When do you take down your Christmas tree?

[streetsoldier]

We take ours down on "Twelfth Night", 06 JAN; on that evening, we enjoy an old Elizabethan tradition by hiding a bean under a blanket on the floor. The first person to retrieve it becomes "King of the Bean", and is entitled to demand (within reason) anything of each of the participants...one per person present.

Chad, I said "within reason"..

[sunny]

We take ours down on "Twelfth Night", 06 JAN; on that evening, we enjoy an old Elizabethan tradition by hiding a bean under a blanket on the floor. The first person to retrieve it becomes "King of the Bean", and is entitled to demand (within reason) anything of each of the participants...one per person present.

Chad, I said "within reason"..

I'd never heard of that - sounds fun!!

[streetsoldier]

Sunny, the "demand" could be a song, a dance, a secret untold, an answer to a question posed by "His/Her Most Temporary Majesty"; we try to keep it in the tradition of the Elizabethan Court (of which both Debi and I are distantly descended through two Norman-English families).

[sunny]

Sunny, the "demand" could be a song, a dance, a secret untold, an answer to a question posed by "His/Her Most Temporary Majesty"; we try to keep it in the tradition of the Elizabethan Court (of which both Debi and I are distantly descended through two Norman-English families).

I think this interesting!!! I'm going to share this - maybe get new traditions going down here!!!

[coriolis]

Between the dogs, the kids, and my step-grandson, our tree started coming down as soon as it went up. Lights re-strung numerous times, each time not as good as the last, one string of lights is dead. Try finding a missing light bulb when the lights are on the tree. About 20 ornaments are on the floor behind the tree. We did learn that christmas trees will reach out and grab a radio controlled helicopter, and that christmas tree lights wrap up in a propeller REAL FAST. Every time Bandit wagged his tail, an ornament would go flying. Our tree looks like a Charlie Brown christmas tree now. But we had a great christmas. At least it's not a Clark Griswold christmas tree!

We'll probably remove the carcass this weekend.

[Brent]

We take ours down on "Twelfth Night", 06 JAN; on that evening, we enjoy an old Elizabethan tradition by hiding a bean under a blanket on the floor. The first person to retrieve it becomes "King of the Bean", and is entitled to demand (within reason) anything of each of the participants...one per person present.

Chad, I said "within reason"..

I've never heard of that... interesting.

[Brent]

There not Christmas trees anymore.. You must now call them Holiday Trees

Your house, you can call them what you want. You can have a Kwanzukkah bush if you'd like.

That was so Last year

This Just in... Christmas is cancelled next year.

Yeah, this will be suitable to some...

Winter holiday trees, winter holiday parties, winter holiday cookies, winter holiday music, winter holiday wrapping paper, winter holiday decorations, winter holiday presents and WINTER HOLIDAY EVE!

Too long.

[Guest]

My family's decorations, tree included, will probably be seeing storage sometime between January 2 - January 8.

[vbhoutex]

Ours went down last night. We need the room back!

[breeze]

My tradition is - "when I get time!"

Let's see, full day of work, tomorrow - too tired.
Friday, I'm bailing out to a friend's house to celebrate
the New Year....Saturday, lunch at Mom's - Sunday....
ahhhhhh...Sunday MIGHT be the day....

[Miss Mary]

My girls want me to keep it up long past January 1st. My mom says I need to keep it up until January 6th. Somewhere in the middle I compromise. It's always sad when it comes down and the ornaments get packed away for 11 months. A local nursery accepts them until January 5th I think. So that's my cutoff date - we always recycle. And then my car (hatchback) gets a thorough wash - inside and out, clearing out the pine needles and this year, washing off the salt. By this time I'm ready for real winter to begin!

But it's never a happy time. While it's nice to return to normal again, I love the holidays. And look forward to next year.

Mary

[Skywatch_NC]

Gradually taking them down and other things into re-packing this week...getting finished by sometime New Year's weekend!

Eric

[southerngale]

Between the dogs, the kids, and my step-grandson, our tree started coming down as soon as it went up. Lights re-strung numerous times, each time not as good as the last, one string of lights is dead. Try finding a missing light bulb when the lights are on the tree. About 20 ornaments are on the floor behind the tree. We did learn that christmas trees will reach out and grab a radio controlled helicopter, and that christmas tree lights wrap up in a propeller REAL FAST. Every time Bandit wagged his tail, an ornament would go flying. Our tree looks like a Charlie Brown christmas tree now. But we had a great christmas. At least it's not a Clark Griswold christmas tree!

We'll probably remove the carcass this weekend.

That is very interesting Bill, and you're right...it probably shouldn't come down before the 12th night. I didn't think about that. Maybe that's part of the reason ours didn't come down until I went back to school.

Oh, mine will be very crispy by then!

[Miss Mary]

Ed - I just saw your reply on this thread. Removing the carcas soon. LOL!!!

We're invited to an annual New Year's Day party every year. It is a fun party but nearly all in attendance are wiped out from the holiday season. So the atmosphere is somewhat subdued. Good eats and drinks are a plenty, but even the once fresh, green tree looks a sorry sight. We always come away from this party feeling glad we never got into the habit of hosting a January 1st party every year! By this time all of my decorations, faux or real, aren't looking as nice as when I put them out - everything around here is re-arranged. Bags dumped everywhere - from my kids shopping with gift cards they so generously received from family members or from endless snacking going. Sprinkles from recent cookie baking blitz's all over the place. The dog's loving it though!!! LOL I keep cleaning it all up but you wouldn't know it to look around.

So I know the feeling - Christmas is over. It's always a little sad this time of year. I love the holidays so much!

Mary

[CaptinCrunch]

will remove all x-mas decor New Years Eve because the hangover on NYD will prevent me from doing much of anything!!

[Dee Bee]

Since I didn't get the tree up until 12/22 this year, I'd really like to leave it up another month! Usually I try to take all my special Christmas/holiday (oops -- let's not get started on THAT again..!) collections and decorations packed away before Winter Term classes begin or just after Epiphany, but it's always so sad. The rooms look so empty and colorless without all the bright reds and greens and shiny silvers and golds. I do keep lighting the pine and cinnamon/gingerbread candles throughout January and February (fairly incongruous here in SE Florida, but who cares?). And I did buy a marked-down door hanging I plan on leaving up until spring: a wooden snowman face with a banner reading "All flakes welcome!"