When does everyone else put their Christmas deccys up then?...

We've put the tree up today...The rest'll go up as the week goes on...

So when do y'all do yours then?...

Christmas Eve.

So I'm a Scrooge. Bah, humbug!

How neat, McB! And I'll bet you leave them up until after New Year for a long Chrissy season?

Usually mid-December here, and with a pretend tree for the last 5 - 6 years. We only have one bag of deccy's but its a magic bag of holding.

I usually put the candles in the windows as soon as we set the clocks back, but this year I have to wait for Someone to move the boxes for me.

The Boy Scouts have a Christmas tree sale on the first weekend of December at our school, so we’ll get our tree(s) then. I love getting real trees there. I’ve gotten to know the tree farm owners a little over the years, we’ve been out to see their farm and it’s beautiful, and it’s a fundraiser for the kids. Plus we have low ceilings, so we get the least expensive trees. Yeah, they make a mess. I’m over it.

I know it sounds a little Martha Stewart, but I make my own wreaths. We have holly, Southern magnolia, and cedar growing in the garden, and they could all use a little trim. So when I put the wreaths up varies from early December to Christmas Eve. (I got a lot of lip that year, but they were worth the wait!)

We also unsurprisingly have enough of the kids’ craft projects to turn the house into a fire hazard. I use them all with delight, even the unpainted dough lump hanging from a red ribbon that is supposed to represent a decorated tree. Actually that one might be my favorite.

We generally start the decorating when my dad is around so either right after Thanksgiving or a couple days before Christmas.

First goes the fake tree. I no longer decorate because I'm scared there are spiders in it So I let Wrothken and my brothers handle it.

We put stockings in the hall mid-December. I'm hoping to make some stockings for each of the cats (there are seven in all). My youngest brother wants to make a few for the deceased pets, though I'm not sure if it's a good idea. He tends to brood and then blame people and then his temper explodes.

The wreath goes up. I think my brother has a wreath he made in school years ago that he hangs on his door.

Decorations? I've heard of these things. I think.

Nothing going up here. Would have to buy them and getting Skyrim took all my free funds for the next several months.

I remember decorating for Christmas in my first apartment on zero budget. I spent an evening with my two roommates tying red yarn around the house plants and cutting snowflakes out of scrap paper. Also passing around a bottle of Southern Comfort with a little cranberry juice poured in to make it look festive. The next morning we discovered that all of the cut-out bits of paper were still on the floor. It looked like it had snowed indoors.


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Absolutely right, Grits !! I have bought a reel of red velvet ribbon and tied little bows on the tree. It was $1.37 for the ribbon and beautiful !!

Aaahhhh, the joys the mother and I used to have putting paper chains and crepe paper rolls across the ceiling... ...

We strung popcorn on a string, lol.

The Christmas tree is up!

The question is now when will it come back down. Today I put away a paper lantern that was still out from Halloween and a paper chain from Thanksgiving.

Lights are up on the exterior.

As a side note, I already hate Christmas music. It was playing all day at work.

Oh yeah, over here, the music channels on the satellite tv have got dozens of "*insert minor celebrity*'s Christmas/Festive hits/Turkeys etc..."

Grrr...

Ok tree's up with lights. No other ordainment yet.

Oooh, one of the plastic legs on ours broke...Methinks we overloaded it with baubles... ...It just started leaning drunkenly to one side and then fell against the window!...Not entirely sure about getting a new one before christmas (half-price after chrimby!) so we'll have to see what we can do... ...

Our ceiling decs aren't up yet...I'll probably have to do that at dinner today...*Sigh*...

Well our Christmas decoration is done. In the spirit of not paying any money I give you: the irn bru can tree.



To be honest neither of us spend christmas in the flat so there's not much point in bothering with more.

lmfao!

Nice.

*Applauds heartily*...

You been saving the empties for a while then?... ...

It started mid November I think. I might get another layer on it before christmas depending on how busy I am.

And how much irn bru gets drunk!

Beery Christmas! *groan*

We bought the tree today Decorations and stockings will go up tomorrow after work.

We too bought the Tree today....But decorations will not come up yet, maybe on wednesday..or so. Still much to do at work so...

I am but a poor student so I also tend to go low-key on the Christmas decorations... that said, every year I try to get an Advent wreath set up in time for the first Advent (fourth Sunday before Christmas, in between the 27th of November and 3rd of December) and every year I run into new and interesting obstacles! This year, I bought a wreath that didn't work out (the ones you get in the UK are generally made for hanging on doors and stuff, so they're just branches twisted together without a base - Advent wreaths have candles on them, meaning that sort of construction isn't sturdy enough), then I finally managed to get green branches to make my own... from my PhD supervisor's hedge as he heard about my difficulties and offered. But then I couldn't find candles - proper Advent wreath candles need to be red and sort of squat, and the only ones satisfying that condition I could find here were scented. I have asthma so that was right out. Thankfully I still had some left over from a few years ago, but next year I'm getting my mum to send me a packet. The trials and tribulations of trying to manage Christmas decorations as a German expat, I tell you...

That said, I'm flying home (i.e., to my parents) on Tuesday and will be able to help put up and decorate the tree there - we do it on the morning of the 24th, don't know why all you strange people do it early

@Olen - it amuses me that I instantly know from your soft drink choice what country you're from! Although after a traumatic encounter in which I was expecting it to be Fanta, I haven't been overly fond of the stuff myself.

ROFL !!! I love Fanta too, lol.

The can is orange! ...partly orange! I claim false advertising!

I've fallen for the same thing with these stupid generic sodas - their label and name will trick if you aren't paying close attention - get home and find yourself drinking a tasteless (and very low carbonated) crappy imitation of Fanta.

We used to have a machine that gave out Fanta in glass bottles (and icy chilled!) - there is nothing that can compete with that flavor, not even the canned Fanta can match it!

Lol...How can anyone pick up a drink and not read what the label says?... ...

Love Fanta...Always have that when we go fasty foody...Loves me orange does I... ...

Ooh! Now that's something to be jealous of... we have one departmental soda machine but I've never used it after seeing five bottles hanging in a gravity-defying configuration (it's one of those where you select the row and column and the bottle in that position falls... or in our case, doesn't). As it is, I usually end up making myself tea in the kitchen instead.

And now I am craving Fanta and it is all your fault, do you hear?

Phew, sorry Ive been inactive the past... how long is that now?

Anyway, our decorationing is now finished. We have a proper live tree of course!

Ours is genuinely plastic... ...

Well, we're as ready as we'll ever be... ...

Yea that might come as a shock Frankly I've never met anyone who likes it who wasn't brought up on it (or for that matter anyone who was brought up on it who isn't moderatly obsessive about it). As far as I know it's the only soft drink in the world which locally outsells coca cola.

Just try being a scottish ex-pat anywhere. The proper stuff is only availible in the UK (and its rare outside Scotland) and Russia. Nothing else is anything like it - for those who don't know it's bright orange and very fizzy and tastes undescribable - slightly citrus, quite sweet but offset by the quinine bitterness and taste of chemical.

Anyway back to christmas decorations. My mother has a plastic tree and I'll be there for Christmas. She also has an unreasonable number of hanging ceiling decorations - I think I can guess whose job it will be to put them up.

I think it is more than slightly citrus, very flavorful actually. The rest of your description sounded accurate though, especially the high carbonation content (probably what creates the chemical flavor unless you're drinking from cans - that gives it the metallic taste, which is why I prefer the bottled if I can get it). I love it.

On the Xmas decorations, we are supposed to do them today. Our neighbor's have been competing since before Thanksgiving for the most obscene spectacles decorations against each other, we will stay out of that contest and just bask in the glow coming off their properties. I don't have to use indoor lighting at night, just draw back my curtains.

As an accountant I have found myself counting their bulbs (etc.) and multiplying the estimated wattage usage by the Kilowat hours base of our local electric company to guestimate their monthly electric bills. (and you thought accountants were boring !! HA !! )

H.E.R. I am so glad there is at least one of you with me on this!!! The kids will be gone for Christmas so I won't put up a tree at all....I will spend my day with my doggies, watching movies and reading and surfing the web...ah the peace and quiet....

Come on over Haute, we can enjoy the quiet together....lol

Just so you all know I am not a complete "outcast" for Christmas I spend several days before making homemade hard candy and chocolate dipped fruit and pretzels to distribute to the neighbors and friends....That is my JOY for the season, I truly do like do this, as for the rest, well, it's just way too much for me.

I'll be right there with you, Athynae. It's just me and Captain Bobo at home this year. Mr. Grits and offspring are going on our trip without me. I'm still, um, not sitting.

I think this will be my longest alone stretch ever. Even in college I had housemates. I'd rather be going on the trip (DAMMIT!), but I'm kind of looking forward to it.

The more the merrier I say. What's your poison? Tequila? Scotch? or just a couple glasses of perfectly aged wine? Or just a nice tall glass of true southern sweet tea? Just want to be prepared for my company...Is there a movie preference?

Last year was my first Christmas totally alone and although last year was rough for a lot of reasons being alone wasn't one of them. This year will be far different, and I will appreciate the company even if it is "cyber" company, lol.

I am sorry that you can't be with Mr. Grits and the wild...um I mean young ones (mine are referred to affectionately as the wild animals, sorry didn't mean to make any assumptions) But enjoying the peace and quiet is not a bad thing either.

You had me at ‘chocolate dipped pretzels.’


The talk of Irn Bru has this Christmas song in my head.

I see big trouble brewing here if these three get together for the holidays !!! URK !!!

Women Gone Wild, Saturalia Edition.

Well if you are jealous mALX you are more than welcome to join us!!! The more the merrier.

So Grits, you like the chocolate dipped pretzels? I have white chocolate dipped, semi-sweet dipped and white chocolate with semi sweet swirls. I also have chocolate dipped cherries in the same assortment (this is the first year I have tried them and they are quite delectable) But if I don't find a place to hide them from the kids there won't be any left, lol.

Tomorrow will be Broken Glass Candy making all day. I make several flavors of hard candy and it is usually a bigger hit than the chocolate concoctions. It's fun stuff.

So come on ya'll, we'll just have a big time eating stuff we shouldn't, drinking stuff we shouldn't and being scrooges.....

HHMM I wonder if I can figure out how to make hard candy with tequila????? What was that you said about "Women Gone Wild"????

"I nin't grink nuttin occifer, it wuz jus cccaannnnnnnnndy, weally!"

Exactly. I happened to find YouTube vids of ya'alls weekend ...


Here is the vid of ya'all ariving at the meeting place:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdH-R_nDtfg


and here is the vid of the weekend activities:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsParY6zm1Q

I'm changing my name to Flaming Hot Chick.


Oh, the little girl on the ATV! "I'm OK!!" thumbs up! That was not her first trip into a tree.

The planet would not survive it, four of us in the same location? GAAAAAH !!!


@ Grits - you already hold that title, but that vid was a pretty accurate showing of me driving at any time, lol.

I was trying to decide which of the idiot girls I was in the video when I had an epiphany. I'm the one holding the camera and yelling to the friend, "You can make it!!"


Now as far as Christmas decorations, I'm having a bow issue. I can't find my candycane striped bows for the wreaths. I have naked wreaths on the front of my house. This is a problem.

Well, you can wrap the staff of your bow with red ribbon, but you have to be careful that the fletching of your arrows doesn’t get caught - oh, wait. . . um, nevermind.

Lol - I knew that !!! ROFL !!

An alternate trimming for the wreaths:

Look in your garage for gold and cranberry colored paint. (Oxblood color works for cranberry). Spray some small leaves with the gold paint and stick them around in the wreath. The Oxblood paint for the berries ... hmm, what can you use for berries... didn't you have a pet cat? Er... never mind.

Now, for a bright red bow to tie at the bottom. If your husband happens to be a collector/restorer of antique or classic cars (especially the muscle cars) - they usually have bright red seats. Cut a strip off one seat approximately 1.3 inches wide and....

WOW now I have to decide which one I should be I suppose...hhmm, unfortunately it's probably the little girl on the ATV...lol. Yes, I have had a few run ins with inanimate objects, unfortunately they tend to withstand the onslaught much better than I did.

And I am not even going to touch the whole "what can you use for berries thing", nope I'm not....

I like Acadian's idea...oh, wait, nevermind....might throw off the aim a bit and we wouldn't want that, might end up in a youtube vid depicting the Christmas version of Women Gone Wild....

AND what exactly would be the problem with all of us getting together, I don't see it, I mean heck, the entire world would be laughing, what's the problem?

mALX, the vids were great btw

Naked wreaths you say...where in the world is Foxy??????