When Do You Decorate For Christmas? (179 views)
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Post by mrswaz on Dec 2, 2016 10:35:03 GMT -5
Or did you already? And when do you take them down? We usually decorate the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. This year we decorated our church, so by the time we finished that, I was done decorating. I think I might pull everything out today. If it gets too late into December, I usually feel like it's not worth putting it all up for such a short while. One year we only did a tree, and it was a miracle we got that much up! The outside was done a few weeks ago while the weather was still really nice, though they didn't get turned on until Black Friday. Some years we take the decorations down New Year's Day. I just get ready for that fresh start and it has to go. Most years it waits until the weekend following January 1st. I'm not totally sure I want Christmas up until January 7th, but then I suppose we would still be decorated for Three Kings Day, which we don't celebrate, but in my mind that makes it okay.  Other than the tree, my decorations are snowman themed, so they're really okay for a long time. With no snow on the ground yet, it's not looking (or feeling) wintery. Seems odd to line the shelves and walls with snowmen. But we'll probably decorate this afternoon after the kids are done with school. How about you and yours? |
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Post by wallycat on Dec 2, 2016 11:21:21 GMT -5
My Chanukah menorah is out and waiting, my xmas tree night-light is plugged in, our metal reindeer wreath is hanging outside....the day after Thanksgiving :-)
We don't do much but try to acknowledge several of the holidays during this time of year. My favorite is the winter solstice...saying goodbye to the amazing shorter nights and sadly, knowing that each day will get more light and get longer as the year moves forward.
We try to have a few special meals. Some years we string lights or leave out candles.
When we lived in WI, we would get a huge fresh tree, stake it in the backyard and decorate it with bird seed ornaments and lights. OH how I miss my WI cardinals flitting around.
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Post by mrswaz on Dec 2, 2016 15:54:00 GMT -5
My Chanukah menorah is out and waiting, my xmas tree night-light is plugged in, our metal reindeer wreath is hanging outside....the day after Thanksgiving :-) We don't do much but try to acknowledge several of the holidays during this time of year. My favorite is the winter solstice...saying goodbye to the amazing shorter nights and sadly, knowing that each day will get more light and get longer as the year moves forward.We try to have a few special meals. Some years we string lights or leave out candles. When we lived in WI, we would get a huge fresh tree, stake it in the backyard and decorate it with bird seed ornaments and lights. OH how I miss my WI cardinals flitting around. That's funny! Winter Solstice is one of my favorite days for the opposite reason. We start getting more light with each day, which means the spring gardening is coming! I like that you don't have a set "this is the way we always do it". We try really hard to keep our holiday celebrations fluid and flexible. |
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Post by soupandstew on Dec 2, 2016 18:53:27 GMT -5
Most times we decorate the Monday or Tuesday after Thanksgiving. We are pretty minimal compared to many of our friends and neighbors-a 4-1/2 ft. indoor tree we vary each year with a different color of ornaments (this year it's silver, white and crystals, sort of winter wonderland), a wreath and garland on the front porch, plus a few Christmas themed vases, candles, lanterns , etc. One of my favorite thnings is a laser-cut wooden village we've collected over the years. This year, because we got so much hate from the neighborhood when we had to remove our 54-year old, massively diseased trees, we decorated the replacement, a miniature crape myrtle, as a Charlie Brown Christmas tree-one big red ornament and a little blue fleece Linus blanket at the base. Ironically, this week finally brought what passes for "winter" in South Texas-it got down to the 40's briefly.
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cafelatte
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Post by cafelatte on Dec 5, 2016 9:21:46 GMT -5
I've been trying to decorate my tree for the last week, but I have given up. Why? My cat that likes to climb it (It's artificial). I put up some ribbons and ornament she won't break, but I have almost 30 years worth of Hallmark ornaments I have collected each year, including 5 new ones this year that won't make it up.  She was a kitten last year and was constantly at the tree, so we moved it into our den that has french doors so she couldn't get in. However, it's in the from of the house, DH's office, and out of view of the FR. This year, I refuse to move the tree, and I thought the cat would be big for the tree (10 lbs). Nope. |
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Gail
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Post by Gail on Dec 9, 2016 5:23:32 GMT -5
 We're going shopping for a tree this weekend. Typically, we get one around 12 days before Christmas and it sits a few days before we get around to decorating it. Exterior decorations will go up this weekend as well. Decorations stay up until January 2, though the last day we'll normally light up the house is New Year's Day.
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charley
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Post by charley on Dec 14, 2016 18:04:02 GMT -5
Did most of the decorating a couple days after Thanksgiving. Put up the tree on Dec. 1. Surprisingly, it's still drinking water!
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Post by soupandstew on Dec 14, 2016 20:14:09 GMT -5
I've been trying to decorate my tree for the last week, but I have given up. Why? My cat that likes to climb it (It's artificial). I put up some ribbons and ornament she won't break, but I have almost 30 years worth of Hallmark ornaments I have collected each year, including 5 new ones this year that won't make it up. :( She was a kitten last year and was constantly at the tree, so we moved it into our den that has french doors so she couldn't get in. However, it's in the from of the house, DH's office, and out of view of the FR. This year, I refuse to move the tree, and I thought the cat would be big for the tree (10 lbs). Nope. I feel your pain. We have many memories of cats and trees down through the years. Did you know that modern tinsel is really just silver-coated clear plastic? And the silver coating comes off as it passes through the feline digestive tract? Don't ask, just trust that we really know this. Merry Christmas! |
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cafelatte
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Post by cafelatte on Dec 15, 2016 9:12:58 GMT -5
I've been trying to decorate my tree for the last week, but I have given up. Why? My cat that likes to climb it (It's artificial). I put up some ribbons and ornament she won't break, but I have almost 30 years worth of Hallmark ornaments I have collected each year, including 5 new ones this year that won't make it up. She was a kitten last year and was constantly at the tree, so we moved it into our den that has french doors so she couldn't get in. However, it's in the from of the house, DH's office, and out of view of the FR. This year, I refuse to move the tree, and I thought the cat would be big for the tree (10 lbs). Nope. I feel your pain. We have many memories of cats and trees down through the years. Did you know that modern tinsel is really just silver-coated clear plastic? And the silver coating comes off as it passes through the feline digestive tract? Don't ask, just trust that we really know this. Merry Christmas! I'm glad I don't use tinsel! She has stopped climbing the tree, but it's looking very disheveled. |
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Post by mrswaz on Dec 15, 2016 9:25:18 GMT -5
I've been trying to decorate my tree for the last week, but I have given up. Why? My cat that likes to climb it (It's artificial). I put up some ribbons and ornament she won't break, but I have almost 30 years worth of Hallmark ornaments I have collected each year, including 5 new ones this year that won't make it up. She was a kitten last year and was constantly at the tree, so we moved it into our den that has french doors so she couldn't get in. However, it's in the from of the house, DH's office, and out of view of the FR. This year, I refuse to move the tree, and I thought the cat would be big for the tree (10 lbs). Nope. I feel your pain. We have many memories of cats and trees down through the years. Did you know that modern tinsel is really just silver-coated clear plastic? And the silver coating comes off as it passes through the feline digestive tract? Don't ask, just trust that we really know this. Merry Christmas! Oh my. When I was a kid we had a dog who loved to eat used kleenex. Drove my mom nuts because it would pass through undissolved, and at that time you could buy kleenex in colors, so occasionally the yard would have these technicolor mounds scattered about. Silver poo and plastic strings in the litter box would definitely be frightening to find! |
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Post by soupandstew on Dec 16, 2016 0:23:03 GMT -5
I feel your pain. We have many memories of cats and trees down through the years. Did you know that modern tinsel is really just silver-coated clear plastic? And the silver coating comes off as it passes through the feline digestive tract? Don't ask, just trust that we really know this. Merry Christmas! Oh my. When I was a kid we had a dog who loved to eat used kleenex. Drove my mom nuts because it would pass through undissolved, and at that time you could buy kleenex in colors, so occasionally the yard would have these technicolor mounds scattered about. Silver poo and plastic strings in the litter box would definitely be frightening to find!That's not exactly how it plays out. Without being nauseatingly specific, just imagine your cat doing a manic whirling dervish act in the living room, chasing something unseen round and round. Upon closer inspection you realize that a long transparent piece of plastic is protruding from your cat's rear end. At this point there are not a lot of options and you choose to grasp the end of the plastic to tug it free. And vow never to have a tree again. Or at least not one with tinsel. BTW, loved the colored Kleenex story-I remember the stuff but didn't know it passed through in radiant color. |
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Post by mcgee on Dec 16, 2016 0:56:55 GMT -5
Oh my. When I was a kid we had a dog who loved to eat used kleenex. Drove my mom nuts because it would pass through undissolved, and at that time you could buy kleenex in colors, so occasionally the yard would have these technicolor mounds scattered about. Silver poo and plastic strings in the litter box would definitely be frightening to find!That's not exactly how it plays out. Without being nauseatingly specific, just imagine your cat doing a manic whirling dervish act in the living room, chasing something unseen round and round. Upon closer inspection you realize that a long transparent piece of plastic is protruding from your cat's rear end. At this point there are not a lot of options and you choose to grasp the end of the plastic to tug it free. And vow never to have a tree again. Or at least not one with tinsel. BTW, loved the colored Kleenex story-I remember the stuff but didn't know it passed through in radiant color. Bwahaha! |
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Post by mrswaz on Dec 16, 2016 9:28:07 GMT -5
That's not exactly how it plays out. Without being nauseatingly specific, just imagine your cat doing a manic whirling dervish act in the living room, chasing something unseen round and round. Upon closer inspection you realize that a long transparent piece of plastic is protruding from your cat's rear end. At this point there are not a lot of options and you choose to grasp the end of the plastic to tug it free. And vow never to have a tree again. Or at least not one with tinsel. BTW, loved the colored Kleenex story-I remember the stuff but didn't know it passed through in radiant color. Oh my.  |
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She was a kitten last year and was constantly at the tree, so we moved it into our den that has french doors so she couldn't get in. However, it's in the from of the house, DH's office, and out of view of the FR. This year, I refuse to move the tree, and I thought the cat would be big for the tree (10 lbs). Nope. 
