When do you put up your Christmas tree?

It does this for me too - so frustrating!

I don't have a great concept of time so I'm not sure when my mom usually puts it up. Probably December? 

If I was in charge of it though my awnser would be never. 

Christmas trees can be expensive (depending on what you get), they take up space in storage during the rest of the year, take up space DURING the holiday too (and then you have to rearrange things), its difficult to assemble. Just inconvenient I think. Then it also will 'need' decorations.. Decorations usually equal glitter and glitter should not exist (it NEVER leaves. Causes many lovely panic attacks). The lights are bright too.

Anyway, I don't think the 'cons' of having a tree is worth the 'pros'. Pros being... I don't know. It's just a decoration from tradition or something.

One year my parents got a real-life tree and that was loads worse than a fake one. I wore 2 face masks + nose plug thing for the however many weeks it was up, and I still felt like I could smell it. Eating is difficult to do when your nose is not available. Also it probably had bugs and sap(? idk if Christmas trees have that) and we killed a tree just to have it for a month.

(Im just a Grinch )

I sometimes put my tree up somewhere at the start of December, sometimes the middle of December, Depending on how busy I am really. lol 

My wife has pretty much banned tinsel. For me the tackier, the better! Actually, my tack enthusiasm has rubbed off on her a little bit.

Yikes! Thankfully, our cats have never done that. Although they've caused enough other "problems" that we switched to hard flooring - so much easier to clean!

At my partner's insistence, we also don't put any tinsel on the tree - just baubles, other hanging decorations, and lights. Along with some large present-shaped soft toys around the base, to conceal it. But I do still get away with draping some tinsel over the bookcase :)

Thank you so much for sharing!

Full disclosure: I felt concerned about starting this thread because I really didn't want to offend or upset anyone (including you specifically) by talking about the season in what might seem to be an inappropriate or frivolous way. I hope you don't mind how I've approached it.

TheDog said:

It gets put on my desk on the first of November <3 

That's more like it! :)

TheDog said:

I don't put up a large Christmas tree anymore, mostly because it takes a lot of energy that I don't have.

Confession time. We're lucky enough to have a storage cupboard that's just about tall and wide enough to fit a fully assembled and decorated Christmas tree in it (if I bend the top and a few of the wider branches).

Admittedly, it took me quite a few years to realise that this was the perfect solution for my own decorating fatigue (I used to dread doing it, at both ends of the process) - but it's made things SO much quicker and easier. And I don't care if it's "cheating"!   

I usually put mine up around the last two weekends of December, I sometimes have to put it up undecorated for a few days so as cats can climb it and dogs pee up it, luckily we no longer have the greyhound who would pee up it, although I miss him loads and I think Muriel is old enough not climb it now.

Our tree is huge, a total extravagance of my Dads for the first family xmas when they moved here, we've not felt able to get rid of it since, it sits in the hall as we have nowhere in the living room suitable for it. I do love a xmas tree, I have so many old decorations, some belonged to my grandparents and every year I try and get another bauble. We have tinsel and fir cones around the bottom of the tree, none actually on it. It usually all come down around 12th night.

Yes, play your cards close to your chest!

After Christmas.

I love your childhood Christmas countdown calendar! The thought of Christmas approaching always ignites a tiny spark inside me, usually starting in September.

SpikeyMark said:

I would often leave up a small sneaky bit of tinsel for the entire year

Very nice! After some campaigning, I now get away with having fairy lights wrapped around the banisters all year round! And above my computer desk 

Upon reading the first part of your reply, I experienced momentary panic! 

25th? When do you take it down?

At Christmas.

I don't put up a large Christmas tree anymore, mostly because it takes a lot of energy that I don't have.

If I decorate at all, it's usually a teeny-tiny Christmas tree on my desk. It's lilac and has little lights and ornaments on it. 

It gets put on my desk on the first of November <3 

I don't know why when on my phone when I put an emoji, it sticks a few others in in random places!

I tend to not do Christmas decorations until after the 8th of December and the most important part of my Christmas set up is the Crib (Nativity Scene) - having worked in supermarket retailing for 30 years, I don’t focus on the over-commercialised aspect of the Christmas period and instead focus on the real reason for the season given my Catholic faith, namely that of Christ’s Birth - the religious aspects of the Christmas season are hugely important to me 

Mine go up on the 1st December and come down on the 6th Jan (modern commercialism combined with the 12 days of Christmas). When I was a kid, I'd make a Christmas countdown calendar that started on 1st September. I have always loved Christmas for personal reasons. I wish that the shops waited until November, though. I would often leave up a small sneaky bit of tinsel for the entire year, but grew out of that in my 30s  - though I did do that again a few years ago.

Reminds me of a joke. 

"I went to buy a Christmas tree, he said 'you gonna put it up yourself?', I said 'no, the living room'."

You swore!

You are not allowed to mention Christmas until December (although I can't avoid it in the shops).

I laud your enthusiasm.

The beginning of December is my reply and it's one of the very few (only?) aspects of Christmas I like.