Most years, I'm ready to take down the holiday decorations once the new year begins. It just seems fitting to strip everything down and begin anew rather than let the decorations linger. But this year was a little different when it came to the twinkle lights we hang indoors:
My son's first birthday party was this last weekend. With all of the cake and presents and balloons, the lights fit right in. When I took down all of the holiday decor right after the new year (as always), it struck me that the lights should stay until after the birthday party. They were a great fit and added just a little more to the festivities (without feeling too Christmas-y at all!). I imagine it will become my new routine to take down all of the decorations except the lights in the years to come. They'll stay up until after my son's birthday celebration has come and gone.
Do you keep up any of your holiday decor for an extended period, and why?
(Image: Regina Yunghans)

Commercial Flour Sa...
if I could wrap everything in Christmas lights all year long... I would.
I took my decorations down yesterday. Partly because I'm 38 weeks prego and kept thinking it felt like a lot of work, but partly because I love the glowiness. I would happily keep the cozy feeling all winter.
Christmas lights hung indoors (when it's not christmas) totally reminds me of my old college dorm, cozy and warm. I love it, but definitely prefer the white string over the green.
Oh YES. I kept up my lights-in-a-jar after Christmas and I have no intention of removing them until the end of February!! :)
http://www.juliasbookbag.com/2011/11/lights-in-jar.html
I always keep twinkle lights up (white wire) until mid Feb! Winters are long and dark here in Michigan, the extra light is nice and adds coziness.
We kept our Christmas tree up until last weekend. Long story short, it's outdoors on our back porch and we could see it through the sliding glass door in the play room. We decorated it with cheap plastic balls and outdoor lights and put it out there mainly so the cat wouldn't eat it, but it helped to keep the 1-year-old away from it, too. Our son was obsessed with turning on the "dree!" every night and watching it from the play room, so I couldn't stand to take it down so soon. We took down all the other decorations before his birthday party (he was born the week before Christmas, but we had his party on the 31st) but left the tree.