What date is too late for outdoor Christmas decorations?

[RockRaven]

I mean the whole nine yards, not just lights but also human size figures of snowmen and Santa and reindeer, freestanding 5-6foot tall letters spelling J-O-Y or N-O-E-L, wreaths and garlands, softball to basketball sized sparkly ornaments in the trees in the yard, etc.

This weekend I realized Jan is almost over and there's still a few houses around here with their stuff out. I don't have a strong opinion, but I'm curious what other people think.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. You mean to put them up? NT

[hlthe2b]

2. I sort of go along with my Mom that took all that down on Jan 1 or shortly thereafter....

Living in Colorado, so many mountain towns keep warm white lights up year-round that I'm quite fine with that. And snow-themed decorations--like winter wonderland-themed house flags and the like can go throughout the winter IMO. Real or fake evergreen wreaths or planters, ditto.

[lapfog_1]

3. Jan 2nd

growing up this was the date that we would take the live Christmas tree out to our front yard and plant it with the line of Christmas trees (weather permitting). Then all the outside decorations would come down and the inside decorations except for a "winter candle" or two or three that would stay on the fireplace mantel.

[Ocelot II]

4. None. My neighbor has the whole nine yards on his house and I love it.

He's an ancient hippie who loves to decorate his house for holidays. He might take it down for the summer but his equally baroque Halloween stuff goes up in September.

[FalloutShelter]

5. 12 days of Christmas for me.

Lots of decorations still hanging out in my neighborhood too.
Mine came down Jan. 7th.
JMHO

[Fiendish Thingy]

6. I've always felt it was tacky to leave decorations up past Epiphany (Jan. 6)

I’m an atheist, but I think that’s the day the wise men arrived at the manger, and is celebrated in some cultures.

We try to take ours down, weather permitting, on New Years Day.

[Coventina]

7. Feb. 2nd: Candlemass

The official end of Yule.

[Ahna KneeMoose]

9. The Feast of the Holy Encounter

Thank you kindly for a most-pleasantly pleasing response

Candlemas occurs next Thursday 2 February 2023

[Marthe48]

16. Groundhog Day

We are fond of overlaying new holidays over old ones

[niyad]

17. Exactly.

[Coventina]

21. Merry meet sister!

[niyad]

22. Merry Meet, my Sister!

[3catwoman3]

8. We have stockade fencing around our back yard so I am OK...

...with leaving our back yard mini lights up for quite some time on the bushes and trees. The fence blocks the neighbors' view for the most part. I love to see the lights glowing from under the snow that accumulates on the bushes.

We also have 2 lighted deer that look pretty convincing - they have black eyes and noses, which somehow make them look almost real. It makes me happy to look at them. They are made by the Phillips company and carried at Target. The link below shows one on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/195562936896?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1xdOd-Ew3RR-N2vHdPCSuqw6&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&

[LakeArenal]

10. Always depends on the weather We've taken down outside lights in February

Some cities have an ordinance date.

We didn’t. But we didn’t light them after New Years.

[gibraltar72]

11. Yesterday!

[pandr32]

12. After the Jan. 1 new year.

Christmas/Xmas/holiday decorations are done when the end of the year ticks by.
However, white lights strung on trees seem lovely any time of year.

[Phoenix61]

13. My outside lights come down on Jan 7th.

The inside stuff may stay up a week or so longer. As long as the tree is still green I’m happy to have it up.

[Big Blue Marble]

14. There is no should about it.

Whatever brings joy. At this darkest time of year, lights are are appreciated. As long as the owners
are feeling good about their display, why should anyone even care?

Candlemas (February 2) is one tradition that makes sense for the end of the Christmas Festival of Lights as it is exactly halfway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. The natural light is returning to our northern hemisphere.

[Brother Buzz]

15. My neighbor removes his Super Bowl Sunday

The idiot starts putting them up the first of October, with kind a Halloween theme, then adds more with a Thanksgiving flavor, then by the end of the month, he has the whole damn three story house lit up like a Christmas tree.

[Fla Dem]

18. Epiphany, January 6th.

Last edited Mon Jan 30, 2023, 09:28 PM - Edit history (1)

I do keep my real pine wreath on the front door up for a couple of more weeks just in recognition of winter.

[niyad]

19. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the spirit of Christmas, at least, stayed around all year?

[MFM008]

20. I took

Down all the Christmas ornaments and decorations but left up the small tree with lights and a string of lights on the wall inside the house.
Looks so cheery I'm using them as my nightlights for now.

[patricia92243]

23. Leaving them up past new year eve is bad luck - I was told as a child.

[malaise]

24. Jan 7 n/t

[IcyPeas]

25. I still have a single string of solar lights up, but the electric ones came down January 22.

And that's the extent of my decorations.