BY OLIVIA DIERKER
The carols sung, the gifts unwrapped, and the cookies eaten. With the end of this holiday season, the routine of normal life without Christmas spirit is setting back in. However, there is one thing that remains to remind us of the past season: our decorations.
Holiday decorations can be a strange thing. With craft stores selling wreaths and white lights the day after Halloween, it’s understandable that some people put them up early and leave them up until late January or even into February. And while they’re certainly festive, when is a good time to finally take down the rainbow lights and dump the Christmas tree on the curb?
“I think a good time to take them down is a day or two after New Years,” says Ingrid Mongenas, junior.
Lauren Trester, freshman, takes them down later. “My family takes them down after the twelve days of Christmas,” she says.
“My family takes our decorations down pretty early, but as long as you don’t have them up in February it doesn’t really matter–as long as you don’t leave out inflatables and rainbow lights,” says junior Peter Laug.
“I think people leaving out white lights is pretty because it matches the snow and the whole winter theme,” Mongenas agrees.
According to industry market website ThomasNet News, a consumer will spend an average of $22,998 on Christmas decorations throughout their life. And according to Christmas blog Christmas Spirit, Americans spent $15.8 million on new decorations in 2005. This number may include trees, ornaments, lights, perhaps even yard inflatables. With such financial investments, it’s no wonder that some people choose to leave up their lights a little longer.
“I have a neighbor who leaves their lights out all year and only turns them on during Christmas,” says Mongenas.
“You should probably take them down before March,” Trester concludes.
No matter when a family chooses to dump their tree and pull down the lights, everyone seems to agree that sooner is better. Until then, it seems the holidays will not truly be over until the last of the trees have been picked up and the remaining flickering lights are packed into boxes.
