Taking Down The Christmas Tree: When You’re Supposed To Do It

I grew up with someone who wasn't much of a Christmas person. My mom would grudgingly drag out the Christmas decorations around December 1st, and very happily tear them all down on the day after Christmas (although I'm sure she would have rather taken them down right after Christmas morning ended).

However, I married a Christmas lover. Amy will usually begin the holiday decoration removal process the weekend after New Year's Day, which I've learned (this morning) is the more traditional way of doing things, and the method that I much prefer.

Which brings us to the question of how you and your family go about it. Are you a day after Christmas person? A New Year's Day person? A week after New Year's person? Or, a to-hell-with-it person who leaves everything up until you're good and ready to take it down?

If You Want To Be Traditional About Things, You Should Definitely Leave Your Tree And Decorations Up Through The Feast Of Epiphany On January 6th

You can even use the song "The 12 Days of Christmas" as your guide on this one. You may not be aware, but the song starts on Christmas Day with the partridge in the pear tree and wraps up (obviously) 12 days later with all those drummers drumming, which would be January 6th, the Feast of Epiphany, and the traditional end of the holiday season.

You may have a mess to clean up at home, but it's nothing compared to the mess left behind in that song. Lords leaping, ladies dancing, and animals galore can really trash a place.

So, What Do Most People In Illinois Do When It Comes To Dismantling Christmas Trees And Decorations?

According to a 2022 study done by OpenDoor.com, as long as you're doing it sometime this month, you're in the majority:

Almost all respondents (84%) from our survey said that decorations come down in January, with 51% aiming for New Year’s Day or soon after.

Another survey, this one done by Neighbor.com, determined that your neighbors do pay attention to what you're doing, and some even have "deadlines" for when they think their neighbors should be done with the holidays:

More than half of Americans say it’s OK to leave your decorations up past January 1st, with 51% of respondents saying January 2nd is the best day to take them down. With that in mind, when is “too late” to still have decorations up? Respondents were divided: 31% said January 15th, and 33% said February 1st. Don’t tell that to the 9% who said it’s fine to leave them up all year.