As long as the Christmas tree continues to soak up water.
As far as outside, I'm the very last house shuts down the Christmas lights. Lol.
Outside lights will come down on Saturday (mustn't make the HOA angry, you know).
The real tree will come down about the middle of January and the artificial around the end of the month.
Although I have a year round layout in the basement, the trains I run around the Christmas trees will be packed away until the weekend after Thanksgiving 2015.
Curt
The real tree will come down about the middle of January and the artificial around the end of the month.
Although I have a year round layout in the basement, the trains I run around the Christmas trees will be packed away until the weekend after Thanksgiving 2015.
Curt
I don't have an around-the-tree "Christmas train." There just isn't room. But the little village on my year-round basement layout does have a couple of Christmas trees at this time of the year.
As for the rest of the Christmas gear, the (artificial) tree will stay up till the last of our holiday visitors have come and gone. I will be taking the outside light string down today, but the candles in the windows will remain until Epiphany.
Everything else gets repacked whenever we feel like doing it. We're retired, so there's no hurry.
It's all down as of a couple days ago.
I will start taking decorations down today - Jan 1. The goal will be to have everything put away by mid-January. Everything needs to be packed and put into the attic so it is a big job.
Joe
I used to put my "Christmas Garden" up starting the day after Thanksgiving and take them down after Jan 6, just like dad used to do it. One year I left them up, to test the waters as it were. Turns out the wife likes me in the living room more than the basement, so it's been up now for three years. The neighbors may think I'm bats, but the neighborhood toddlers think I'm the cool train dude.
Now I know why I proposed to this woman (on New Years' Eve, no less). Smartest thing I ever did.
We took at all down this morning.
It takes me up to 5 days to get everything down, packed, and stored. Hope to have it done by 1/9. Soon after, it's off to Mexico City to visit with my son and his family for a week. A new grandson awaits, as well as our 4 year-old grandaughter.
Everything went up Christmas eve like my dad wanted. It took me until 1 o clock Christmas day to get everything done. The rest of the family got there around 5 or 5:30 everybody ate dinner I cleaned up the dishes. By the time I was done with the dishes everyone was leaving. My dad went up to bed early I figured every thing is over end of story. I started taking it all back down I got finished about 6 a.m. so about 30 hours everything was back in the basement packed away until next year. The best thing was the young fella next door spotted me taking the tree out of the house. He asked me I thought you just put that up last night I said yes but Christmas is over. Choo Choo Kenny
The early to mid February for us. We really enjoy Christmas time, and the layout we have under the tree is a lot of fun for us to see and run.
Everything will be taken down this Saturday. Matt
The tree and train normally stay up until the last weekend of January. My platform is also the tree stand, so they go together. We tried taking down the tree and leaving the train up, but it looks so lonely without the tree that we won't do that again. I do have a permanent layout in the basement, with a Christmas village, so I always have something to fall back on.
I removed most of the outdoor lights this afternoon. Anything that required a ladder has been removed. I'll leave my blowmolds out for a couple of more days, since we're heading into the weekend.
We start taking down after day 12... so bright and early Wednesday. But gee, is there a lot to do Then.
That's a Good Question, Year Round in my Railroad Room. My layout was started in 1998, and The first train ran in late 1999, and a small CHRISTMAS TREE, has been up since that time. It's always CHRISTMAS in my world, as The Lord help Build My Railroad. i could not ask for better Help. Happy New Year.
My Christmas trains come out Thanksgiving Day. I set up the Christmas layout and put the live tree on on the 2nd Friday in December. I usually take the layout down on New Years day. This year I will take it down over the next weekend 3 - 4.
The decorations are coming down tomorrow (January 2). It would have been today, but I got distracted doing something else and had to put off taking down the decorations.There isn't much anyway, some ornaments hung from the mantel and a few decorations on top of it. I was pretty busy this year and Christmas sort of snuck up on me. Besides, I live by myself and unless someone is coming to visit for the holiday season, there's nobody but me to look at them. I used to do a lot of holiday decorating back in Virginia, when I lived on a street where there were passers-by and I had a big holiday party every year, but here I live at the end of a dead-end lane so there's not much point in outdoor decorations.
Anyway, it's time to take down the Christmas ornaments and get out my skis. Yahoo! Not sure where I'm going, northern Arizona for sure and maybe Utah, Colorado, or northern New Mexico.
Reading this thread, I'm kind of surprised at the number of people who mention the Polar Express and don't have small children at home. I saw the movie, the PE is kind of cool, but I don't quite get why so many adult train fanciers have one for the Christmas season. Is it for visiting grandchildren, or is there some appeal there that I just don't get?
Generally I take the tree down the weekend of the Superbowl. I am generally a late starter with setup, though. This year I bought the tree really late on I think 12/20.
(on years when it is up for a long period of time, I am very cautious with not lighting it for too long towards the end)
Outdoor decorations probably will come down the middle of January so the neighbors don't think I am too nuts. 
-Dave
In our house, Christmas decorations & tree are taken down & put away on the 12th Night of Christmas.
Since I have no O' Christmas Train, whichever one is doing duty doesn't count as a Christmas decoration. Therefore it doesn't have to follow the 12th Night Tradition other than having the Christmas freight removed.
Dave
My Christmas Layout has been up since 2009. When the tree comes down next weekend, the layout will have seen the tree put up and taken down six times. The layout is in our living room.
