When Holiday Decorations Should Go Up - According to Me

Just before the Fourth of July I figured I'd run into HomeGoods to see if there were any little extras I could put out to add some new holiday decorations. There were NO Fourth of July items whatsoever - not even napkins. There were, however, a bunch of Jack O' Lantern dishes.

I haven't been happy seeing Halloween aisles pop up in stores in August over recent years, so even though I loved the Halloween dishes at HomeGoods (and will probably go back and see if there are any left) I found it ridiculous that they were out at the end of June.

I have a very strict schedule for when holiday decorations should show up in stores and when they should show up on houses. If everyone would follow this schedule the world would be a better place:

Here's when stores should put decorations out:

Halloween: September 1

Thanksgiving: October 1

Christmas: November 1
(That doesn't mean people can't buy gifts earlier, but decorations shouldn't be picked over by Thanksgiving.)

New Years Eve: December 1

Valentine's Day: January 14

St Patrick's Day: March 1 (nobody needs more time than that for this "holiday")

Easter: March 1 (but under no circumstances should St. Patrick's Day and Easter decorations conflict on houses in neighborhoods; if Easter will come in March the decorations have to wait until March 18 or else the St Patrick's Day decorations should be skipped that year)

Memorial Day: May 1 (again, no more time is needed than that)

Fourth of July: June 1

and this brings us to Labor Day (no decorations) and then Halloween. (Well, it actually brings it to my son's August birthday, but that's my own personal thing.)

When it comes to putting up those decorations on/in houses:

Halloween: October 1 (The petunias still look good in September, and petunias and mums conflict.) Decorations should come down on November 2 in the morning, which allows November 1 as one more day of cute pumpkins.

Thanksgiving: November 1 (Nobody needs ceramic pilgrims up longer than three weeks or so.) All Thanksgiving decorations should be taken down the day after Thanksgiving. Room has to be made for Christmas, and nobody wants to look at those pilgrims for one more day.

Christmas: December 1 (If decorations go up on December 1 and stay up until January 1 or a few days later that's a whole month. That's enough. There is one exception, and that is a traditional green wreath with a bow is still acceptable through the end of January. ) (My neighbor leaves her wreath up until she puts up a St. Patrick's Day decoration in March. This is just all wrong - in my humble opinion.)

Inside the House, New Years Decorations: Up December 31. Down January 2.

Valentine's Day: February 1 (This holiday doesn't require more than a couple of weeks of pink and red decorations.) Valentine decorations really should be whipped down late at night on Valentine's Day, although - I suppose - Feburary 15 would be ok.

St. Patrick's Day: March 1 if there's no conflict with Easter. (Again, nobody needs more than two weeks or so of St. Pat decorations.) Decorations ought to come down on the evening of March 17.

Easter: March 18 unless Easter falls in March, in which case there should be no St Patrick's Day decorations, and Easter decorations should go up on March 1. Easter decorations should come down the day after Easter. I've selected my March 18 date for non-March Easters because most people like to leave the Spring decorations a little longer than other decorations are left. March 18 gives an April Easter a couple of extra weeks (and helps people feel as if Spring is REALLY on the way that much sooner).

Memorial Day: May 24 Putting up a few flags, bows, or red and white flowers the week before Memorial Day ought to do it. Once June 1 arrives Memorial Day decorations don't really look appropriate.

Fourth of July: Up June 20 (which helps prepare people for the big day and keeps the festive mood for a little longer). All non-flag decorations should be down on July 6, which allows that one extra day after the holiday. One small flag may remain for an additional five days (or throughout July if it looks particularly good).

and once again, we're back to my son's August birthday.

If everyone followed this schedule we wouldn't have those neighborhoods that have old Christmas decorations, Valentine decorations, St. Patrick's Day and Easter eggs hanging from bare branches in February and March.

and - for goodness sake - I wish those people on the next street over would get that string of lights off their steps before next Christmas.