Hudson Valley, How Long is Too Long to Keep Up Christmas Lights?

Hudson Valley, how long is too long to keep up Christmas lights? I know of some people who take them down the day after Christmas. Honestly, that is too soon, in my opinion. Some people will wait until after New Year's. I think that is pretty fair. My rule of thumb has been to wait until the Epiphany on January 6th, which marks the official end of the Christmas season. You know, the 12 Days of Christmas? Apparently 33% of Americans will even push it out until February 1st! Just in time to replace them with Valentine's Day decorations!

How Many People in the Hudson Valley Still Have Their Christmas Lights Up?

Honestly, if it were up to me, we'd keep lights up all winter long. Winter can be such a dark and dreary time, and some extra light and merriness could help battle that seasonal depression. I love driving down the street and seeing the street lights still wrapped in garland and string lights. There was this one house in Hyde Park off Route 9 that would write "Peace" on their fence out of string lights, and would leave it up longer than the holiday season. I don't know if they still do, but I'll never forget that decoration. It always made me smile.

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Trying to take down your Christmas lights this year has been more than difficult to say the least. Since the start of 2024, we have been beaten with multiple storms. First, the Hudson Valley received more than a foot of snow in most areas, and then we got a rainstorm that flooded towns, roads and houses. And now this week, we are looking at brutal below freezing temperatures. The weather has not been in our favor to go outside and take down Christmas lights!

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I took a drive around my neighborhood and I saw about 15 houses with their Christmas lights still up and all lit, one of them being my own. Honestly, it was really nice to see! With that being said, I asked the Hudson Valley how many people still had their lights up. The answer was pretty split! Out of the amount of people polled, 45% of folks in the Hudson Valley still have their Christmas lights up while 55% have already taken them down. For mid-January, that's a higher number than I expected, but you know what, keep the lights shining!