WIBTA if I took down all the office Christmas decorations
Ever felt the tug-of-war between the joy of holiday décor and the rules of a corporate kitchen? Meet our brave, single, 30‑year‑old heroine who tried to spread some festive cheer, only to find herself in a battle with the Office Decoration Authority (aka the boss and the rulebook). Spoiler: it’s a story of glitter‑filled hope, bureaucracy, and the ultimate question—am I the asshole for pulling the tinsel down?
The Tale of Two Seasons
Picture this: a neutral, office‑only kitchen that’s basically a blank canvas. One Halloween, our heroine decides to go full‑throttle: spider webs, homemade tombstones, floating candles that look like they’re from a haunted mansion. Everyone loves it—until the boss says, “You can’t put stuff on the ceiling or walls, no walkways, no religious icons, just masking tape.” The result? She’s forced to rip out 90 % of the spooky setup. Cue dramatic sigh.
Fast forward to Christmas. She’s determined to give her coworkers a little sparkle. She hand‑cuts felt icicles, wraps fridges in paper, tosses a Christmas village onto a table, and decorates cabinet handles with gnomes. Friday night, it looks magical. She wakes up on Monday with half the decorations already dumped on the floor. The manager, a new boss with a very specific interpretation of “walls,” tells her to remove the table décor because they need the space for a potluck. “You could take them outside the kitchen,” he suggests. “But there are none.”
Her heart sinks. She’s all‑alone on Thanksgiving, no friends nearby, no kids—so she poured her heart into the office. But now it’s just… a pile of holiday junk on the floor. The big question: Am I the asshole for taking it all down?
The Commenter's Verdict (in a nutshell)
After the dramatic plot twist, the internet’s comment section exploded. Let’s break down what the netizens had to say—minus the usernames, of course.
| # | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Not everyone celebrates Christmas, so they don’t want Christmas cheer. Decorate your home or your workspace. You should take it down.” |
| 2 | “Thank you for this. Offices are for work, not holiday decorations.” |
| 3 | “You went all‑out for Halloween, had to tone it down. Then you did the same for Christmas and were told it was too much. What did you expect? If you had asked a few colleagues if they wanted to decorate together, you might have gotten some buy‑in. If the decorations are already toned down, it would be petty to remove what’s left. YWBTA.” |
| 4 | “Soft YTA. The office isn’t the place for personal expression. Corporate doesn’t care if you enjoy decorating. You might be offending people who find it overwhelming. Keep it subtle, small, tasteful. Not ‘in your face’ for everyone.” |
| 5 | “YTA gently. You did this for yourself, not your coworkers. You wanted their approval. It backfired. If you’d thought it would work after it already failed once… a lifetime ago I had to clean the office kitchen, and everything you did was clutter. You’re only looking at what you need, not what others can handle.” |
TL;DR: The internet is basically telling you that decorating in a neutral office space is a slippery slope, and the proper move is to keep it minimal or ask for permission first. Taking it all down is not the asshole move if it’s ruining the space and the potluck plans.
Bottom Line
- Rule #1: Offices are neutral zones. Anything that interferes with the workflow (like tinsel blocking a cabinet or a village on a table) gets the “NO” stamp.
- Rule #2: Ask before you decorate. Get a quick poll—“Do you want a Christmas tree on the break room table?”—and you’ll either get a “yes” or a “no” (and avoid the drama).
- Rule #3: When you’re stuck in the middle of a potluck frenzy, it’s perfectly okay to de‑decor if the décor is actually hindering work.
- Rule #4: The ultimate goal is happiness, not approval. If you’re decorating for yourself, it’s fine—just remember the space is shared.
So, dear holiday enthusiast, if you’re contemplating pulling down the tinsel because it’s a mess or the office is getting cramped, you’re not the asshole. You’re just being a responsible office‑decorator who respects the potluck schedule. 🎄✨
Feel free to comment below with your own office‑decor tales—just remember to keep it PG, or the next post might be about the “office Christmas tree that turned into a fire hazard.”