OP, I would let them go up to the day you want to smoke them, then just do a quick dry on them... you will like it better than chopping earlier and drying that way (since you will not get a good cure anyway and you will have more time for trichs/thc to form) Just my 2 cents. I have one that will be chopped on Monday, dry for a couple of weeks and cure (though some of the popcorn buds can be cured a bit faster due to size and will probably be my Christmas bud) In my days of purchasing, I would never get good bud that often, but during this time of year I would score what I call "Christmas bud" cause it looked more like a Christmas tree. Now with growing, I have Christmas bud all year round LOL.. Good luck and happy holidays!