I love seeing the house all decorated and festive looking. First of all there's the tree, which has a mish mash of decorations made by the children over the years and souvenirs we've brought back from holidays (no subtle colour schemes here!). Then around the house there are festive pictures on the walls, and tinsel wrapped around everything from the stair banister to the cat's scratching post.
We put our decorations up around the middle of December. But once Christmas and New Year have passed, they start to look stale straight away. Of course that doesn't mean that they go away entirely – I fully expect to be hoovering up pine needles from the tree for months to come.
I love Christmas decorations, but once I get up on New Year's Day, it's like something's changed. Suddenly it all starts to look far too cluttered and dusty. The house feels too small and I want to have a big clear out.
I know many people do keep their decorations up to the traditional Twelfth Night on the fifth of January, but I think I would be screaming by then. The only thing of ours that lasts till then is the wreath on the door. That only lasts because it's not physically in the house, so I don't have to look at it.
I don't know how people who put their decorations up at the start of December (or even before) can stand it. Don't you just get sick of looking at the stuff? Doesn't it become less special if it's hanging around for weeks on end?
What about you - how long do you keep your Christmas decorations up for? Do you love them or hate them? Leave a comment and let us know