There are two kinds of people after the holidays, those who pack it all up immediately and those who want to keep the magic alive for as long as possible.

Team Fresh Start: The holidays are wonderful, but clearly over. Packing away decorations isn’t sad, it’s satisfying. The act of taking down the tree or unstringing the lights feels like clearing mental space. It’s a reset button. Without the decorations, the house feels calmer, cleaner, and ready for whatever comes next. The holidays had their moment. Now it’s time to move forward.

Team Forever Festive: Why rush to end something that feels so good, just because the calendar says so? The lights make winter feel softer and decorations hold memories. The glow in the corner of the room adds comfort during the coldest, darkest weeks of the year. It’s stretching joy instead of rushing change and letting your mood, not the date, set the timeline.

Some people need a clean slate to move forward, but some need comfort to carry them through. Whether you’re sealing up the storage bins with satisfaction or refusing to unplug those last strand of lights, you’re doing what feels right for you. And in the quiet moments after the holidays, that might be the most important tradition of all.

For me, as I move through this time of year, I can see I’m “a bit of both.” One side of the house is back to looking like it did before the holidays, the other side is not. I don’t think either way is better, they’re simply different ways of caring for ourselves.

Which one are you?