When to take down the X-Mas tree

37up

37up

Joined
Jun 16, 2002
Messages
1,104
this has been an old question for me.

when do we? at my parents house i think there was a time when we left it up for 2 years running.

i'm thinking the first week on January.
 
we usually let ours stay up until New Years Day...but the one we have this year is getting a bit dry (live tree)...may go down today...:(
 
All of my wife's family say's that it's bad luck to take down a Christmas tree before new years. I had never heard that before we got married.

Steve
 
Now do you mean take down or put away?;) I will take down our tree the first week of the new year. It generally takes me another 3 or 4 days to take the time to clear a spot in the garage for it. I'm told we have an attic, but without a ladder, it might as well be a wormhole to the universe of naked ladies.

hmm, i might have to stop at lowes on the way home to pick up a ladder.

Jake
 
we cut ours from the back yard this year, so I'm hoping we can have it up for a bit longer...But we'll probably take it down sometime soon after the 1st.
 
When I was a kid the tree stayed up until after New Years. I think once or twice it lasted a month. My wife takes the tree down promptly after New Years. If it wasn't so late, I think she'd take it down at 12:05 Jan 1st.



munk
 
When I was at home, the tree came down on New Years Day.

When I left home and went to college the tree stayed up year around. We did decorate it for 4th of July though.

Now we leave it up until we get the inclination to take it down. I generally vote for the weekend following new years, but SWMBO dictates that policy.
 
It varies for us.

We got this live tree this year. I have this line of trees I planted on the property line and some of the seedlings died when we planted them during 2 successive dry summers so I have been filling in the gaps with live christmas trees last few years.

Anyway the live trees this year-

Some sadist put a root ball on them this year that must be 250 lbs!! It was all the wife and I could do to get it out of the truck, backed up to the porch, pull it inside the front door and to the side so we could open it and then decorate it. We both nearly busted a gut just lifting it 6" up over the threshold.:thumbdn:

So we may just cut a hole in the ceiling, cover it with plastic and leave this one inside permanently;)
 
One year we waited until about May to take it down. Mid January works for me. When you're tired of all the pie and ham and turkey leftovers, and the Christmas presents have all but migrated out of the living room, and everythings boxed up to go in the shed/garage/basement, you should have your tree down. Some people in my neighborhood were out taking their lights down on the 26th. Mid January is the time IMHO. What miffs me, is that the radio stations stop playing xmas music immediately at 12am on the 26th. They start on Halloween, and play nothing else, and since I still live with the folks, I listen to them all the time on the radio. By the week before Xmas, I have stopped hating the holiday and the rush and the constant onslaught of the hated music, and by Christmas Eve, I have decided that I actually enjoy Christmas, and then it's over! I shouldn't complain, I wash it all down on New Years Eve.
 
Ours was super dry this year. We got it at Home Depot. It never sucked up any of the water in the dish. My wife made me get it out two days after Christmas while her sister and them were running errands. It was light as a feather. I took the lights off after I got it out, and I just pulled them off like a cat pulling a ball of yarn. That light ass tree was just rolling all round the front yard like nothing. It was the first load in my new truck. Right back to Home Depot. I wish I had a pond to throw it into. Oh well.
 
It is almost time for the christmas tree/baked potato story.









Hundreds of years ago, middle marraige time, we got a tree that would denude an entire branch of its needles at each closing of the front door. The fashion at the time as shag carpeting. We had long, green, wool shag carpet.

Somewhere, in an apartment or a landfill someplace, there are STILL needles inextricibly emeshed in that carpet.
 
We cut ours at a local tree farm and we tend to keep them until the needles start to fall. This year our oldest son can't come for Christmas before January 21st. The tree has to last until January 25th this year. We may not turn the lights on again.
 
When I lived in an apartment with a fireplace and had no pets, the tree would stay up until Easter, at which point I'd take it out to the parking lot with my trusty AK and chop it into pieces. All of my friends would then come over for the traditional Easter marshmallow bunny roast.

The current lack of a fireplace, not to mention the inevitable havoc that would result from the meeting of "terminally curious carpet shark" and "interesting-smelling tree (covered in blinky lights, food items, sparkly tinsel & assorted shiny objects) standing in a big dish of water", has kept the household tree-free at present.
 
I like the Easter idea. There's a certain amount of chutzpah, recklessness, or just plain optimism in leaving it up so long. Heck, if it's OK to love our fellow man as we love ourselves during a few days in the middle of Winter, why not all year round?


I've always got a kick out of seeing Christmas lights, decorations, or trees still on display long after January 1st, proclaiming the Holiday is not over. Of course, I don't know if the displays are intentional or just left from laziness. It makes me laugh and tip my hat. If I happen to have a hat.

munk
 
The first weekend after New Year's Eve. That's gospel man.

I came home the day AFTER christmas to find 2 xmas trees up. My wife had liked one of the prelighted deals she saw at Home Depot and snatched it at 75% off the day after. She put it up to see how it looked :rolleyes:
 
Yvsa said:
If'en ya don't put one up ya don't have to take it down.:p ;) :D
Click to expand...

or (corollary)

if you don't take it down, you don't need to put it back up next xmas! :D

(over here it's bad luck if you don't take them down by the 12th day of christmas, which is friday)
 
Mine's been up since Nov 2, and If I have my way (I.E. if the more attractive person living in my house lets me) It will stay up until we get an actual house. I like the decorating it for the 4th thing, maybe ill decorate it every holiday.
 
Yes, us Brists have to stick together Kronckew.

Let me give you the definitive answer.

Your decorations, the whole lot, tree, outside lights, santa on the roof etc should be down by 12th night or midnight on 6th January. If you don't all sorts of bad luck ensues. My wife says Henry VIII said so. It is because the three wise man visited on 12th night.

It never ceased to amaze me when I visited Canada in February outside decorations were still up!

Having said all that, 'er indoors who must be obeyed says ours will come down on Sunday as we have visitors for dinner on Saturday. I hope dinner doesn't get burnt due to 'bad karma' :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top