125 feet of fresh garland in the house. What was I thinking!? Oh my word. If you EVER hear me say I’m thinking about doing that again, please pipe up and tell me it’s a bad idea!!!.
I had this grand idea of fresh garland with glass stars hanging from the ceiling for Christmas… And for the first week or so it was really, really pretty.
But even with twice daily mistings of the garland… The garland didn’t stay pretty for long.
Lesson learned.
On a side note, my floor is the cleanest it’s ever been. 😉
A few pine needles fell into the cracks {slits?} of the floorboards and once I was down on my hands and knees for a closer look I discovered they were all filled with dust and who knows what.
I can’t even begin to put into words how satisfying it was to suck all that stuff up. And when I say all of it, I mean every single bit between the downstairs floorboards was cleaned out.
I also realized how badly the floors need to be refinished. And told the HH that too. 😉
Remember what an ordeal that was in the last place? I told him it would be SO MUCH easier to refinish the floors here because 1. He knows what he’s doing this time and 2. This place is SO MUCH smaller.
Project mode. I just can’t escape from it.
All that’s left to do now is to pack away the nutcrackers and my Christmas clean up will be complete. It’s funny, but the space seems so much bigger now. A clean house, and everything in its place. That’s how I want to start the New Year.
How about YOU? When do you take down your Christmas decorations? Do they come down the day after Christmas too? Curious minds want to know.
Have a great day everyone,
~Mavis
Kari says
Christmas starts Christmas Day and runs until Epiphany, hence the 12 days of Christmas. I try to leave my decorations up, but with a real tree, I sometimes take it down sooner, as it gets pretty brittle. By mid-January, it is all put away.
Tamara says
We decorate slowly through Advent, leading up to Christmas and try to observe the twelve days of Christmas, which can be a little tricky at times since the world speeds up after New Year’s. The fresh greenery/tree sometimes have to go just for the reason you stated! My grandmother always wanted the tree gone by New Year’s Eve so she could begin the new year “fresh and clean”. We try to make a final celebration at Epiphany (mainly so it does not become a “chore” to put things away. ) January is when I put the snowmen out. Always hoping for some snow here in the south!
Laura Z says
I usually wait until Epiphany, more or less, but I do start a bit of deep cleaning before then. It is such a good feeling to start the new year with a very tidy house!
JC says
I take my Christmas Decor down and put it away late evening on Christmas day, I always have done it this way.
This morning I will put a deep clean on my home, and then coast into the New Year….
I will assemble a soup using Holiday leftovers and just enjoy the quiet.
I have already unpacked the cobalt blue and silver decor for the New year and it stays out until I decorate for Easter.
Book are ready for reading and seed catalogs ready for dreaming about planting, just need to get thru the dark cold season. I don’t like cold or snow but I am ready.
JC
Jayne says
Major Christmas decorations come down 1/1 or 1/2, depending on what we’re doing, but the candles in the windows stay until Epiphany. I can’t imagine taking everything down the day after.
Elizabeth M says
I like to leave the decorations up until at least New Year’s Eve, if not Epiphany. But I only put up a few things each year, and the tree is a miniature artificial one, so my cleanup is pretty simple.
Lynne says
I’m with Laura – I wait until Epiphany and then begin the process of putting Christmas away. Over the years, and with the adoption of faux trees rather than real, I pushed the set up closer to Thanksgiving, so my Christmas decorations have had a nice run already, but I still hate rushing the end of the season. On the one hand. it looks sort of bare when it’s all put away, but there is a serenity in the space that’s clean and uncluttered.
Lana says
Once I bought our cordless Dyson I was amazed at how much cleaner our hard wood floors were because it pulls all the junk out of the cracks. Day after Christmas or any holiday is food management. We have a big family so I buy lots of food but in order to keep from wasting what is left I have to portion and freeze and plan how to use what won’t freeze within a few days. I make a list of all the leftovers that we have to eat within a few days and we check them off as they go.
Coleen says
Everything gets put aways on New years day.
Virginia says
I was a fresh cut tree lover but decided back in September to purchase a pre-lit artificial tree from Costco to eliminate the needle mess, watering requirement, and hassle of stringing tree lights. It was $100 off in September, so the timing was great. I have enjoyed my new tree thoroughly, and disassembly will be a breeze! I also looked at fresh garland but decided against it because of the potential mess — thanks for learning that lesson for me, Mavis! I did purchase one of Costco’s fresh wreaths that I hung outside my front door. That was a first-time buy, and I’ll definitely do it again next year. The wreath is still going strong and was only $20. Misted it at least every other day to lengthen its life. I’m not surprised you take down your decorations immediately after Christmas, Mavis. You are always a lady on a mission! I generally wait until January 1 myself, but I may not wait that long this year. I ordered a Christmas tree storage bag that will be delivered tomorrow, so I may need to try it out early (wink).
Pamela Sheppard says
For many many years the Christmas tree and decorations stayed up throughout January maybe once or twice into February. I used to get so busy going into December and even busier the closer Christmas came that I never really got to enjoy everything. Once December ended my life slowed down for a few weeks and I could enjoy relaxing with the tree lit up a few nights a week!
Mary says
I wait for epiphany. I like to enjoy it all once the hubbub is over. Today is all leftovers!
Sue S. says
We got a late start this year so the already-dryed-out tree will come down next weekend, after New Years’. It was so disappointing – the tree that is. Only once in my 48 years in this house did we have a tree that was so dry by the time I put it up, I was afraid to turn the lights on. We also have a small table top tree decorated with kids handmade ornaments which I have in the living room, because of the proximity to the gas Jotul. It takes so long to put everything up, and out around the house, that I will probably leave it all up for several more weeks and just enjoy my things.
Annette says
On January 2 I start slowly taking down Christmas decor such as snowmen and stockings. The tree and nativity set stay up until after epiphany. One year the mister asked me if I was going to hang valentines on the tree.
SueD says
We always wait until after Epiphany to take the Christmas things down. Usually start decorating First Advent. Things were different this year, because we have 2 almost 4 month old puppies. Some years we’ve not taken things down until after Lady Day, 2nd February.
Judith Johnson says
I usually take the tree down in the week between Christmas and New Years Day, but leave the Nativity sets up until Epiphany. Now that our kids have flown the nest and celebrate in their own homes, we sometimes skip the tree and just put out the favorite Nativity and some lights outside.
HollyG says
Today the ribbons got rewound and packed away along withe the stocking to use again next year. The fireplace was cleaned out and the kitchen got a good scrub. We usually eat leftover, but sent them all home with our son this year (thin sliced roast beef, rye bread and horseradish sauce).
We are lucky enough to live in Christmas tree country so our tree is still really fresh and can stay up through the new year. Then we take it, and its 5-gallon bucket of gravel, to the back deck where it usually twinkles beautifully through June or July.
Brianna says
I am not fond of decorations and have left the amount of Christmas decor to one big plastic bin. Before school starts back January 6, I will have the kids pull all the ornaments off the trees (we have one artificial and one live Norwegian spruce). I am particular how everything is stored and put away and I will do that. I toss anything broken beyond repair, outdated, unused (didn’t make it out of the tote), anything we replaced (new lights this year), etc. I cannot wait to put it all away. If I had it my way, I would decorate Christmas Eve and remove it all the 26th, but the hubby and kids will not get on board with that idea.
Claire says
Goodness nooooo…. or decorations don’t come down until the 6th or 7th January. Get to enjoy all that festivity through the New a Year.
Donna Wade says
We take our Christmas decorations the weekend following the Epiphany. It’s too much to deal with after work if that falls on a weeknight. Then out come the snowmen and the Valentine’s decorations. Mavis, will you be doing Valentine’s buoys? I’ve been loving the outdoor decorations in your new place?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yep!
Dawn says
When I had a real tree it was taken down on the day after Christmas because I was always worried it was dry and a fire hazard. Now that I have a fake tree it stays up until at least Epiphany. I’m usually too busy before Christmas to really take the time to enjoy how pretty the decorations are but now it’s a little quieter I’ll have a chance to enjoy it.