When Should Christmas Decorations Go Up, Come Down?

Outdoor Christmas decorations are one of the most delightful parts of the season, turning ordinary neighborhoods into the places sugarplum dreams are made of.

But how soon is too soon to turn the magic on? And when should those decorations come down after Dec. 25? We asked our Facebook fans to weigh in, and got some great responses, including a great reason to be understanding if your neighbor still has that Santa in the yard in late January.

Amber Wilkinson Chase: Put up Thanksgiving weekend, take down Dec. 30. Need to ring in the New Year with a fresh start.

David Huseman: Ours go on Thanksgiving night and stay on until New Years Day.

Theresa Farris Roach: Put them up Thankgiving weekend, take down Jan. 1.

Jo Dennis: Put up no earlier than Nov. 1. Take down by Feb 1. Some may disagree but they may not know there is good reason for these dates.

The reason I give these dates is some of our service people get to come home on leave but not exactly on date. Those families may still want to celebrate some Christmas together. Also there are other religions who celebrate Christmas on a different date. Off hand I can think of the Russian Orthodox Church, which celebrates their Christmas 13 days after western Christmas on Jan. 7.

In my case we leave our trees up till after the Epiphany Jan. 6, so we often leave the lights lit till then also.

In your opinion, what's an acceptable date to put up and take down Christmas decorations? Tell us in the comments section below.

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