the lights - when do I turn them on?

[simonineaston]

OK, so this year, I'm tired of being tired of Xmas... I thought, "Blow it, I'll make an effort..." so I found some holly N wotnot and cobbled together a sort-of wreath-like-thing for the front door and then bought some nice twinkly stars wot run off batteries (actually I've got a 3v psu somewhere I think), so the 64$ Q. is, When do I turn the lights on?
I might even make my own cards... now, where's that glitter stuff??

[beardy]

24th of December sounds good to me.

May I be the first to wish you all a Baa-Humbug this year.

[Edwards]

How about turning them on in time for the January sales.

[661-Pete]

I take it, this is not your house then

[jezer]

Now that is tasteful, not

[DaveP]

If you are devout, perhaps one light on the 1st, increasing by one every day, like an electronic advent calendar?
Otherwise - I always used to feel that Christmas started the day school broke up

Do you have your little blobs of cotton wool ready to stick on the window panes?

[JohnW]

OK, so this year, I'm tired of being tired of Xmas... I thought, "Blow it, I'll make an effort..." .................so the 64$ Q. is, When do I turn the lights on???

.............when it gets dark.

[[XAP]Bob]

With three birthdays at the end of this week Dec 1st is when Christmass starts here.

(Yes, 28th (MrsBob), 29th (MiniBob) and 30th (MicroBob) Nov are all the family birthdays...looks like planning...

[Mick F]

I prefer the US system.
Nothing happens about Christmas until Thanksgiving is over.

Here in UK, the shops have Christmas already starting just after Bonfire Night.

[Mark1978]

If the question is when do you put your tree / decorations up?

We've always gone for the first weekend of December. Take them down on New Years Day.

[manybikes]

Next door neighbour already has the outside of the house, garage etc festooned with lights that are lit every evening.

[[XAP]Bob]

I prefer the US system.
Nothing happens about Christmas until Thanksgiving is over.

Here in UK, the shops have Christmas already starting just after Bonfire Night.

As late as that - I've seen Christmas items in shops in September...

[Mark1978]

There is a big difference from Christmas goods being available to purchase, and shops getting people in the mood for Christmas. To actually putting up the decorations in your house, i.e. the difference between preparing for Christmas and actually starting to celebrate it.

[simonineaston]

Although I was aware of Advent, I have always associated it with the arrival of a piece of cardboard with stupid little floppy cardboard doors that open to reveal a small piece of amorphous poor-quality chocolate, the sum total of which wouldn't add up to the chocolate coating on a Curly Whirly, itself a notoriously chocolate-thin zone.... It hadn't occurred to me for years that it is a proper church season. So, in anticipation of celebrating the arrival of Our Little Lord (Bless Him), the lights at the jolly old pile will be switched on at... drum-roll... dusk on the 1st of December (and off again during daylight hours.)

[Si]

Got into the office and started telling a new coworker that I'd seen my first Christmas tree and decs up in someone's house that I rode past.....what a load of eejits putting up their decs in the middle of Nov, devaluing christmas, etc. Of course she replies: well, actually we've had ours up a week already! d'oh.