So, today is December 1st. I was wondering when all of you that celebrate Christmas get out the decorations and get them up. I know people that do everything the day after Thanksgiving and others who wait until Christmas Eve. I thought it would help us all know a bit more about each other if we shared this information.

For me, this has changed over the years. When the kids were growing up, we waited until about a week before Christmas to put up the decorations and the tree. There were two main reasons for this. The first was because we ALWAYS had a real tree and we leave our tree up until the day after New Year's. The trees kept their needles if they were fresher. The second was because the kids got too excited too soon if we did it all too early.

After years of 15 foot trees (we had a cathedral ceiling when we lived in Dallas) and then the shorter 7 to 8 footers here in Florida, I really got tired of no one being available to put the tree in the stand. I just got tired of fighting the things! So, several years ago I bought.........the dreaded fake tree! I have always hated that tree. It is ugly and looks fake in spite of it's large price tag. This year, I finally broke down and got a $179.00 tree on sale at my favorite store, The Home Depot (don't laugh guys, you all know that I am a power tool diva! ). The kicker is that this tree only cost me $60.00! It looks so real that everyone that has seen it has to go feel it to be sure that it isn't real. It is 8 feet tall and has three different types of branches and needles so I am once again a happy camper. I went to the neighborhood tree farm and got the owner to give me some pine boughs that they cut off of people's trees to trim them up and put them in a plant stand with water so the house will have that 'real tree' smell.

Okay, before I make a novel of this, the reason my tree is already up this year is because I have groaned and complained many a time right here in the neighborhood about how miserable I was to be away from home for the first time in my life on Christmas last year. I am doing it up BIG this year! I know the kids and grandkids are all thrilled cause mom is back this year. That means the grandkids get to make dozens and dozens of cookies and dozens and dozens of messes while doing so (something they certainly can't get away with at home!) and the kids all will get their usual gag gifts from mom and some really nice ones too! So the kids are already speculating on what each of their gag gifts will be but they never quite figure it out! Such fun I have!

Well neighbors, when does the real holiday cheer start for you???????

Well Happy Holidays to everybody! I Can NOT believe it is December 1st! already...

Our tradition is to get our stuff up around the 1st as soon as we have a good chunk of time. Actually, all the decorations we plan on using this year have been assembled and displayed for about 24 hours already. I had a rare day off last Thursday. Since there was a little more than a week between Thanksgiving and the 1st, I decided to seize the moment before it was lost.

None of our little ones will be here this year... so my hubby and I are trying to figure out how we can celebrate in a more relaxed manner, especilly since we both work retail type hours.

All of our critters have their own stockings and it is fun every year to see them nudge their stockings to see if there is anything in them yet.

Anyhow, it's still early in the month. There is plenty of time to make changes in plans, traditions, etc. I plan to just enjoy the holidays this year instead of living each day this month in a hurried fashion. It is important to keep the season in focus for our varied cultures and remember that family and our belief systems are at the heart of this time of year, no matter which holiday you celebrate.

Since it is warm for our southern neighbors, I am curious to see what you all do down under....

We usually promise to get started the day after Thanksgiving, but, of course, we never do... life ALWAYS interferes, and we end up putting so many things in front of what should be our priorities around here...!

I share my home with my three other people, 4 and 1/2 cats, 4 goldfish, 2 turtles, a crayfish and one betta fish. it's a full-time party 'round these parts...! There never seems to be enough time in any day to get everything done, and adding in the holidays just makes it even harder!

The people I share my life with are my daughter (she's 9 and 11/12ths), my best friend and parenting partner, and her life partner. It's a fascinating family structure and totally confuses 99% of the people who find out about it!
It's ok... don't put labels here, and you'll be fine!

Now, as for decorating this year, we've found ourselves in a real pickle... You see, I'm the most able bodied of our little group, and as I'm still unable to lift anything over 20 lbs!! We have us a little bit of a quandry... We have amongst us a child, a cardiac patient, a pending bilateral knee replacement patient, and then there's me. Oh JOY! Oh MERRIMENT! Oh Boy! Now what?! We're quite used to being very self-sufficient around here... and we can usually muscle up whatever we need to get whatever it is, done. This time... I'm a little worried.

We decided we'd take our time, and bring up the boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff to strew about the household piecemeal, and worry about the tree later... but, the more we think about it, the more we all know we're gonna need help to get that sucker up the thirteen steps from the basement. (We gave in and got one of the artificial ones three years ago because of the cats... the needles can be deadly, and this brood hasn't met a plant they don't wanna nibble on...! It's ok... it looks quite real, especially once we cover it with our massive collection of stuff... there's nary a needle left to look at!)

So... slowly but surely... we've gotten most of the stuff up here, and we're spreading it's cheer where ever we can find a spot... but, we've got a looooong way to go, and there's only three weeks left!! Criminy!!! Ok... back to decorating!! See ya!

Darrie: I'm a little worried about your post...You said that you live with 4 and a HALF cats?! YIKES...Sounds rather macabre! It may be time to let the half cat go to where all good half cats go.

I used to wait until December 15, but the past few years if I don't do it on the long T-gvin' weekend, it doesn't get done. I growled at first about it (I'm a bah humbug sort of person), but last year, I loved having it done the whole month of December. I actually got to enjoy the holidays! What a revelation. It was FUN!!! Now I'm a believer in getting it done earlier. And I keep it pretty simple by most people's standards.

Since my oldest son's b'day is Jan. 5, it's always been my thing to get the stuff put away on Dec. 26, so it would seem like his birthday was not associated with another holiday. Now he doesn't live here, so I may change the tradition. My nephew Lambchop comes up for the last week of December, and it might be nice for him to see everything decorated up. I don't think his dad does much of that sort of thing.

Ok, I'm rambling now. Time for bed.

But my cards are done and in the mail. The holiday baking for the office folk is done. I bought the stocking stuffers tonight and the main gift stuff. Now, it's just enjoy being with my loved ones, listening to the carols and looking at the pretty lights!

Cards?! CARDS!!!! I forgot all about the cards...!!!



(The half cat actually lives outside most of the time... he's our former neighbor's cat... neighbor moved away and didn't bother to retrieve the cat! Nice guy, huh?? Anyway... we were adopted for food, comfort and shelter during storms and bitter cold, otherwise, he loves to be outside and won't tolerate staying indoors for very long... our other 4 stay indoors 24/7 and they're not so sure about this intruder who comes through the forbidden (to them) basement and slinks out the back door (also forbidden for them...) Sometimes, I think they're just jealous!

Darrie, how cute that is. I totally understand. We have a stray that lives under our house and has kittens a couple of times a year. The trade off is that she keeps rodents away from the house and we feed her. Occaisionally she will 'allow' me to pet her. I never thought to regard her as a 'half cat'. That is perfect!

My decor goes up the weekend following Thanksgiving. I figure that if I'm going to do all of this work, I might as well enjoy it for the longest amount of time. That being said, it all comes down the weekend following Christmas. I can remember my dad leaving his tree up one year until Easter...lazy SOB. Anyhoooo...back to happy Christmas thoughts...

My cards used to go out Thanksgiving weekend too, but now, it gets done when I can get it done. No pressure to fly through it all. I like to wrap my gifts the night before Christmas. It is quite the site. Rolls of paper everywhere, bows and ribbon scattered about, gifts stacked here and there with shopping bags...and three Golden Retrievers trying their very hardest to "leave it". Ellie likes to hold the bows in her mouth and Rosie likes the empty paper rolls. It's terribly cute.

Good Morning Neighbors!!

I like to decorate early so that I can enjoy it longer...but it all depends on time etc. Like for instance, my hubby put the tree up with lights Thanksgiving weekend...I did NOT start decorating the house until last night! LOL TIME TIME TIME!! I NEED MORE OF IT! lol..

This year however I decided to NOT drag all of my zillion xmas ornaments out because its SO time consuming to take them out, unwrap and hang and then put them all back after xmas. I have SEVERAL collections. Sooooo....I just went with some beautiful wide decorative xmas ribbon and candycanes! It's DIFFERENT but I LIKE IT!!

Then I drug out alot of the other decorations...now mind you it is all (except for the tree) stored in the back of my pantry UNDER The stairwell.

Well, lets just say I DID MY BACK IN yesterday with all the stooping and bending to get the stuff out! THis happens to me every year! But its' the best and safest place to store this stuff!

So i'm almost good to go!! And it will STAY UP (the decorations) till AFTER NEW YEARS!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

As for us we do everything we can get done the first weekend of December... I love this time of year and I do my best to be in spirit all month and until the 1 st week after the blessed new year sometimes we take it down on the 31 st to use the tree for the New Years bomb fire weather permitting we just wait and see....as for shopping I am such a last minute type person I wait until the last few weeks and then scold myself and tell myself next year will be different but usually its the same old habits are so hard to break....maybe now that I can move so much easier things will change we will see I'll keep you posted....hugs to all and bless everyone this Christmas Season

Well traditionally before I started working full time I would decorate the inside of the house Thanksgiving weekend. Now, I take advantage of whatever stretch of time I have off from work. This year it was actually the weekend before Thanksgiving. So, the inside of my house was decorated for Christmas on Thanksgiving. My hubby is still working on getting the outside stuff done. Also, traditionally we have a gingerbread type house with all the lights that go up ouside. My hubby puts lights on every straight line he can find. Of course he complains the entire time he is doing it. The outside is still a work in progress. We leave all of the decorations up until after January 6. It is our aniversary, but also the "Day of the Lights" celebration in the Greek Orthodox religion. So, our decorations are up for about 2 months. That definately makes the decorating worth while. I absolutely love the Christmas season. It is very near and dear to my heart. God bless everyone in the neighborhood. Hugs.

I love this time of the year. I decorate the house Thanksgiving weekend I love to have my Christmas stuff up and enjoy them. I have a fake tree which is up and it comes down New Years Day. I got the fake tree because I was having problem putting up a real tree, because of my size. As you all know being big and getting on the floor is not fun. IT would be interesting this year to see how I would manage it. I bet I wouldn't have any problem with the tree stand. I like to leave the rest of the decoration up till the middle of Jan.

My birthday is Dec 14 and when I was growing up my parents wouldn't put up the tree or decorate the house till after my birthday. When asked what I wanted for my birthday I would say put up the christmas decorations.

One year in high school I took a sick day the Monday before Thanksgiving and put up all of Christmas stuff. As I remember my parents just shook there heads and said the tree will not go up till after Dec 14. That was ok with me and my sisters, brother, we all just enjoyed what was up.

This year I have had so much energy that I was able to climb up and down a ladder to put up the outside lights and other outside decorations. This is the first time that I have put up outside lights.

As I said before I love this time of the year. So much love, fun, cheer.
HAPPY HOLIDAY TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The immunity gods thought to give me a gift of thanks for devoting my time to working in child care....they gave me the gift of strep throat. grrrr. I feel fine except for the fact that I can't talk and my throat feels like it's on fire. I'm off of work sick till wednesday and started the daunting task of cleaning the house enough to decorate it.
For those of you who don't know, my family consists of myself and hubby Todd, mom and 22 yr old sister. This house is not big and having moms 30 yrs of living here, Todd and my apartment and Heathers dorm room in 1 small house is the definition of 10 lbs of sh*t in a 5 lb bucket....in order to really clean you need to shuffle all the STUFF that doesn't have a place of its own in order to get stuff dusted and the floors clear enough to vacuum. I started that yesterday and things are shaping up. :) Got a bunch of moms Christmas Heritage Pfaltzgraff out to start setting the scene and inspire the rest of the family to keep up the work I started. Got the covered jars on he coffee table 1 full of red and green M&Ms....which are off limits to me, Almond Hershey Kisses...also off limits, and pistachios...I'll be dipping into that one!!! Little star shaped dishes full of Sees hard candies, and a big bowl full of misc candy....I'm so proud of my new found self control!!! In the past these containers wouldn't have made it a week! Now it can be here and not really phase me...I like that.
Next stop is getting in the basement and finding the tree! We switched to artificial after my parents divorce when i was 9....too much hassle. Just gotta keep the cats out of the branches...although 25lb Chloe wiggling her tubby butt in there is a sight!
Looks like the decorating will be done in spurts this year with all of our conflicting schedules but it'll get done. :)
Hope you all take joy in decorating and have a Happy Happy Holiday Season!!!!!!!!!!

We always start right after thanksgiving. I didn't put up a tree last year, I was very depressed. My son Mike's best friend who always for the last 10 years has come to our home for Christmas with his Mom, was stationed in Iraq. I just didn't have the heart to put up a tree. When he came home in April we had a big celebration and welcomed him home and he opened his presents. Well it Christmas time and Christopher was deployed to Iraq at the end of October this time until June. He called me and made me promise to put up a tree and send him pictures this year.

So this weekend we are bundleing up the Grandkiddies Aiden and Kiera and heading to Karabin Farms here in Southington. They have a hay ride up to the mountain to pick out your tree. Then cocoa in the barns or cider. Its very pretty up there and I did miss it last year, but I just couldn't get out of my funk.

This year we have little Dylan who will be celebtrating his 1st Christmas this year, so I am going to go all out and call Chris in Iraq on Christmas eve with his Mom and our whole family to wish him a Merry Christmas.

My Christmas wish this year is to have him and all our soildiers home safe and sound very soon. Well I better go thinking about this makes me teary eyed and I am sitting at my desk in work.(they already think I'm nuts and crying and typing will just confirm their suspision)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Antoinette