Is it too early to hang Christmas lights outdoors?

[blooeyz]

Ho, ho, ho, go to town Mary and enjoy the season earlier!!!

 

[seven_sins]

I don't decorate. It is too much trouble. And it is more trouble taking them down and putting them away.

 

[Dave_83]

I dont think it's too early, BUT it looks better if you put them up when it starts snowing. You know... add to the scenery and all.

 

[Ramindra]

Hanging the Christmas decorations seems to be getting earlier and earlier. I wonder sometimes why people even bother taking them down.

 

[JayHew]

Tradtionally when growing up (pre wheel for most of you) the day after Thanksgiving the Christmas decorations went up. They are left up until after January 6th (Orthodox Christmas) and the visit of the Wiseman. Anything prior is tacky, putting them up but not lighting until after TG is fine.

Here in Alaska, once the decroations are up, they stay up all year. Putting up decorations at -25 or -30 degrees F is not a fun time. So if you are going to add something or repair something, the lastest it is done is usually September.

 

[doctorsun]

As I said, I believe in putting them up before Thanksgiving (or anytime when the weather is nice, really) but not turning them on until Thanksgiving night. However, I believe that nothing should be put up INdoors until after Thanksgiving. I passed a house the other day and they already had a giant Christmas tree up in view of their front window, decorations and all. That's just crazy. I'd be sick of the damn thing before it was even December.

So here are the general rules I think everyone should follow to avoid being judged as tacky by others:

Outdoors: Turned on no earlier than Thanksgiving night, but may be put up prior to Thanksgiving as weather permits.

Indoors: Absolutely nothing prior to the day after Thanksgiving.

 

[antdak]

In the U.S., Thanksgiving is a major holiday, and I think it's disrespectful to Thanksgiving to light the Christmas lights before Thanksgiving is over. It's OK to start putting them up before Thanksgiving, if you have a lot of lights. But I would wait until the day after Thanksgiving to actually turn them on. Just my opinion.

I agee, if you have a lot of light to put up, then by all means start putting them up. But don't turn on until after Thanksgiving!!

 

[Finn]

Well, the way we do it in our homosexual Roman-Catholic-traditionally-inspired demi-hedonistic household is as follows:

Other than the Stars and Stripes put out for only the 3rd and 4th of July, no "theme" holiday decor on display throughout the year.



Until October, that is.

Then, well, I can't stand seeing a jack-o-lantern until, like, a week before the festival of the demons, Halloween. On, perhaps Oct 21st, we will festoon the home in pumpkins (some carved), autumn garlands of leaves of pine cones and one gigantic, life-sized mummy (placed next to the front door).

Then, the day after Halloween (sometimes even at 12:01 a.m. Nov, 1st morning), all the Halloween-related crap is dismantled (the giant mummy rolled into storage) leaving only those decorations which are "autumnal" on display.

THEN, as Thanksgiving approaches in the United States only three weeks later, additional autumn garlands and other traditional indian corn type things appear. Oh, we might place those things out a few days before Thanksgiving.

At this same time, if colors appear too "orange" to us, we remove them for Thanksgiving. Slowly, we weed out too many yellow and orange leaves, let us say, for a palette which is, while still retaining orange, slightly more late-autumnal/early-winter-like.

That same week, turkeys will appear scattered around the dining and kitchen areas. These will NOT be live turkeys but a collection of ceramic or hand-carved ones. A large but simple, holiday (though not screaming of Christmas yet) wreath of fresh fir will be placed on the front door.

Outdoors, white mini lights are strung under the portale as they add a happy, glowy festive charm come Thanksgiving morning.

The turkeys then DISAPPEAR the day after Thanksgiving, leaving behind only the garlands and candles now done in that late-autumnal/early-winter palette. There is a lot of white, browns and grays in many of the decoration which are at once festive and luxurious but NOT yet speaking clearly of Christmas.

The first indication that Christmas is coming is when we put out an advent calendar full of chocolates hidden behind little doors. We get fat as we count down to Jesus! That is placed in the kitchen usually what is the last week of Nov.

Oh, it is then perhaps December 10th when the Christmas trees are set up and decorated.

Out of doors perhaps additional white lights are added to the house, a few fir trees by the doors are dressed in gay lights and other misc. sparkle is added to the pathways.

Indoors, that same week, more decoratifs are added and quickly what had been a transitional autumn-winter palette grows warmer and more colorful (but never CLOWN-LIKE).

The house is completely dressed for the Christmas holiday by Dec. 15th at the latest. That would include an antique Neapolitan nativity set which is sumptuously gorgeous and freaky-real (you know, scupturally). That within a large glass display case and on its own away from the Christmas tree - which I always feel ought to look rather Bavarian and/or Old English (but that's just me).

As Hanukkah occurs during the same time period, we always place a large, GORGEOUS Italian alabaster menorrah upon a dining room buffet sideboard.

Although we're not practicing Jews you don't have Jesus without having Jews.

And although we're not religious (well, he is, I'm not) although it may be a pagan winter solstice festival, I am not one to believe that Christmas is Santa Claus' birthday or the day that Frosty came to life or something.

ohmygoodness, it goes on!

Then, being in Santa Fe, farolitas (we place a couple of hundred of them around lining the pathways) are set out and perhaps lit up if its a weekend before Christmas Eve/Day. But otherwise they are lit come Christmas Eve.

I think its so the baby Jesus doesn't stumble as he tries to find his way (or some such thing).

The farolitas are lit at dusk on Christmas Eve and then they're lit for Christmas night and then, just for effect, again on New Years Eve.

Okay, so Christmas then comes and goes.

Everything remains in place although we will remove some "overly-Christmas" garlands here and there inside the house.

But the tree remains, as do the lights, farolitas and nativity...

What happens though, as New Years approaches is that the table settings will grow bluer and cooler.

I don't know why.

We then add New years Eve specific decor only if we're hosting a party (as we usually do somewhere in those days). But if they're in place, they're GONE Jan 2nd (by NOON).

Then, after Jan 1, things are not added but more items are packed away like the farolitas (leaving usually the white lights outside), the super-Christmasy crap on mantles and tables and other assorted peripheral doo-dads and glittering bow-hunky items.

This will usually leave us with outdoors lights, the Christmas tree, the nativity and the menorrah (because its such a beautiful one < actually, I should leave it out all year).

Then the EPIPHANY Jan 6th comes and mygoodness, his Spanish family and my Italian relatives go crazy since for them that is the "true" Christmas for many of them.

The day after the Epiphany?

I need to see EVERYTHING OUTTA THERE! I mean, by Jan 10th AT THE LATEST, everything has to be down and/or stored away. I want to see NOTHING out (even a wreath on a door MUST come down).


And that's how we do it at our house.




But to answer your question, I'd say that you can string your house with lights now. I mean, some people have a lot to string OR won't be around to do it later in the month (and some people like to holiday light up on Thankgiving in America). I would put a guard on duty next to the light switch though since you do not want those lights to be lit before Thanksgiving (you don't want the neighborhood thinking you also may be prone to pre-mature ejaculation, after all).

And unless you also sell used cars on the property, try to make sure they're down by Jan 15th!

HILARIOUS

Thanks

 

[Ontariobear]

I wish people here would get their Halloween decorations taken down, those pumpkins remind me of a Simpsons episode.
In Canada, Thanksgiving was last month and they are predicting a warm spell to last through the weekend so to be practical we will likely get the lights up Saturday, check to make sure they all work and then start running them Friday December 1st.

 

[yvrpalms]

I think it's an okay thing to do...when I was living in Ontario we had to put them up before the first snowfall hit. Not really the excuse you can use in Vancouver, maybe you can put them up earlier to avoid the bloody rain and windstorms that usually arrive in November?

Yes, the windstorms and rain has begun. All weekend we've been having heavy rainfall warnings. Last year we switched from the regular bulb type lights to the new led type. It was a bitch trying to get clips to work, so needless to say, we had to change from hanging on the eves to attaching the new lights to the window and door frames. Now, I see this year they have clips especially made for led lights. I normally put up the lights Dec 1 but because of many trips to the store to find the right clips, it took several days. By this time, it was cold, raining/snowing and general nasty weather conditions. Luckily I just have to clip the lights into the existing holders so the job shouldn't take long..

thanks, guys, for your imput.