Christmas Cleaning Day

When is your official Christmas cleaning day? You know, the day where you; throw out the cards without pictures, pull down the stockings and throw 'em in a sack, quickly remove ornaments from the tree so your husband and kids will feel guilty and spend the next three hours carefully wrapping each one, throwing the leftovers in the freezer, putting away decorative table clothes, wreaths, trying to figure out whose gifts you threw in a heap in the back bedroom, put away the gift wrapping paper, ribbons, and bow. Finally, don't forget taking down THE LIGHTS. (Not my job!)

My cleaning day begins the next business day after Christmas. The one where the kids disappear in order to avoid housework. I'm the one who puts away most of the decorations, so I figure I'm entitled to put them away when it's most convenient for me. My husband starts to whine if I try to take it all down the next day. This year I was too tired. I began the task by taking a few things down at a time, a good way to gently ease the family back into the swing of things. For some reason, when the living room is decorated, it becomes a no cleaning zone. How did I let this happen?

Is this your house after Christmas?

I did some scouring on the internet to see when others traditionally 'take down' the decorations. Here are a few of the answers I found:

1. If you chose a live tree, then it's best to take it down when the needles drop. By this time, it's a fire hazard. Amen!

2. Some said they put their tree up at Thanksgiving  and take it down the day after Christmas.  Um. No. This is far too early. 

3. Another tradition is to wait until Epiphany. This is the first week of January, I believe it's the 6th. It's the day the Wise men met the newborn King and gave him his gifts. Part of the tradition of leaving up decorations is that if you take down the tree with it's lights, then the Wise men cannot find their way to see the babe.  That all sounds grand, but I don't think my nerves would survive the no cleaning zone that long.


When do you take down your Christmas decorations? I really want to know.