Well, the 2023 holiday season is coming to a close, which means *sob* it’s time to start thinking about taking down the tree and decorations. This Saturday is January 6, which marks the 12th day of Christmas (or the Feast of the Epiphany as many Christian denominations know it as). That’s the timeline that my family used while I was growing up and I think it’s fair. You get to extend the season a little bit past New Years, but also don’t still have a Christmas tree and blow mold Santa up until St. Patrick’s Day.

When we talked about the artificial vs. real Christmas tree debate, some of you mentioned that you keep your trees up for a while after the holidays are over. I love that! According to a 2022 Home Decor Report from Opendoor, 84% said that they take their decorations down sometime in January, with 51% responding that they put them away on or around January 1. Today.com recently talked to some experts to get their thoughts on when it’s time to take your Christmas tree and decorations down. Their answers varied, ranging from religious traditions to practicality to personal preference.

New Year’s Day: “January 1st is that clear marker of time that the holidays are over and a new beginning is here,” Ariana Lovato, owner and principal designer at Honeycomb Home Design, tells TODAY.com. “Time to clean up the home, clear up the clutter and take a breath from the stress of the holidays.”

January 6: “Many people will…wait until January 6 as the final day to remove all holiday decor,” Lewis Puleo, vice president at Puleo International, the oldest artificial tree company in the country, tells TODAY.com. January 6 is known as the Epiphany, Little Christmas or Three Kings Day. From the perspective of religion tradition, it’s the day that the Magi (the Three Kings or the Wise Men) brought gifts to the infant Jesus, so it makes sense for many to mark this as the last day for the Christmas season. And as the song goes, there are indeed 12 days of Christmas, with the last being January 6.

Any time in January: According to the 2020 “Undeck the Halls” report by Neighbor, more than half of Americans won’t frown upon keeping decorations up past January 1. You might start to get the side-eye from your neighbors at a certain point, though: 31% said decorations should come down by January 15, while 33% extended the deadline to February 1.

When your tree says it’s time: If you have a real Christmas tree in your midst, it’s really up to the fir itself to decide when it comes down. And unfortunately, it might be sooner rather than later. If your tree is exhibiting any of the following signs, Carpenter says it might be time to take down your tree, no matter the date:

The needles are falling, either on their own or with the touch of your hand

The limbs are stiff or droopy

It smells musty rather than like citrus or pine

The tree doesn’t seem to be taking in much or any water

Don’t let any of this sway you from having a real tree, though. “With proper care, you could easily enjoy your tree from Thanksgiving through the New Year or Epiphany, because who doesn’t want to make the holidays last just a little bit longer,” Carpenter adds.

But really, take down your tree anytime you want: Provided you have an artificial tree — or maybe you just have a green thumb — you can leave your tree up for as long as you want. It’s your house, your rules. What’s more, the aforementioned Neighbor report found that 9% of respondents wouldn’t mind if you kept your decorations up all year. “The tree can be thought of as a transitional object/security blanket,” Amber Dunford, a design psychologist and the style director for Overstock, tells TODAY.com. “It’s a symbol of comfort for us, so it makes sense that people want to carry it with them throughout all seasons because Christmas can be such a magical time.”

[From Yahoo]

I think most people generally keep their decorations up for a week or so after Christmas and/or New Years is over, but the time table for the tree may be different. For example, our neighbor took her tree down on December 27, but says she’s keeping the outside lights up through this weekend, if the weather allows. I’m curious to hear what everyone else does! We’ll enjoy our tree and decorations through the 6th and begin to take them down on the 7th. It’s helpful that it’s a weekend this year or else I’d probably use a weekday as an excuse to delay. It did take a while to put the outside lights up, though, so we just may be *that* house on the block that keeps them on juuust a few days longer. (Although Mr. Rosie will tell you differently, lol.)

I have a funny story about live trees telling you when it’s time to go! Every year, my sister and parents cut down their trees from a local farm. Two years ago, my sister noticed sometime before Christmas that there were little brown growths on her tree. She didn’t think too much of it until the day after Christmas, when those brown growths opened and out popped something like 150 baby praying mantises! My parents were there at the time and said it was a whole scene trying to get the “nice” ornaments off of the tree, get the tree outside, and catch all of the baby praying mantises. Needless to say, both groups examine their trees a lot more carefully now.

Photos credit: James Wheeler, Peter Chapin and Freestocks on Unsplash and Geoffrey Swaine / Avalon