so pretty. I can pull alot of crystal stuff from my normal decorating and then add the snowflakes and greenery with sparkely tips and do some nice decorating - keep out the silver and white ornaments - uuummmmmmm my mind is really going wild now.....

Lynne

Labmomma, that sounds like a nice sane approach. There is no RULE or right or wrong way.

Lynne, that sounds really pretty. It's a good idea too, I think. I know my house always feels blah after all the colorful decos are packed up. Hope you will share pics of any centerpieces or vignettes that you do. Your idea of decorating your tree in the back for the seasons sounds cute too. We all just need to do what keeps us entertained and happy.

Karen, I love your sign. Sometimes takes most of us a lifetime to realize that very thing. We don't have to do things anyway but OUR way. Nice freeing feeling isn't it?

Kathleen, while I envy you having a basement for extra storage, I don't envy you the trips up and down the stairs. Take your time and do be careful.

I usually like to take mine down on New Year's day, but not this year. Had the granddaughter and still not feeling up to par, so they will just wait until I'm ready. Might bring in a few boxes and start gradually. And like Kathleen, I need to pack better and clear out a few things too.

Lynne, we have so little of "winter" in Phoenix, that is one reason I hate seeing Xmas decorations go. And keeping a winter look as long as possible is very appealing here.
I love the idea of a holiday tree, lucky you having a slim 5 ft one. I would love one of those, but imagine they are long gone at the sales. I do have a tiny white tree from the Collections catalog that I decorated last year for all the holidays. Had it on my front porch plant shelf.

hugs, Karen

First and very importantly, Luvs, thanks for the sanity vote:)).

Karen, too funny, I was raised the same way. Has taken me 50 years to change it???? I will be buying one of those signs! I was wondering what the Jims would be doing as well. All that work and to take it completely away so soon??? The Jims are probably still enjoying their decs!

This thread really started me decorating seasonally, so I figured why not leave the winter, non-Christmas specific stuff out a bit. Seems like it sits in the attic 11 months of the year - a waste in my mind. I've also a few friends who leave all the snowman stuff out till spring.

Kathleen - I wish I had more room for more plastic boxes.LOL. Never can have too many of those! I hope your DGS is doing better, I haven't been on the thread for sometime, but I saw your post that he was pretty sick. Very scary when babies are that young.

Thanks for the responses, I hope there are more.

The real tree in my livingroom is going to have to come down this weekend, largely because it's doing its crazy Leaning-to-Get-A-Better-View-Across-The-Room thing and I'm getting tired of worrying about where it plans to head next. :-)

I have some of those cardboard winter village homes in my entryway and may leave them up for a few weeks more, but I'll take down the rest of the items.

I leave my garland with the red bows outside on until after Valentine's day, when I just swap the Christmas wreath for a red heart wreath.

--Jenn

Thanks for the good thoughts on the baby, Lab. It is just that he is so little for his lungs to labor so. I am praying he will improve soon. She has to take him to the doc everyday to be checked. So we will see today if there is improvement. Thank God her mom is able to stay with them to help with the other 3, who are all sick too! Ah, winter!

Jenn, I try to stock up on red and green and gold candles and ribbon to be used later for Valentine's and St Pat's. So cheap after Christmas! I do the same with my wreath, and replace in Feb with a Val wreath. It is really annoying that St Pat's and Easter are so close this year 17th and 23 of March. I like the holiday decorating to be spread out!!LOL

Kathleen, blessings to your babies...it is SO hard to watch kids...especially little ones...labor to breath!
We have taken down our tree, and I am packing things away as I get the energy! I will replace the Christmas things with crystal and brass and silver for the rest of the winter. (comeon' folks, I need mantle ideas :^)
FIRST though is to have the carpet cleaned and then the rest of the house cleaned and THEN start up with the "winter" decor!!!
Thanks for boosting my work ethic!!!!
Happy New Year to you all, I have missed "visiting" with you each day, and hope to do better from now on!

Took everything down just after the 26th -- but I do leave the small white lights on the tiny trees at the front door (easier to see the door etc.) I have a large half-basket hanging on the wall to left of the front door -- filled with pine cones for this time of the year.

In Scotland -- it is very bad luck to leave out Christmas decorations after January 6th! Mum is here --- so ---- there wasn't any choice about leaving things out! LOL!

We don't start taking them down til January 6th also, The Epiphany. Never have put them away right after the hoiiday. I like looking at them long after every thing is done. No rush get the decorations put away. Always feel a bit of a let down when we start de-decorating. NancyLouise

Kathleen, keeping your little one in my thoughts and prayers.

I had NO idea that St Pat's and Easter were right together this year. Dang. So it should be a real challenge to combine the two decorations huh? Little leprechauns holding easter eggs, bunnies wearing top hats, eggs painted with shamrocks. Sigh, mind boggling. Where's Spud, he knows how to do this stuff?

hugs, Karen

I have enjoyed reading everyone's posts. I can't wait to see pictures of "winter decorating". My house seems so bland without the Christmas stuff. I like the Angels on the mantel may leave them there for awhile. Please post pictures everyone!!!

Karen, there will be no mingling of my beloved St Patrick's Day with the Easter bunny. You blaspheme, LOL!!!
So it will be St Pat's right after Vals, say the 21st till the 18th, then quick like a bunny with the Easter stuff. And you can be sure Stud will be back for both!!!
And for those who don't know him...here he is being a good O'Boy

Told ya Stud, I mean Spud, would know how to work out ST Pat's and Easter! Such a handsome guy he is too!
Stoney's on my front porch "nekkid" now Xmas is over. I ought to put one of my real whippets dog coats on him at least. LOL, he could pretend it is winter then.
I still think you owe Spud a huge apology for locking him in the basement during Xmas. Heartless Woman!

hugs anyway,
Karen

Teacats, I didn't know your Mom still lived in Scotland. That's one of the places I've always loved reading about. So nice that she was able to come visit you for the holidays!

Jenn, you had me cracking up with your description of your "wandering" tree. You are so funny.

Jaybird, glad to see you're back. Place isn't the same without you. Any chance that Santa brought you a digi camera?

Nancylouise and Bright199, I know what you mean. The house just seems so blah when the decs are gone. I really took my time organizing as best I could while I packed them up today, and really enjoyed looking at each of them and remembering why I liked them so much.

Kathleen, now you have me concerned. I'm not that fast at deciding on a decorating plan to start with and now you tell me St. Pat's and Easter are really close together this year. Well, I don't have many St. Pat's decs anyway, so shouldn't take long to get them down the day after! I kept forgetting to ask about your baby grandson also, hope they get a good report soon.

Karen, Glad you thought about good ol Stud and got him a reprieve from the basement! LOL Maybe Kathleen should keep him away from that beautiful carpet this year so he won't have a relapse.

Just so you all know why I was missing off here most of the day--here's the part of Christmas that no one ever sees--until now! LOL Yes, I am very tired, still fighting a cold and have a least a half day more of stashing it all away before I'm done!

If my little house is this much work, I really feel for the two Jims with all their decorations too.

Luvs, you are a brave woman posting the de-decorating part.
But even your 'mess' looks neat. I piled stuff in my livingroom as I removed it, and had all the empty bins in the familyroom near the door to yard (to storeroom) What a mess. Even the Brat Cat thought it was too much to deal with and went to sleep in another room. LOL.

hugs, Karen

I too put my Christmasy decorations away after January 6th, it's "Three kings Day " on early january 6th. We give/get more presents, yay!

I agree, anything with Santas and Christmas colors should be put away soon after the celebrations are over, however.. gingerbreads and snowmen can stay out during the winter season, but not past Valentines' Day.

ONe time mom left her decorated tree up to April!! No one had time to help her take it down and well, she said it looked "so pretty", she didn't have the heart to take it all apart. ?????

lol Lara - my late husband and I had the living room and dining room decorated one year till mid April. We were known with our family and friends for our massive winter scene train village which took up the two rooms and had 8 running Lionel trains. This one year we kept getting calls from different people saying they were going to be stopping by and sure hoped that we STILL had the trains and village up. I took down the garlands and some decor plus everything outside but the main tree was an intregal part of the platform and so was the dining room window display. We finally called a halt to 'tours' on Easter :D.....

Lynne

Lynne, you sound like my kinda' gal!!!! We do lots of music and everyone that comes along loves to see the Christmas/music deco.....I try to get everything down by the Epiphany, but occasionally it runs over a week or two!!!

I took some things down yesterday - the small Victorian doll tree, the chandelier decor and the table Santas...which basically meant anything the cats were interested in.
Panda thought it was fun to pull the glass ornaments out of the bowl and bat around...and sometimes break. Now my nerves are calmer and I'm no longer hoarse from yelling "stop" or "get off there". LOL

I basically just put it in totes and took it to the attic. I'll sort and pack later, at least this way I'm not tripping on it or providing a new playhouse(s) for the cats.

The rest will be down this weekend.

Yrs ago when I had a bad physical time w/arthritis, the decorations stayed up to May/June - I really considered just waiting the summer out for the next Christmas - but I got it into the attic before it turned hot.

Jim

luvs - your place looks like a store the day after Christmas when they start consolidating it all. LOL

Yay! It's all done finally. What a job! And of course, I had to sort through stuff in the shed, sweep the floors and spray bug spray all over before I put all the bins back in. I wanted to "get rid of some stuff"--which ended up to be very little. Why can't I part with stuff????

Jim, I wish I had a nice big attic I could walk up to or a big basement like Kathleen. I'm all worn out from climbing up and down my ladder to reach the top shelves. Always question if it's "worth it" and the answer is "YES" I love all the pretty Christmas decos.

Good luck to the rest of you as you tackle yours--I had to get mine down because we are going to Vegas this weekend.

Luvs

Jim, you said basically anything the cats were interested in, but you mentioned the chandelier....LOL. I suddenly got a mental picture of Panda swinging from it.
As for the time you had to leave your Xmas up till June, boy I think I'd have gone ahead and just waited Xmas out at that point!!!!
Too bad you don't do the stacked plates for all the holidays, I'm sure Panda would LOVE that. LOL

hugs, Karen

I took down my Christmas stuff on New Years eve. Would have left it up longer but the tree (real) was very dry and I had to go and work on a house we are flipping on the second of Jan.

Every year I seem to over look at least one holiday decor item somewhere. This year I scoured the house looking for the one that always hides on me. Didn't find any, so I packed everything up and put it back in the storage room...only to turn around and discover I had overlooked the entire family room!

catie, that is too funny. I understand how one item can hide in plain sight, but to miss a whole room?? LOL
I love it.

hugs, Karen

I missed two! Good sized wooden Santa hiding in plain site by the desk in the kitchen, and a wall hanging right in plain site in the family room. Glad I'm not the only one that can't see what's in front of her! LOL

Luvs

lol - I don't think a year has gone by that I didn't overlook something and then sometimes I just do it on purpose. On top of one of my doll cases I have a vintage Santa that is always on display and I have a couple of things on my back porch that would classify as Christmas to most people but they are just part of my rustic decor.....

Lynne

grandaughter goes to Florida for Christmas, so she comes to my house the first weekend in January. I have put everything away except the tree and the mantle (the stockings etc.) She helped me put the tree together on Thanksgiving weekend - hope she will help me take it down after we do the gift thing. I had four days off for New Years, so most everything went down then.
Of course, I love her coming after the holidays, I buy her gifts REAL cheap so she gets more.

Well, the tree is down, boxed up along with all of the ornaments, etc. I also took the decs off of the trees in the urns that flank the front door:)) The small trees are lighted and look pretty even without the decorations. Outside garland and wreaths are going to remain until March. Also, the china cabinet and seasonal garlands in the house remain and will probably stay in place until March as well.

I especially enjoyed the posts about the decoration or two you overlook. One year I had a Christmas moose that I didn't notice until July that year. It was tucked into a basket on the soffet in the kitchen. This year I am scanning the rooms carefully to be sure I've gotten it all.

The house is clean and the attic looks fairly neat. A good feeling to start the work week with it all put away. The china closet packs up into a closet in the dining room, so that's really no big deal and besides, it looks nice with the winter garland on the dining room table. We'll see how long I can look at the holiday china and stemware before I cave in and put that away too! I would like to keep it in place until its time to decorate for Easter!

It was fun reading all of posts. I was surprised at how many responses my post generated!

Happy New Year to all!

Do I have to, do I REALLY have to, PLEASE tell me I don't have to undress my beautiful Christmas tree!!??

My livingroom is out of the traffic pattern and nobody goes in but me and maybe the new puppy. I haven't taken it down since I put it up new before Christmas LAST YEAR not 2007 but 2006. SHHHH, don't tell anyone. DH just laughs and shakes his head when he walks by the doorway, while DS and DD tell me I am CRAZY (but they love me and agree it IS a beautiful tree).

OK, OK, I will take it down, but not 'till my brothers and sisters and their families come to my house for our Christmas dinner. Had to cancel it because they were calling for ice that day and my driveway looks like the side of a steep mountain.

SEE WHAT YOU GUYS STARTED????? IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. I NEVER HAD SUCH A BEAUTIFUL TREE UNTIL I FOUND YOU AND STARTED USING YOUR PICS FOR INSPIRATION. SO THERE!!!!!!

Betty

PS: Maaaaybe I could leave it up until I can save enough to buy that digital camera and post pics of it JUST IN CASE I CAN NEVER GET IT LOOKING AS GOOD NEXT YEAR!!!!! LOL LOL LOL
(Seriously, I'm going to take it down after the dinner. I don't want it to get too dusty. But, I do love you guys. You're the greatest!) Such perfect enablers!

Mine are all still up. I noticed last night that we are the last house on the street to have window candles and other lights up. I guess I'll start with those this weekend and then work on the trees.

How long can wreaths and greenery stay up? Does it matter that the bows are ivory and not red?

The new kitten is going to wonder what's going on. The decorations were up before we got him. It's just "home" to him! He loves the (fake) trees.

I'm all for doing what makes you happy! If having Xmas decor till summer, or next Xmas, LOL does...then go for it.
The older I get, the more I think some "rules" are to be ignored. I was so happy with my stuff this year, I told my 18 yr old granddaughter (who's living with me temporarily) that I was going to kick her out and use that bedroom for a Xmas Room. LOL. Now with my 3 ft tall St Nick, he needs the room about as much as she does!

hugs, Karen

I JUST this morning took down the last candle from the window!!!! I always have one burning for our Air Force GS...but the other one was from Christmas, and I missed it on every walk through looking for delinquent Christmas ornaments!! Last night and this morning, I was having to move everything not permanently installed so that the carpet cleaner could come, and lo and behold!! One more candle in the window!

When I lived up in Delaware I had a two story colonial and always had candles in all the front windows all year round. I got the idea from the Amish community in Lancaster PA. When we moved several homes in the development were doing it also. I have a rancher here and just haven't done it yet although I do keep a candle in the kitchen window all the time. It provides a nice night light plus I just like it. Still have several indoor Christmas trees up but slowly taking them down - in no hurry.....

Lynne

I got all of mine down and put away today. I'll wait until a week or so and then put up my Valentine's so I can have it up for at least 3 weeks.

Okay - yes, mine is all down, usually I have a bash at it around January 7th-8th. It took me 11 hours to simply remove everything and banish it all to it's room upstairs. (It takes another 12 hours to clean the whole joint and put out accessories which I change monthly since I have so much of the stupid stuff - closets and rooms full.) Notice that I didn't say anything was sorted or packed. It's all simply upstairs in an unused extra bedroom. Sorting and packing is a whole additional day, though I do have a sneaky thought: I am contemplating simply covering everything as is with big old sheets. No one goes into that room and it's on the other side of the house from the guest room so I don't think anyone would even notice the closed door.

I usually don't bother with much for Valentine's Day until February 1st and then it's only a collection of heart-shaped porcelain boxes and some antique Valentine cards I have acquired over time. I usually bring home a few roses now and then for the coffee table and my desk. I do a lot more for Easter.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season!

Jim A

Good to hear from you again Jim A. Trust me, if I had an extra room that no one ever used that is exactly what I would do! I was telling DH that it was too bad we didn't have a place so we could just cover the Christmas tree and stash it decorations and all until next year. Whatever is easiest, is the way I like.

Will look forward to seeing your vintage cards and bougquets of roses for Valentines. And hope you have some neat stuff to show us for Easter too. It is so much fun to see how everyone decorates.

Luvs

I agree with Luvs, nice to hear from you again and looking forward to seeing more of your decor and lovely home. Your "room" sounds perfect and put to good use. I would call it a Magic Room actually, since it holds the many things that you create such beautiful decor from. I imagine too, that it is chock full of wonderful and colorful things that would fill the eye with joy even UN-decorated.

Please keep posting now you've come clean with us about having "so much stuff". We love that here!

hugs, Karen