When To Change Seasonal Decor – The Best Times Of Year

Trying to figure out when to change seasonal decor throughout the year?

It can be tricky at times! You don’t want to be that person on your block that decorates early for everything.

At the same time, things get busy and you don’t want to forget to decorate for holidays and seasons either.

I kept “wondering when should I change my seasonal decor?” Finally, I decided to sit down and write it out so I would remember.

In this simple guide, I walk through the best times of year to decorate for each season and holiday. Save it as a bookmark, Pin it to Pinterest, etc, so you can reference it as times goes by.

Or better yet, get my free printable seasonal decor schedule. It covers this same information and has a few extras too!

When to Change Seasonal Decor

Before we jump into the specifics of when the change seasonal decor, I’ve found over the years that there are two good rules of thumb for how long to leave out seasonal & holiday decor:

1. When decorating for a holiday, leave decorations up for about a month or less.
2. When decorating for a season, leave decorations up for about two to three months.

Here are some examples of using these rules for when to change seasonal decor:

• Leave out Halloween decorations for a few weeks to a month.
• Leave out summer decorations for three months or less.

Don’t be afraid to change your decor throughout the year. It’s a good way to refresh a space and will boost your mood too.

After seeing the same decorations out for a few week or a few months, the mind starts to get bored with the visuals. After all, mother nature is starting to change, and so should we.

Let’s dive into when to decorate for each holiday and season!

When to Decorate For Valentine’s Day

When should you decorate for Valentine’s Day? Valentine’s Day is right in the middle of the month of February on the 14th. So if you want to enjoy your Valentine’s Day decorations for a few weeks, it make sense to decorate for Valentine’s Day during the last two weeks of January.

This gives you about a month to setup and enjoy your Valentine’s Day decor. If you don’t want to decorate for Valentine’s Day that early, do it the first week of February.

When to Decorate For St. Patrick’s Day

When to decorate for St. Patrick’s Day? St. Patrick’s Day happens every year on the 17th of March which is right in the middle of the month. If you like decorating for St. Patrick’s Day, then start putting out your decorations during the last two weeks of February.

Alternatively, you can put up St. Patrick’s Day decor during the first week or so of March. This gives you some time to enjoy the decorations but not get sick of seeing all that green! 🙂

When to Decorate For Spring

When should you switch to spring decor? Spring decorating usually takes place in March and April of each year. This is when you’ll see all the spring decorations in the stores and spring flowers starting to bloom.

I think a good rule of thumb is to decorate for spring no earlier than the last week of February. Keep the spring decorations up no later than the end of May.

When to Decorate For Easter

When is a good time to decorate for Easter? Easter is celebrated on different days throughout the years, so it can be tricky to know when to decorate for it.

One thing is certain though – Easter always occurs towards the end of March or in the beginning of April. So it’s perfectly fine to start decorating for Easter at the beginning of March.

If Easter falls in April for a year, you can set out Easter decor a little later than the beginning of March. Whatever works best for you and your family.

My favorite way to do it is to decorate for Easter and spring at the same time. This way I’m only setting out the decorations once and enjoying them over the course of the spring.

When to Decorate For Summer

When to decorate for summer? I generally like to start thinking about summer decorations in the middle of May and have all of my summer decorations set out by the first week in June. Then I relax for the rest of the summer and enjoy the decor.

If you’re decorating for Memorial Day, setting out your patriotic decor a week or so before works well. You can leave up the decorations all the way through to July 4th.

If you’re just decorating for the 4th of July, putting up patriotic decor during the last week or two in June is a good idea.

Another idea is to display your patriotic decor for the whole summer. Reds, whites and blues are a classic color combination for summer decor and look great on front porches, decks and backyard patios.

Personally, I love seeing red, white and blue bunting on the front porch of houses as you drive down the street in the summer – very Americana!

Summertime is also great for getting the patio decorated with bright, fun colors. I like to use all of the colorful flowers as inspiration.

Don’t feel that you have to get all of your summer decor displayed in early June. Summer is a time for taking it slow a relaxing. There’s no need to rush into decorating.

You can add to your summer decor or change it out as the season progresses. Be sure to watch for sales around Memorial Day and 4th of July.

By the end of August, retailers are starting to push fall and Halloween items, so keep an eye out for summer decor clearances then.

Not sure about what summer decor to use? Check out this post for some great summer decor ideas apart from the normal patriotic flags & bunting: Popular Decorating Ideas For Each Month This Year

When to Decorate For Fall

When should you decorate for seasons like fall? The question of when to decorate for fall seems to confuse a lot of people. After all, you don’t want to set out fall decorations too soon.

But by the time August rolls around, it’s tempting to want to look at something different as the summer season starts to wind down.

When is the best time to decorate for fall? Personally, I think it’s fine to decorate for fall in late August and early September. I like to put away my summer decor and patio decor around then. I do a good clean and declutter of the house. Then I set out the fall decor and get ready for the new season.

I would say July is too early to decorate for fall. However, late August or early September is a great time to start decorating for fall with mums and pumpkins.

But if even that feels too early for you, then hold off on the fall decorations until later into September and early October. Do what fits in with your routine or even your mood as the seasons change and the kids go back to school.

When to Decorate For Halloween

When should you decorate for Halloween? Since Halloween falls so late in the month of October, I recommend decorating for it in late September at the earliest.

Some people are big Halloween fans and want to get their decorations up as soon as possible. But if you find Halloween decor to be a bit tacky or creepy, then consider only putting it out for a week or so. There’s no right or wrong way to go about Halloween decorations.

When to decorate for fall and Halloween at the same time? Since fall is a season and Halloween a holiday, consider decorating for fall first during the month of September.

When October rolls around, either incorporate Halloween decorations into your fall decor. Or put away the fall decor and switch over to Halloween. Either way is fine to do.

For combined Halloween and fall decor, keep the color schemes & styles in mind and everything should look ok together.

When to Decorate For Day of the Dead

When to decorate for the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos)? This holiday is traditionally celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, although other days may be used depending on the location.

The same guidelines for decorating for Halloween can apply to decorating for the Day of the Dead – start putting out decorations in October in the weeks leading up to the holiday.

When to Decorate For Thanksgiving

When to decorate for Thanksgiving? You have a few options when it comes to decorating for Thanksgiving:

• Use your fall decorations for Thanksgiving decor.
• Use your fall decorations for Thanksgiving decor, but add in additional Thanksgiving decor items.
• Decorate for Thanksgiving as soon as Halloween is over.

If you’re going to put up specific decorations for Thanksgiving, it’s best to do it sometime in November. But you can decorate for Thanksgiving in late October too. Either way is fine. It’s also ok to skip over Thanksgiving decorations entirely.

When to Decorate For Christmas

When’s the right time to decorate for Christmas? There are a few different times when you can put up Christmas decorations:

• During the month of November, before Thanksgiving. This is a bit early, but still considered acceptable.
• Right after Thanksgiving. Use the extra time off to get the house decorated for Christmas.
• During the month of December, as time allows.
• On Christmas Eve or the last few days leading up to Christmas.

Personally, I like to decorate for Christmas right after Thanksgiving. I find it’s a good time to decorate as I can enjoy looking at my Christmas decor for a few weeks before the holiday.

But a lot of people like to decorate sooner or later than that for Christmas and that’s fine too.

One thing I would caution against is putting up outdoor Christmas decorations too early in the season. Many people frown upon Christmas yard decor being displayed in early November. But, you can always put up your outside Christmas decorations early – just don’t turn the lights on!

When to decorate a real Christmas tree? Real Christmas trees last for about 4 to 5 weeks. So if you get one around Thanksgiving it should last until Christmas if watered properly. You can decorate it as soon as you bring it home and enjoy it for a few weeks.

There’s also something exciting about getting and decorating a real Christmas tree late in the season. It’s a bit of a gamble which tree you’ll get as many of the best one’s have been taken. But that’s part of the fun 🙂

When to Decorate For Winter

Changing decor for seasons like winter might seem weird to some people. Should you decorate for winter? It depends.

If you have no plans on decorating for Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day, then it can be nice to set out some winter decorations after the Christmas holiday. You can keep the winter decorations up until the spring.

When to decorate for winter? I like to take down my Christmas decorations shortly after New Year’s Day. I do a deep clean of the house and then set out some winter decor for January into March. It’s a cozy way to refresh your space for the new year.

Hopefully this post gave you some ideas about when to change seasonal decor and when to decorate for each season and holiday. Looking for this information in a printable? I’ve got a great seasonal decorating schedule printable that covers all this info & more! Print it out and keep it in your binder to reference throughout the year.

More Seasonal Decor Ideas

For more info on how to decorate for the seasons & holidays, check out these posts:

• A Simple Seasonal Decorating Calendar Printable For This Year
• {Free Printable!} Seasonal Decorating Schedule For This Year
• Christmas Organization Ideas To Quickly Reclaim Your Space
• Seasonal Decor Storage Ideas That Are Surprisingly Simple
• Popular Decorating Ideas For Each Month This Year
• 35 Practical Holiday Decorating Tips To Save Time & Money

Pin It For Later!