When Should Cities and Town Centers Put Up Holiday Decorations?

For many community groups, decorating might be an effort focused solely on the holiday season, lasting only a few weeks or even a few days. However, cities, town centers, and public spaces have a unique opportunity to provide more than a last-minute light display or an uncoordinated jumble of decorations. For those who truly want to create a sense of Christmas magic for their community, decorating is a year-round process.

Discover everything you need to do throughout the year to create an impactful display that lights up not just your space, but people’s hearts, too.

Why Is Holiday Decorating Important For Cities and Town Centers?

Adorning your city’s public spaces is a festive way to enhance community spirit and create a memorable experience for residents and visitors alike, contributing to a vibrant holiday season. Benefits of high-quality holiday decorations include:

Enhanced visitor and resident experience: In public spaces, Christmas decorations can elevate the ambience, create a familiar and warm environment, and provide a more welcoming and entertaining experience. When you invest in making public spaces festive, residents and visitors feel a sense of belonging and joy.
Higher community engagement: Holiday decorations can attract more visitors and capture community members’ attention, helping your space stand out and encouraging engagement with local stores and events.
Memorable branding: Investing in public spaces helps create positive perceptions of your community. Holiday decorations present your location as a welcoming, family-friendly, and desirable place to live, work, and visit. Holiday decorating creates wonderful photo opportunities for residents and visitors. When shared on social media, these videos and images showcase your city or town’s festive spirit, reaching a wider audience and enhancing your appeal as a vibrant place to live and visit.
Greater sense of civic pride: When cities invest in holiday decorations for their public spaces, they foster a sense of community and belonging. Beautifully decorated public spaces and festive installations encourage community pride.

Holiday Decorating Timeline From Take-Down to Installation

If you’re wondering when to put up holiday decorations to ensure an unforgettable experience for your community, we’ve created a timeline to transform your city’s public spaces into a winter wonderland.

Phase 1: January-April

The holidays are over, which means your decorations have fulfilled their purpose, and it’s time to restore your city spaces to their original form. January and February are all about reviewing what went well, celebrating your successes, and learning from any mistakes. Key tasks include:

Removing, cleaning, and inspecting decor: All decorations must be removed carefully to minimize hazards and damage. If you are taking down the decorations yourself, ensure safety training has been provided to all involved. To keep all your decorations in tip-top condition, everything should be thoroughly cleaned and inspected for potential damage or nicks. If any minor damage has occurred, arrange for items to be repaired. A professional decoration team can handle all of this for you.
Return items to storage: If all decorations belong to the city or are being stored locally, make sure everything is clearly labelled and easily identifiable to streamline the process for next year.
Have a debriefing: If you collaborated with a professional decorating company, schedule a meeting to discuss the season’s success and explore areas for refinement. Host an internal review with your team to discuss which elements of the decoration process went well and identify improvements to make next year even better.
Create a feedback loop: To truly gauge the success of your installation, consider gathering feedback from both the public and your workforce. For example, collect surveys from members of the public, local business owners, and community members involved in the decorating process. This valuable combination of internal and external feedback will help you learn about what was well-received and what needs improvement for next time.

Although the Christmas season might seem like a world away, many projects take months to actualize. Around March or April, you should begin your initial planning for the upcoming holiday season. Things you should research include potential themes, budget and funding, community feedback and industry trends, technological advancements, and professional installation companies, if applicable.

Phase 2: May-June

Once you’ve finalized the basics, it’s time to start planning! You’re now about six months from installation. To kick-start the design process, you need to:

Arranging a site assessment: If you choose to work with a professional holiday decorating company, they will likely offer a consultation and site assessment to determine what’s possible in your space and provide realistic quotes and valuable advice.
Arrange design meetings: Organize internal design and conceptualization meetings to ensure all relevant ideas are put forward and to help keep everyone involved on the same page.
Collaborate with experts: Start the design process with your team of experts to bring your vision to life. The best companies will collaborate closely with you to ensure every detail reflects your preferences, vision, unique space, and budget.
Start sourcing decorations: It might seem premature to start looking for decorations, but the earlier you start, the more affordable prices you will find. If you’re working with a professional design company, they can do this for you or with you.
Set the date: Decide exactly when you would like to have your decorations completed and work backwards to determine when installation should begin. You should also determine when everything needs to be taken down at the end of the season.
Book your installer: If you have been collaborating with a professional design and installation team, now is a good time to officially book their installation and take-down services. Depending on the scale of your project, you may need to book them for multiple days.

Phase 3: July-August

Once July hits, it’s time to focus on the details. To make sure your decorations will be ready by your preferred installation date, you need to:

Confirm inventory: If you choose to use existing decorations instead of partnering with a holiday decoration company, run an inventory check to ensure you have everything you need.
Create a detailed installation plan: Collaborate closely with your installation team to develop a detailed plan that covers all decorative elements, any equipment you’ll need, and access requirements for the installers. For example, to keep the magic under wraps, many cities and town centers choose to complete their holiday installations at night. In this case, the installation team will need after-hours access to decorating locations.
Sign any contracts: Tie up any loose ends with your chosen vendors and installation experts to ensure a smooth transition into the Christmas season.
Order bespoke decorations: If your space requires any custom-made decorations, such as personalized ornaments and made-to-measure pieces, place your orders now to make sure they’re ready in plenty of time.
Maintain communication: Keep on top of internal design teams and external services to avoid task backlogs and ensure everything stays on track for the coming months.

Phase 4: September-October

With installation just a few months away, it’s time to ramp things up. Key tasks for September and October include:

Site visits: Whether you are collaborating with a decorating agency, outsourcing installation, or using an internal team to put up your decorations, it is important to arrange site visits so installers can check measurements and confirm the planned decorations and layout work in your space.
Begin in-house preparation: From clearing areas to be decorated and locating reliable power sources to coordinating installation plans with your on-site security team, there are several things to prepare in your space prior to installation.
Receiving decorations: Depending on whether you keep all decorating duties in-house or collaborate with a holiday decorating company, all your items should be delivered in October. If you’re responsible for their safekeeping until installation, it’s important that you keep them indoors and secure.
Quality checks: Make sure every item you receive is as expected and in excellent condition. If any decorations aren’t up to standard, you should have just enough time to rectify things before November.

Phase 5: November-December

The time has finally come to begin decorating! You’ll probably feel like it was only yesterday that you took last year’s holiday decorations down, but it’s time to get to work once more. In November, your main responsibilities are:

Installing and staging: All decorations need to be assembled and installed. Although Christmas is still a month away, large-scale holiday decorating can take several days or even weeks to complete. If you are not collaborating with a professional installation service, ensure safety training and equipment have been provided to all those involved and that all safety standards are met.
Coordinating with security and access teams: As some installations will need to take place outside typical business hours, ensure site access is arranged for your installation team.
Troubleshooting: Once everything is installed, conduct a practice run-through of your unveiling or display functions to make sure everything works and is ready to use. Make adjustments where needed.

The most wonderful time of year has returned, and you will get to see all your hard work in action. Depending on the type and scale of your holiday decorations, your final tasks might include hosting a grand reveal, turning on light displays, staging light shows, and scheduling regular inspections and maintenance throughout the season.

What Are the Benefits of Working With a Decoration and Installation Expert?

When it comes to creating awe-inspiring and eye-catching holiday displays, you might benefit from hiring a professional holiday decorating company. Collaborating with a specialist team of designers and installers is one of the most effective ways to make sure your Christmas decor is on-trend, high-quality, and expertly executed. Some key advantages of outsourcing the work to the professionals include:

Access to Industry Expertise and Equipment

If you’re hoping to create an installation with a wow-factor, professionals in the holiday decorating industry have the training and ability to assess a space and create impactful designs that suit it. With years of experience, experts know how to create cohesive displays that bring your vision to life and suit your unique layout and spatial requirements.

A specialized holiday decor team also has access to more advanced technology and equipment than your internal teams. For example, Mosca Design provides state-of-the-art RGB displays programmed to sync with your favorite Christmas tunes. Professional holiday decorators and installers are up to date on current decorating trends and industry developments, helping ensure your display is relevant and appealing to the community.

Reduced Installation Risk

Professional holiday decorating teams are specially trained to handle, install, and dismantle equipment. They know how to safely install electrical displays and mitigate potential hazards, reducing the risk to your staff and the general public. If certain installations are not properly connected, displays can quickly become hazardous. Professional holiday decorators confirm displays are structurally sound and implement safety measures to withstand heavy foot traffic and weather conditions.

Increased Efficiency During Installation and Take-Down

Although you want your finished display to look effortless, the planning, design, and installation processes are anything but. With the support of an experienced holiday decoration team, your project can benefit from faster installation and more timely completion.

Decorating experts are well-versed in efficient installation and take-down processes and can masterfully complete them while your team retains focus on its key responsibilities. When you can rely on a team to deliver timely results, you can enjoy peace of mind.

Long-Term Savings and Simplicity

While hiring a professional decorating team comes with certain initial costs, it could actually save you money in the long term. Design companies often have established relationships with bulk providers that your team may not have access to, which can translate into savings on large orders and simplified shipment and delivery. If your public space or community center requires a large-scale decorating project, having the option to bulk-buy decor could make all the difference between a great display and a wow-worthy one.

Most decorating companies also come with an in-built installation and take-down team, so you don’t need to worry about outsourcing labor independently.

Illuminate Your World With Mosca Design

At Mosca Design, we do more than provide twinkling lights and tinsel garlands — we decorate America for the holidays! We provide our clients with a comprehensive decoration process, with services spanning every step from consultation to installation. With products ranging from lighting and banners to personalized decorations, we have everything you need to make the season merry and bright for your community and out-of-town visitors.

When Should Cities and Town Centers Put Up Holiday Decorations?

Discover everything you need to do throughout the year to create an impactful display that lights up not just your space, but people’s hearts, too.

Why Is Holiday Decorating Important For Cities and Town Centers?

Enhanced visitor and resident experience: In public spaces, Christmas decorations can elevate the ambience, create a familiar and warm environment, and provide a more welcoming and entertaining experience. When you invest in making public spaces festive, residents and visitors feel a sense of belonging and joy.
Higher community engagement: Holiday decorations can attract more visitors and capture community members’ attention, helping your space stand out and encouraging engagement with local stores and events.
Memorable branding: Investing in public spaces helps create positive perceptions of your community. Holiday decorations present your location as a welcoming, family-friendly, and desirable place to live, work, and visit. Holiday decorating creates wonderful photo opportunities for residents and visitors. When shared on social media, these videos and images showcase your city or town’s festive spirit, reaching a wider audience and enhancing your appeal as a vibrant place to live and visit.
Greater sense of civic pride: When cities invest in holiday decorations for their public spaces, they foster a sense of community and belonging. Beautifully decorated public spaces and festive installations encourage community pride.