8 Holiday Decorations That Are Totally Acceptable To Leave Up All Winter (Slideshow)

Christmas falls just four days after the winter solstice, meaning that the holiday is tied up in imagery of the winter season. Similarly, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa fall in the earliest days of the cold season. Thus, evergreen trees, snowfall, winter forest animals, and cozy flannel pillows are set out solely for the month of December when they really could be fitting décor additions to your home all winter long.

Setting out a candlelit menorah for Hanukkah or kinara for Kwanzaa is one of the signature events of those respective holidays. Instead of packing away the leftover and half-burned sticks of wax, keep them out throughout the winter for a little extra romantic illumination during those long, cold nights.

For eight bizarre food-scented candles, click here.

Funny baby photos of your children sitting on Santa's lap, a nostalgic snapshot of you and your love in front of the Rockefeller Christmas tree, and family holiday photos featuring loved ones who are long gone may only be broken out around the holidays, but there's no reason these pictures can't stay out all year long. Even if they're in festive red and green frames, keeping these pictures out will keep the love of the holiday season in your heart, even in the middle of summer.

"Jingle Bells," "Winter Wonderland," and "Let It Snow" are all classic Christmas songs, but do they ever mention Santa Claus, the baby Jesus, or even Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Because it ties into the winter solstice, Christmas is heavily associated with winter, but the season stretches all the way until March 20. So, keep up your "let it snow" signs, your paper snowflakes, and your plush snowmen. They have a whole season ahead of them.

For 11 snowmen you can build out of food, click here.

Table runners with pine trees and snowflakes on them, Santa-red chair covers, and deep blue tablecloths with Stars of David on them may be heavily associated with formal family parties during the holidays. However, keep these out all winter long. The pops of color in your dining room will help to brighten up your home during the dreary, gray winter months.

To learn how to set a Christmas dinner table, click here.

Flannel throw pillows in a classic red and black checker, burlap pillows with pine trees, and bright, glittery pillows with phrases about love and snow can stick around on your couches all winter long. They'll make your home feel like a cozy getaway cabin perfect for snuggling up with some hot cocoa and a good book all winter long.

For 10 surprising reasons hot chocolate is good for your health, click here.

Statues of reindeer, plush penguins, and figurines of polar bears get set out every Christmas, and then are quickly put away with the Santa Clauses and nativity scenes. Like the odes to snow before them, these cold weather creatures are heavily associated with Christmas, even though they're really appropriate (and adorable) decorations for the entire winter season. As long as these creatures aren't rocking bright red Rudolph noses or Santa hats, these are fair game.

Seriously, people need to stop combining the winter season and Christmastime. Another holiday decoration staple is the winter village, a la Department 56's Dickens Village. Sure, these scenes are filled with pine trees and general old-timey merriment, but if you strip away Christmas-themed pieces, all you have are quaint storefronts, ice skaters, and chimney sweeps wandering around your counter tops.

The evergreen pine tree is just that: evergreen. A symbol of fertility even in the middle of the coldest days, these trees are strong and sturdy, and can make it through the winter completely unfazed. Why limit that awesomeness to a single month in December (most of which is technically fall, anyway). Sure, if your decoratative wreath is real or is adorned with Christmas ornaments, you may want to pack it up. But otherwise, embrace the greenery.

For 10 DIY edible food wreaths, click here.