Alexis Senge JohnsonAre there unwritten rules about holiday decoration timelines? I remember there being rules of thumb that my mom kind of mentioned to me as I was growing up, but I don’t know if those are societal rules or just ones she made up. Our Christmas tree went up the day after Thanksgiving and not a day earlier. Then no later than a week after New Year our decorations came down on the inside and outside of the house.
I bring this up because I remember seeing Facebook posts of an old work colleague cataloging his neighbor’s decoration removal last year. Around the first of the month or so he would take a photo on his cell of his neighbor’s front yard and post it showing the decorations still being displayed come January, February, March… If I remember correctly, it was almost time to drink green beer before they started taking them down.
We weren’t able to decorate the outside of the house this, but are hoping to step up our efforts next year. While I’ve been out running at night I’ve seen more than just a few houses that still have their outdoor decorations up. Which leads me back to my initial question; when should holiday decorations be removed by? Ours finally came down this week, but luckily we didn’t have any outside this year that would send our Homeowners Association up in arms about my removal timeline. Had our schedules not been so hectic I would have taken them down earlier, but at the very least I got them down within days of Martin Luther King Day.
Should you really keep that Easter bunny proudly displayed on your lawn until you’re shooting off 4th of July fireworks? Does a shamrock on your front door have a life span? Should the Nativity scene be displayed on your lawn long enough that you need to throw it a second birthday party? These are the important questions that plague me at night when I can’t sleep. It’s rough living in my head some days.
