MetaChat - Confess

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30 November 2007

Confess Who has already put their Christmas decorations up?

post by: chuckdarwin at: 12:08 | 24 comments

Most of the local department stores.

posted by Memo 30 November | 12:09

Not yet, but thinking of doing it this weekend.

posted by BoringPostcards 30 November | 12:10

I probably will this weekend - the indoor stuff. Outside will wait another week or so. We do one of those Williamsburg pineapple and fruit things over our door; if we do it now it'll be all rotty by Christmas. We something sort of like the half circle above the door here, but with a pineapple in the center, and then apples and oranges. What about you?

Oh and I bought a vintage 50s silver aluminum tree from eBay last week, and may use that as my tree this year. I have one of those revolving color wheels too. My kids (17 and 21) are intrigued, excited, and horrified, all at the same time.

posted by iconomy 30 November | 12:23

Our office lobby has giant penguins! On sleds! And a snowman with a glowing ipod! And a Christmas tree! And icicles! And poinsettias! Wheeeeeee!

Seriously, it was like walking into the North Pole this morning. It's awesome.

posted by occhiblu 30 November | 12:23

My dad had started when I came home for thanksgiving. I'm sure he's made more progress now.

I'm going to buy christmas lights tomorrow for my dorm room. PRETTIES!

posted by dismas 30 November | 12:26

Oh and I bought a vintage 50s silver aluminum tree from eBay last week, and may use that as my tree this year. I have one of those revolving color wheels too.

OK, this thread is now useless without pics.

posted by BoringPostcards 30 November | 12:34

We don't do holiday decorations. In our tiny apartment, anything extra would be too much. I do have a string of white lights I might put up around a window or a doorway this year.

posted by Elsa 30 November | 12:36

I bought candy canes in mid-October which freaked me a little since I never do Xmas. I don't have anything to hang them on yet. Does anyone have a spare vintage 50's aluminum tree? ;)

posted by dabitch 30 November | 12:38

Oh and I bought a vintage 50s silver aluminum tree from eBay last week, and may use that as my tree this year. I have one of those revolving color wheels too.

When my father's mother died a couple of years ago, we found one of those (still in its original box) in her closet, and it's been his bar tree ever since (my parents put up 3-4 trees each year. They have a big house and we host lots of people there at the holidays).

posted by crush-onastick 30 November | 12:40

We don't really do decorations. I hang cards on the mantel, that's about it. Any tree would just get knocked down by the cat, and it isn't worth the hassle and stress.

posted by kellydamnit 30 November | 12:46

BP, I promise to take a photo of it! It's kind of like this, and there's that color wheel! Could it be any tackier? I can't help it though - it makes me nostalgic. We had one for a couple of years when I was a kid, and even then I remember being appalled at it...hehee.

crush, it's the perfect bar tree! Especially if you use the color wheel.

posted by iconomy 30 November | 13:17

I remember my grandparents on my dad's side had one of those for many years, iconomy, and my parents were always cracking up about it once we were in the car on the way back home.

posted by BoringPostcards 30 November | 13:19

I didn't put the tree up last year because I was in Ohio (on a Christmas tree farm!) and the year before George had just died and I didn't feel like Christmas. But this year I'm putting up the tree, and a string of icicle lights around the window.

The tree is a fibre-optic one I bought from QVC about 10 years ago, when that sort of tree was very new and different. Now they're everywhere, and each year I think, well, I'll get a new one, but then I put it up and it looks so pretty. I have a cat angel for the top of the tree too :-)

posted by essexjan 30 November | 13:44

That's out tree! We have one! It's very cool. I have started, but not finished decorating.

posted by rainbaby 30 November | 13:46

Our tree. I gots excitud.

posted by rainbaby 30 November | 13:46

Well, they put up the tree in the lobby at work. It was nice when it just had the lights, but now it looks like Martha Stewart exploded all over it.

Nothing at home, yet. We usually wait until a week or two before X Day to get a tree, so it doesn't dry out too much. And we get a wreath for the door & put up lights over the front of the house. If things run true to form, the lights will probably stay up until March. Inertia, y'know.

And ico, my grandparents had that very tree and color wheel. I'm all nostalgic now.

posted by bmarkey 30 November | 14:06

Lucy: Get the biggest aluminum tree you can find, Charlie Brown, maybe painted pink.

posted by mudpuppie 30 November | 14:35

rainbaby, omg. I LOVE it. The color wheel too!

bmarkey, we should all get one. Really, they're still cheap on eBay. I paid 25.00 plus S&H for a 6 1/2 foot tree.

posted by iconomy 30 November | 15:00

My tree went up the day before Thanksgiving. I love it so much that I am going to keep it up until February.

posted by triggerfinger 30 November | 15:47

The mister put up the outside lights last weekend. I bought some stuff to make a wreath for the front door (fake red berries on brown stems, form into a circle with some floral wire, small-ish bells painted with cute Santa faces wired on in little groups and you have one cute wreath!). We'll prolly pass on a tree this year because of the kittens and we're going down to Mum's for the day itself. I might put up some swags of greenery on the mantle and decorate that with fairy lights and little ornaments.

posted by deborah 30 November | 16:34

We're never home on Xmas day, either, which is one reason we put up the tree early. If we were going to be home, I'd probably wait till two weeks or so before the holiday to decorate.

posted by BoringPostcards 30 November | 16:40

Confess Who has already put their Christmas decorations up?

MY !%^$%&$^&$ NEIGHBORS. They shine in my window in the night, all night. I am now the crazy lady with the blanket over her window. There are maybe four fake trees in the attic here and I think they'll stay there, but maybe I'll put one in my bedroom just because I think it might be hilarious.

posted by jessamyn 30 November | 18:46

In my family, procrastination rules, and we often wouldn't get ours up until Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day. Then after my parents took custody of my brother's kids, my dad got very passive-aggressive about Christmas and would hold the presents hostage for good behavior and other not-modern-parenting crap, and Christmas decorations started going up as late as New Year's.

Now that I'm back home helping, I try to get the tree up a few days at least earlier than Christmas, but limiting the whole production to a small tree with just enough ornaments.

When I lived by myself I was happy with a cute quilted Christmas tree a foot high, and a couple of candles ....

posted by stilicho 01 December | 01:17

We put up a tree last night, but haven't gone to too much trouble because we are living in a shed with little room and we won't be here at Christmas because we are house-sitting for friends (in a real house with a spa and a pool and air-conditioning!)

I tried to dig out the outside lights last night too, but can't find the transformers, which are all in a box together. Because all our stuff is still packed, finding it is non-trivial, so outside lights are not looking good this year.

posted by dg 02 December | 17:40

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