Many Americans say holiday decorations can and should stay up all year round, according to new research.
A survey of 2,000 people from Talker Research found 45% of Americans feel keeping the festive momentum up long into the new year is perfectly OK, and are happy to see the lights and decorations stay up all year.
The majority of Americans do still believe in a date for taking down the tinsel, bells and wreaths, though, with just over half (55%) admitting there’s a festive expiration date.
But the officially voted “decorations down date” means there’s still time – Jan. 16 was voted as the date for frivolities to end.
The “take down date” was calculated by asking respondents who believe decorations should come down to select a precise date on the calendar.
Factoring in over a thousand date picks from the remaining 55% of people, the precise average emerged as Jan. 16.
Rather than the Twelve Days of Christmas or taking the decorations down early in January, the results suggest people are happy to embrace the festive spirit a little longer this season.
That need for a little extra festive feeling may be a reaction to an average 2024. Talker Research’s end-of-year index showed Americans rated the last 12 months at just a 6.1 overall.
Millennials were most likely to support this notion of year-round celebration (48%), with baby boomers the least likely in favor but still showing support at 43 percent.
Men and women felt similarly when it comes to basking in the holiday spirit all year, with women slightly more likely to favor decorations staying up indefinitely than men (46% v 44%).
Those in the southwest and northeast are happiest to see the halls decked all year (jointly 48%) while those in the west were least likely to support the notion (39%).
The “undeck date” emerged as part of Talker Research’s end-of-year index and 2025 lookahead, which found that while 2024 was rated average overall (6.1), 67% of people felt they had experienced some sort of growth in the past year.
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans. The survey was commissioned by Talker News and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between December 13 and December 19, 2024.
We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:
Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentiveProgrammatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in
Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.
Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.
Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.
Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:
Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speedersOpen ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant textBots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify botsDuplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once
It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.
