Retired here. And everything is down. If I don’t do it now, I will continue to procrastinate.
I didn’t even decorate for Christmas. My husband and I went to Vegas. That huge winter storm blew in and made our route home impassable so we drove home north through Utah and Colorado (yes, Colorado to avoid the snow, a little ironic). After a 22 hour drive we arrived home Monday to find well below freezing temps and no electricity. Napped for a few hours the Decided it was unbearable and moved to a hotel. Power came back Wednesday but . Between work and the rest I am completely disorganized and we are having our Christmas dinner with our daughter and her husband today. So I am trying to clean, decorate the table and cook. Can’t find half my Christmas stuff but am just going to (try to) not overstress about it (I would like to find the red decorative things (the word is escaping me) I put the plates on but must resist the temptation to get frantic and look for them. Guess I should really get off facebook and get on with it (was taking a tea break 
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January 6 was the traditional day to take down Christmas decorations for us, too, and I have to confess to having a strong sense that that is the “right” day – 12 days of Christmas and all that. From my early indoctrination, I have the ingrained sense that the “real” Christmas season is from Christmas Eve to Epiphany and the shifting of that to early December is a commercial ploy.
When I was growing up, the Christmas tree never went up before December 15 and it was usually put up a week before Christmas and always taken down on January 6. However, this year I did not put up a single Christmas decoration and I’ve given away the few tins of Christmas cookies I had received. So, there’s nothing to put away. So, even though in my mind, it is still the Christmas season, there’s no evidence of it in my house. Next year, I’ll probably go back to having a tree but I’m pretty minimal.
Not sure why teachers and accountants are singled out. Our decorations will come down Sunday, which is a few days later than normal for us. I always want to start the new year with a clean slate.
Not a real accountant, but finance analyst in a large company. Due to the winds of fate, this was the first time in 15 years that I didn’t have 4Q stuff to deal with, so I had an extra 3 days to enjoy things at home.
H and I head back to work on Monday and D to school, so if it isn’t done this weekend, it will be another week. I wouldn’t mind taking down the trees and leaving some of the decor up - nutcrackers, nativity, pyramids, but H will want it all down. I have a small fortune in German Christmas things, and it never seems like there’s enough time to relax and see it all up.
We singled ourselves out. It’s just the reality of a busy schedule starting up again on Monday. Even if my H wasn’t a teacher I’d probably still do it this weekend to “start the new year with a clean slate”, but because he is, I like to get any projects done before he starts classes again.
Older D’s birthday is New Year’s Eve, so all the Christmas stuff is gone before her birthday, and there’s a rule in the house that none of her gifts can be wrapped with holiday paper. I compensate by decorating earlier-sometimes the day after Thanksgiving.
@MotherOfDragons - Growing up my parents would not decorate until after my brother’s birthday (early Dec) and took things down before mine (late Dec). But I finally asked they leave it up for my birthday, I really liked the decor. It felt more festive.
We usually decorate our tree a few days before Christmas. When I was younger, parents would wait for my bro and sis to get in from college, then it was me, then all of us, or whoever was coming for Christmas, and it became a tradition. Also, I’m usually too busy with the other holiday prep (shopping, wrapping, cleaning, cooking) to get it done much earlier. Now we wait for my niece to arrive from college, since DS gets here at Thanksgiving and stays through Christmas. Typically we get it done on the 22nd or 23rd. My parents usually took it down mid-January because of needles falling, but now we have an artificial tree, so hubby’s birthday, which is Groundhog Day, is my goal. I like it and it’s off to one side of the lanai where it’s not too obtrusive. Feels silly to go yhrough all that just to take it down a week later.
True confessions - last year, the bottom part of the tree sat on the lanai all year, until it was time to put it up again. Hubby even turned on the built-in lights one night in early December, when we had some (irreverent) Jewish friends over, and called it our “Hanukkah Bush”! But this year we will stow it - one of my goals for January is to clean out the holiday stuff, tossing a bunch and organizing the rest, which will make room.
@Roseres55, why don’t the scouts pick up your tree?
We have so many scout troops trying to pick up trees that they go well into January, every weekend.
They ask for a $10 donation, pick up the tree, recycle it into mulch, then sell the mulch.
Me, I go back to work on Monday and am dreading taking down the tree. Husband took down the outdoor lights and has a pile of lights for me to put away. Our storage closet is tiny so everything only fits in a certain way. Not ready to take down the tree stuff!
@auntbea, the city does pick up trees, but only in January (and maybe February). I ignored the tree until May and then had to dispose of it myself. That was my lesson learned.
CPA here. I love all things Christmas, but when it’s over, it’s over. It was all taken down, boxed, and stored Dec. 27th. I leave my outdoor lights on until 12/31. This will be my 31st tax season and I do look forward to a holiday season when tax season isn’t looming. All personal life ceases January 1 to April 15th–I think that’s why the accountants singled themselves out.
Oh, @swimcatsmom …my yearends only lasted from the middle of January to March 1…I think I put in only 75 to 100 in that 6 week time span. I always did feel for the tax department at our company!!! Hang in there.
I live on Long Island. Real trees will be picked up in a few weeks, and used to bolster up the dunes at the beach.
I mentioned being a teacher because we’re coming off a week and a half vacation. I want everything all back to normal before the end of the vacation.
We traditionally take down the tree on New Years Day. I am partway there, as the ornaments have been removed and boxed but the tree is still up with lights on. I hate losing the warm, cozy feel of the holiday lights but I do not want to deal with removal after we go back to real work life on January 4. Tomorrow! I’ll finish tomorrow!
I had planned to leave everything up for just one more day, but y’all inspired me. I thought I’d just do the garland, then that turned into putting away the Christmas dishes, then down came the tree. About 90% there! And I made egg rolls for lunch and carnitas for dinner. I’m pooped!
Intended to take down the tree tomorrow, but mid day today the lights went out - this was the second time this year this happened! We decided to take this cue and the tree just came down today. It’s sometimes hard to make the decision to take down the tree - however, once it’s done - it feels GREAT!
Ha, I was going to say Valentine’s Day is my drop dead deadline for putting things away. We don’t put anything up until just a few days before Christmas. I do stop turning on the Christmas lights on the tree by the end of January so it isn’t so embarrassing. The last couple of years we have had a real tree instead of fake so there has been an incentive to get the tree out to the curb by the city’s deadline.
I got bored during the first bowl game and started taking it all down. Faster than putting it up. I have everything but the last half of the tree stowed away. Oh, and the 47,000 outdoor lights!
The kids who were here for Christmas left days ago, so we are kind of over the holidays. I really want everything finished before I go back to school on Monsay.
H took the tree out today. He hangs little bird seed ornaments all over it. He used to make them with our kids and now makes them with the neighbor kids across the street. They use bird seed, corn syrup, flour, water, and lots of fun cookie cutters. The birds love it!