I'm sure ours is not the only family that doesn't decorate their Christmas tree . . .

[Brenda in FL]

Thanksgiving weekend. But it does seem that everyone I know in real life does!

My son has his birthday on the 5th - so I usually wait until after that. This year we'll wait another week until the grandparents arrive.

 

But we've never put our tree up as early as Thanksgiving - other decorations - yes - but not the tree. I usually leave it up a week into January as well (got to get those 12 days in there!)

 

If the tree wasn't such a big undertaking - I'd be happy to go with the old tradition of putting it up on Christmas Eve!

[Jean in Newcastle]

We usually decorate our tree the day after Thanksgiving. It has been a sad Thanksgiving weekend here since I've been too ill to get out the ornaments. The kids were able to get out enough to decorate our mantle though and that has given a bit of a festive air to our house.

[Denise in Florida]

We put ours up the week before Christmas.

 

Now if you were asking when we take it down. :glare: I think the latest was mid-February. I joked once that we could just put plastic eggs on it and call it an Easter tree.

[Kate CA]

I think every family is different. I wasn't going to do our traditional Christmas tree decorating yesterday, but my two youngest wanted to do it so badly I decided there was no reason not to. My tree usually comes down New Years day or the few days after though. I am done with Christmas after having it up for a full month and it works nicely for all of us. I would have a mental breakdown ;) if it was up mid-January!

 

To each his own. I don't have any December birthdays but I am not sure it would change the dynamic if we did because my children are always so excited about the Christmas holidays! It is infectious. (We also have plans for next weekend and it wouldn't work to do it then--that helped me decide too!)

:hurray:

Edited November 29, 2010 by Kate CA

[Harriet Vane]

I get soooo sick of Christmas before it's all finally over. I think it's drawn out waaaaay too long. Dh and I agreed, our first year of marriage, NEVER to decorate for Christmas before December. We never have. My kids are in full agreement as well. We may put it up next weekend, or we might even wait another week after that. It'll be back down and packed up before January as well.

[milovany]

I'd be happy to go with the old tradition of putting it up on Christmas Eve!

 

This is what we do! Love, love, love it.

Edited November 29, 2010 by milovaný

[BigMamaBird]

Nope, you're not alone. We usually don't get our tree till about the second weekend. There's a great tree farm near us and we make a day out of it.

[Starr]

We get our tree in the middle of the month or so. We tried to wait later but we've almost not been able to find one that close to Christmas and that wasn't good. lol Everything is up and decorated through Epiphany.

[KarenNC]

As a birthday present to my husband (also the 5th), we wait until after his birthday to put up our trees (we do two small ones---one for Christmas, the other for Solstice). We only do this because we have artificial trees. I would be concerned about a fresh one going up even that early. Our weather is still regularly in the 60s and 70s, so I'd be concerned they were too dry already from the tree lot and a fire hazard (not to mention the mess of dried out dropped needles).

[Tap]

We use real trees and have a warm home. 2 weeks early is about right for us. :D

[Samiam]

We are about two weeks into December as well.

 

We have a live tree, so I don't want to deal with it drying out for a month.

 

Although I love to look at the decorations, it gets a bit "old" too.

 

Decorations come down a few days after Christmas.

[justamouse]

Ours is up! We boycott black Friday and go pick out our tree instead. It got decorated tonight.

 

This came about because Dec 26 I want the tree OUT and Dh was always grumpy because he wanted it up till New Years. Or more. He loves trees in the house and would have one in here all year long :glare:. I bought him a Balsam Fir but that didn't cut it. So to have the tree out on Dec 26, we agreed to get the tree on Black Friday. :001_smile:I love it. I'm so happy we do it that way because it just makes all of my preparation all the more fun. We did it once on Christmas Eve, but I didn't go to bed at all that year so that put the nix on that. with all the wrapping left to do I was up all night. No one wants a cranky momma on Christmas. :tongue_smilie:

[kalanamak]

We moved this year, and just trying to think where all the decorations I finally broke down and bought last year are puts me in the fetal position.

[anneofalamo]

Nope, won't go up til the 11th, or maybe the 18th! Dead tree in house last about 2 weeks, it goes up, woo hoo, decorate and it comes down on the 26th AM!

[Angel in FL]

We put ours up Thanksgiving weekend most of the time. I can't stand it up after Christmas so it comes down on the 26th. I've been known to take it down the evening of the 25th. When it is over, it is over. LOL

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Thanksgiving weekend. But it does seem that everyone I know in real life does!

My son has his birthday on the 5th - so I usually wait until after that. This year we'll wait another week until the grandparents arrive.

 

But we've never put our tree up as early as Thanksgiving - other decorations - yes - but not the tree. I usually leave it up a week into January as well (got to get those 12 days in there!)

 

If the tree wasn't such a big undertaking - I'd be happy to go with the old tradition of putting it up on Christmas Eve!

 

 

We put it up December 15th! (or the most convenient day near that).

 

When we've put it up earlier, it became just another piece of furniture after a couple of weeks. It got old and boring. No one even remembered to turn on the lights after a few weeks. By waiting, we are much more excited, and the specialness doesn't have time to wear off before Christmas. We remind our kids that in the old days, the tree didn't go up until Christmas Eve.

[Stacy in NJ]

The second weekend in December. Ugghh. I cannot stand having a tree up for months.

[Mom in High Heels]

We decorate our tree on St. Nicholas Eve (Dec 5) and take it down on Jan 6 (though I'm usually ready before then, but by tradition, I'll leave it until the 6th). In an effort to make it less "effort-y" I might put the tree up (it's fake) and put the lights on it a day or two before St. Nick Eve, but that's only because I put about a bazillion lights on it and it takes a really long time to get them the way I like it. The decorations don't go on it though until the evening of Dec. 5.

 

A lot of Germans do the tree up on Christmas Eve, which, while I think is nice, I don't have time for. I have way too many other things to do on Christmas Eve to throw in decorating a tree! I've got presents to wrap, hot chocolate to drink, cookies to eat and Holiday Inn to watch (in the original b&w, of course). James Bond and I watch Holiday Inn every year while wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve after Indy has gone to bed. It's the BEST Christmas movie ever (don't try to tell me it's not!) and I wait all year to watch it. If I had to decorate a tree too, it would seriously cut down on my Bing Crosby time!

[Laura Corin]

We did it on Christmas Eve when I was a child. Husband gets sad if we wait that long though, so it usually goes up on around December 11th.

 

Laura

[Liza Q]

We decorate our tree on St. Nicholas Eve (Dec 5) and take it down on Jan 6 (though I'm usually ready before then, but by tradition, I'll leave it until the 6th).

 

I wish we would do this! While I love having everything decorated before Advent begins (last night was so lovely!) and I do enjoy the 12 Days of Christmas and celebrating Three Kings Day, I do get soooo tired of the decorations before January 6 :glare:

 

But, my children - and husband - love having the tree up as long as possible. I am outnumbered!

[catz]

We will go chop a tree down and put it up next weekend most likely! I'm so ready to have it down after Christmas.

[Mary in VA]

We usually get the tree Thanksgiving weekend but it may take a while to decorate. On year it took 1 1/2 weeks because we were busy. Now we continue with this tradition so our college age dd can take part. Otherwise we'd have to wait til she came home for Christmas break. But this year she had to leave VERY early Sunday and asked that we watch "A Muppet Christmas Carol" Saturday night instead of decorating. So we did and the tree is still waiting :001_smile: We LOVE "A Muppet Christmas Carol!"

 

Mary

[KatieH]

I try really hard to underscore to my children that the time before Christmas Day is ADVENT, not Christmas! And that Christmas doesn't end on the 26th. It's a hard message to teach with the pervasiveness of Christmas decorations in November! If I had my way the tree wouldn't go up until Christmas Eve, but dh and dd1 whine about that so I compromise and let them put it up December 17th when the O Antiphons start.

[TravelingChris]

Well I think most of us who buy live trees don't buy them Thanksgiving weekend unless we plan on taking them down before Christmas. It really isn't safe to have live cut trees up for so long.

[Mom22ns]

I grew up decorating the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I restrain now:D. We have my entire family in for Thanksgiving on the weekend after. They left when we went to church yesterday. After church, dd has gymnastics until 5:00. That just doesn't leave time. We will either do it one day this week or next weekend, but next weekend dd has a gymnastics meet 4 hrs away, so I am leaning toward one day this week.

[Pippen]

I saw this thread on my way to the Ba-hum-bug Unite thread...;)

 

If I set my tree up at Thanksgiving, I'd be wanting it down by mid-December. Two weeks is plenty long for me, but it stays up longer now that I have kids.

 

I've been known to take down my tree the day after Christmas.

[keptwoman]

We usually put ours up the first weekend in December, by the time we head away just before Christmas it's starting to look sad and when we return home after camping, it's to a dead tree which gets chucked in the back shed to await the fire come winter.

[Brigitte]

We get our tree in the middle of the month or so. We tried to wait later but we've almost not been able to find one that close to Christmas and that wasn't good. lol Everything is up and decorated through Epiphany.

 

This is exactly what we do. I don't understand the super early decorating and taking down the 26th. The twelve days of Christmas don't start until Christmas day anyway.

 

Our priest calls trees put up at Thanksgiving and taken down on the 26th or so Advent trees, since they are up only for Advent and not Christmas. :D

[JeneralMom]

My birthday (and my older brother's) is the 5th and we never decorated for Christmas until around the 15th. We have continued that with our kids as DS5's b-day is the 6th. Last year we decided to wait until X-Mas Eve and there were no trees - all the little tree lots were closed, or they were already wood-chipping their trees on the 23rd. We ended up with a discount fake tree. This year we will probably only wait until the week before Christmas. I like to keep the tree up through Advent - we had Ukrainian neighbours growing up and they celebrated on Epiphany so to me Christmas season is the last 2 weeks of Dec and the first 2 of January.

Edited November 29, 2010 by jenr

[linders]

We do "real" trees, but DH is paranoid about dry trees (think "swoosh" up in flames.) So we argue until sometime mid -December then get it about 2 weeks before Christmas. Starting Dec 26th, he eyes the tree warily and asks, "So when is it coming down?" This usually continues until Jan 2nd when I take it down (although I'd love to wait until after Epiphany.)

[Laurie4b]

Family of origin: it was put up the night before Christmas, naked. Santa decorated it. Taken down a few days later--certainly before New Year's.

 

Our family: Usually the Sunday after Thanksgiving, as that is the first Sunday in Advent. Taken down sometime in Jan. (I hate to take it down because it's so cheerful in the dreary weather.)

[Joyofsixreboot]

When I was growing up Christmas Eve was a big deal (German Oma). We decorated and opened presents that day. My family's tradition (implemented by me because over a month of Christmas is too much for me) is to wait until the weekend after my ds's birthday on 12/12. That means this year ours will go up the 18th. We do leave it up until 12th night/Epiphany because we do another celebration then. And yes, my kids hate that we wait so long. :lol:

[Daisy]

Ours is up Thanksgiving weekend and down shortly after Christmas. Basically this is simply because hubby has those days off and can help us with the huge fake tree (allergies to the real thing). The kids love having the tree up for December. It makes the house look nice for parties, etc.

 

I leave up the wooden nativity set until Three Kings Day. I like taking the tree down and leaving up the nativity because all of our focus shifts to the nativity for those last 12 or so days.

[Mejane]

We put ours up the week before Christmas.

 

Now if you were asking when we take it down. :glare: I think the latest was mid-February. I joked once that we could just put plastic eggs on it and call it an Easter tree.

 

 

This is us. :D

[Sherry in OH]

We usually put our tree up on the first day of winter. For the past few years it has come down on New Years Day. I used to like to have it up through Epiphany, but not with a toddler in the house.

 

This year we will be traveling for Christmas, so no tree. I do need to dig out the stockings. We will take them with us to hang on Christmas Eve.

[Karen in CO]

My dd has a birthday the week before Christmas. We have made it a tradition to put it up the day after her birthday. We take it down on New Year's weekend. All the other houses on the cul-de-sac put theirs up Thanksgiving weekend.

[KrissiK]

Ours isn't up. We'll probably do it sometime this week. We've had a crazy busy weekend, sick kids, too much to do. This week doesn't look any better - something going on every night. I hate it when that happens. I suppose we'll get it up sometime before Christmas.

[Tree House Academy]

We don't. I put up my decor in the rest of the house - little trees, candles in the windows, etc. but we do not do the big tree until sometime in mid-December - usually the weekend after we break for Christmas. :)

[MIch elle]

Christmas STARTS on December 25,

.

.

.

... according to the church calendar. It's 12 days.

[fairfarmhand]

I put up the tree after my ds's birthday, Dec. 11. I want my dd (bday 12/1) and my ds (bday 12/11) to be their day.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I put up the tree after my ds's birthday, Dec. 11. I want my dd (bday 12/1) and my ds (bday 12/11) to be their day.

 

Dec. 11th is my dd's birthday too! But she is so much into Christmas that she's the one pushing me to decorate even before Thanksgiving! I make her wait until at least Thanksgiving is over.

[Parrothead]

It goes up St. Nicholas Day or Eve. This year it will be eve because the eve is a Sunday and dh will be home.

[MamaT]

My birthday is 12/1 and we never put our tree up before my birthday. It usually goes up the weekend after. We usually take it down the day after Christmas. It just looks sad to me without the gifts under it, and I would go bonkers having it up into January.