We always save them. The only season we decorate for is Christmas, (yes, I still say Christmas) and we've saved the decorations for over 40 years. I still have some tree ornaments handed down from my grandmother when she was a child at the turn of the 20th century.

I do not know of a single person who goes out and buys the same decorations every year.
Everyone keeps them for the next year.

Where do you live, OP, that people are so wasteful?

I was sort of wondering the same thing LuAnn. I don't know of anyone that doesn't save Christmas decorations year after year. Granted you may have to replace certain items when they break, wear out, etc. But buy every year...ahh no. NancyLouise

I've been married for 40 years--and have ALWAYS saved decorations. Yes, eventually, I may toss some that are worn out (or recycle the ones I'm tired of by yard-saling them). I've NEVER heard of anyone who buys everything new every year.

I have separate areas in my attic for the (carefully labelled) Christmas cartons, Easter, Halloween, Summer, etc boxes. And the holiday linens (yes, I even change out my curtains, shower curtains, etc, for Christmas or seasonally) are stored in the chest of drawers in the guest room

From some reason I think this will be spam, it's too weird.

When I first read this I thought it was a joke, but then I remembered my old neighbor, He was a bachelor and was actually very neat, but very lazy. For example he ate standing at the kitchen sink so he didn't have to clean up anything. He also ate frozen french fries so there was no pan to wash. After Christmas he put his entire tree out on the curb, decorations and all. Maybe he is the OP, and he has finally discovered that you can actually reuse your decorations.

Here it is, Oct. 2nd and today I saw the full Christmas dept. in a home improvement store. I mean, banks of Christmas trees, giant yard inflatables of Santa, etc.

When it comes to decorations, I think "less is more". A few simple and tasteful decos and some lights is all we do, no giant plastic sculptures or a house that looks like it belongs on the Las Vegas Strip. Think of the good those hundreds of dollars could do for the needy at the holidays.

Our decorations are subdued. I built a 3/4 size cutter sleigh and put it on the front porch and we place some packages and a small tree in it. Then I run some garland around the porch posts, and that's pretty much it. I have neighbors who, instead of wreathes, have decorated snowshoes they place on the front door.

Then around the first weekend in December we go to the local tree farm and get a fresh cut tree about 5 ft tall to place on a bench we made. We have never paid more than $12 for a tree from this farm. Their average price is $25.

After the holidays I take the tree into the woods in the back and the animals use it for shelter for the rest of the winter.

I think he was yanking our chain, pulling our leg = laughing at us for taking him seriously.

When you actually need to replace ones that have lost their former glory ...

... yard sales!

ole joyfuelled

Welcome to real life. Not only do I have decorations older than me, they are stored in the same cardboard boxes since the 1950's. (Why pay for a storage bin??)

What we usually do at home is to make our own decors. DIY decorations are not only cheaper but they provide us with quality family bonding time. Just another idea!

I completely agree about making decorations. These become the true family heirlooms. Our family has done it for years. Just be sure to have the person making the item sign it. And if it's a child, also note the child's age.

Another thing we do is when the family gathers at Christmas (Yes, I still say Christmas, deal with it.) is when we draw names for next year's Christmas, we have a rule that each person has one year to MAKE the gift for Christmas.

It started out with some gag gifts, but has gotten serious over the years. Last year my brother got his 8 year old granddaughter's name. He liked to dabble in woodworking, so he made her an absolutely beautiful dollhouse, complete with wallpapered walls and handcrafted furniture.

A brother and sister hadn't gotten along for years, so when he drew her name, he made her a full length leather coat.

When this first started, my five year old nephew drew my mother's name. So with a little help from my brother, he made a wood plaque, drew an outline of his hand, wrote "I love Grandma" and signed his name. There was maybe a dollar's worth of wood there, but it became my mother's most prized possession and as far as she was concerned, it was worth a million times the actual cost.