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Christmas

When is it appropriate to put the tree up?

(135 Posts)
minimo Thu 23-Nov-17 12:26:29

Is this weekend too early? Feeling festive but don't want to peak too soon!

grannyactivist Thu 23-Nov-17 17:55:50

Mine used to go up on December 10th, the night before my daughters birthday. When her brother came along on the day before her birthday, but 19 years later, we began to put the tree up on the 9th. Although our son left home a few years ago he still likes to come home and help to decorate the tree with me.

BlueBelle Thu 23-Nov-17 18:13:41

Everyone’s different I can’t bear it to be up too early so around 10 days before and about a week after is fine for me
I get really bored seeing them up in a November

NannyTee Thu 23-Nov-17 18:25:26

I've always done 12 days before and took down twelve days after . Hey Ho though . Each to their own.

loopyloo Thu 23-Nov-17 18:25:35

Each year, I fight with my conscience about cost, environmental issues etc and then I get swept up in the artistic side of it and love special lighting. I have annual temptations and Christmas lighting is one of them. ( Others include a new lawnmower in the spring, new winter boots and new coats.)

NannyTee Thu 23-Nov-17 18:26:10

Or should that be Ho Ho wink

SueDonim Thu 23-Nov-17 18:27:19

Best of luck, ffionchio in your move! smile

I'm not sure that when you buy a real tree makes much difference to its longevity. I live in an area of Scotland that grows trees commercially for Christmas and the lorries are already making their way south laden with netted trees. By 25th Dec they'll have been cut for approximately five weeks!

NannyTee Thu 23-Nov-17 18:32:03

I love the run up and hate the after confused

ginny Thu 23-Nov-17 18:38:35

Dd2s Birthday is 11 th Dec. so our tree never went up before then. Didn’t see why she should share her ‘special’ day with Christmas. Have continuyjis, so ours goes up around the 15 th.
Far too early before December and for me would spoil the effect for Christmas itself.

lilypollen Thu 23-Nov-17 18:49:37

Tends to be a week before, obviously when the boys were young it was earlier. I will put wreaths on the doors around the 15th though. My and DGD's birthday and our wedding anniversary are in the first week of December so don't want any decorations up then.

NannyTee Thu 23-Nov-17 18:54:12

Yes it's getting really expensive over here . My Sons is 16th *December and his little girl the 18th. And guess what ladies???? He has walked without aid today I am still sobbing xx

Greyduster Thu 23-Nov-17 19:01:39

About a week before Christmas for us, but if DH had his way it would be up already! Then, when Christmas is over, I can’t wait for it to come down again! I have to say, there aren’t any domestic ones in evidence at the moment. At the sawmill in a wood we were walking in this afternoon, fresh cut Christmas trees were on sale. I think they were Nordman spruce which are not supposed to drop their needles, but I wouldn’t buy one this early.

cornergran Thu 23-Nov-17 19:04:41

Just do it when it suits you, minimo. Ours tend to go,up early and are gone the day after Boxing Day, unless we are having family here between Christmas and New Year.

Good luck with your move Ffinochio. We once did the same, the first thing I did was to install an artificial teee in the front window. We didn’t have curtains but we had a tree. We were known for ages as ‘the family with the tree’.

Iam64 Thu 23-Nov-17 19:08:49

Usually about ten days before, especially now the pester power of children is no more. Having written that, such happy memories of resisting the demands to put the tree up PLEASE are flooding back. I never take the decorations down till 12th night. I love everything about it and avoid stuff I don't love (like that awful Slade song)

lemongrove Thu 23-Nov-17 19:17:26

Two weeks before Christmas here, and they stay up until 12th night.
Carols from Kings playing, candles and holly wreath on the door, the only thing I don’t have are lights outside or moving figures going ‘ho ho ho’ grin

chocolatepudding Thu 23-Nov-17 19:29:34

When we were building our new house DH put up an artificial tree on the scaffolding with masses of lights. So many people commented how it looked as though the tree was floating in the sky. We still put the same tree up by a window so it can be seen from the road and paths.

Our actual Christmas tree usually goes up on 19 December - a special day as our first DD died suddenly on that day age 7 months over 40 years ago. We try to spend the day wrapping gifts, sorting out the tree and being kind to ourselves.

ffinnochio Thu 23-Nov-17 19:29:34

smile I like that, corner !

M0nica Thu 23-Nov-17 19:32:43

NannyTee What good news, I hope he continues to make good progress.

We put our tree up about a week before Christmas and take it down soon after the New Year. Mainly because we usually go away for a week in the first week of January and want neither the tree nor the decorations to be still up when we return.

Jalima1108 Thu 23-Nov-17 19:46:13

We do have lights outside (DH's thing!) but they are just the white ones and definitely no Santas going ho ho ho!!

We haven't got a tree, there is always the bit debate about real or fake and my real one from two years ago has died sad - and they are too heavy to heave indoors nowadays.

Jalima1108 Thu 23-Nov-17 19:46:32

big debate!

Smithy Thu 23-Nov-17 19:47:28

Sorry I don't know the background nannyt. but it sounds like very good news.
My tree is only up about a week before Xmas then taken down well before 12th night.

lemongrove Thu 23-Nov-17 19:48:05

We gave up real trees, got too heavy for Dh to lug about, but there are some lovely artificial ones now.

Chewbacca Thu 23-Nov-17 19:51:02

The Sunday before Christmas. Any earlier and I get fed up with it. Down on the 2nd January because by then I'm fed up with it anyway.

Jalima1108 Thu 23-Nov-17 19:58:53

Very expensive though Lemon - we looked at the local GC recently and thought we may get a tiny real one instead. Well, I thought, but DH said NO!!

It was only tiny, a little blue spruce

jacq10 Thu 23-Nov-17 20:12:57

ginny - our daughter shares your DD's way of thinking. Her birthday is 18th Dec and I remember asking her when she was five and having her first "proper" birthday party with school friends and I asked her if she wanted the tree up and she was quite adamant "it's my birthday not Christmas" so all the years she was at home I used to put incoming Christmas cards away until after her birthday and tree and decorations went jup around 20th and I still stick to that although it is just DH and myself. I'm afraid GS has no choice as his birthday is Christmas day but we make sure his birthday is celebrated with cake and separate presents.

f77ms Thu 23-Nov-17 20:16:04

Surely it is personal choice when you put your tree up ? I would choose Christmas eve as an appropriate day but everyone is different . By the time the Day actually arrives I am fed up with all the hype and tacky decorations but that`s just me grin