Indoors I go fairly minimalist. I have a big artificial tree in the conservatory, which I just have lights on. I put a small fibre-optic tree in the living room in the bay window, and put my angels and my gingerbread men candle holders out and that's about it. I have never been that keen on decorated trees, but I do love them with just lights on. In the UK people have only recently started decorating the outside of their houses, and I do have some tiny little pre-lit trees that I sometimes put along the path to the front door. I also used to put some lights over a couple of bushes in the front garden. Last year we dug them up though, so I had to find somewhere else to put those. For some reason Mr Fixit refused stand outside with them draped tastefully over him.
My sister, on the other hand, also loves her Christmas tree, so she puts hers up by the end of October and doesn't take it down again till about February. She also has lots of decorations on the tree and tinsel, etc over every surface.
So that's how we decorate. How about everyone else? Do you go for the full monte, ie trees and lights etc in every room? Do you decorate outside as well as in? I'd love to know.
We have a huge amount of Christmas stuff. When I first finished college a coworker invited me over to her gorgeously decorated home and told me that you just collect one little thing each year and before you know it - well before I knew it I inherited my Grandparents entire Christmas collection, and I just have to put out every wholeheartedly child made and given gifts that all of "us kids" gave them. Our tree goes up the first of December (roughly) and comes down shortly after the new year. Inside takes one entire day, DH does the tree and I do everything else as I'm able. Then outside takes an afternoon and that is the one place I give DH free rein (or should I say free lights?) and every year he rewards my trust with lovely lights that take until nearly Feb. to come down. Oh yes we're one of those families...
ReplyDeleteThe best thing we ever did was to put everything on remotes and timers. I never have to battle my way to the plugs!
I go "whole hog"! I put a tree in every room,although some are small!)I have little white lights around the eaves of my house and sometimes up the sidewalk. I decorate my trees with themes. I was part of a Christmas tour in my town a couple of years ago. I had a Goldilocks and the Three Bears room (with a tree decorated in little antiqued paper cut out bears, little doll furniture hung on the tree, and little ornaments with the pages of an antique story book copied and glued on (the story was Goldilocks, of course.) The bed had three stuffed bears on it. A side table had a bowl of dry oatmeal and spoon, sitting on an old fairy tale book opened to that story. On the wall I had my Goldilocks quilt. The entryway had a tree covered with peacock feathers and birds nests, birds of all types, and coordinating ornaments. It had garlands of pepper berries all around it.I hung cardinals with invisible string from the ceiling near the tree. they were carrying ribbon to the tree. The master bedroom had a tree covered with antique ornaments (from the 30's to 50's). The quilt shop had a white tree with red wooden houses and people. The dining room had a village set out in the center of my large round table. Everything in the village had a memory tied to it, so there will little tiny easels describing each memory. The kitchen had a rosemary bush shaped like a Christmas tree. No lights. The door to the pantry had a quilt with a Christmas tree on it and candy canes hung from its branches. Another bedroom had a very small topiary tree wtih gold ornaments and a golden bird's nest at the top. The back patio had several potted cedar trees covered with little white lights. The pergola was also covered with little twinkly white lights. (Didn't mean to dominate the comments. This is an area I get really excited about. I LOVE decorating for Christmas!!!)
ReplyDeleteoh I play at the Bah Humbug game .... lol. I refuse to put the tree up until a week before Christmas, we have cards and a few extra's, and the Diva does her room, but other than that.... well, Bah Humbug! However, we have been known to drive around town to see all the lights from late November! (really, is that necessary? In November?)
ReplyDeleteWe use to go all out and have stuff all over the house, and TONS, I mean TONS of lights outside as well. Now it is more of a chore than anything else to put it up and then take it back down again too. So we, wait, I put the tree up, decorate it really full. Then I get to take it back down again too. That is it. Just a HUGE tree.
ReplyDeleteI have a small 'twiggy' tree that gets decorated with tiny clear lights ,miniature gold and red globes and a red & gold victorian angel. For the rest of the decorations I use lots of red candles and white flowering plants and usually have a vase of white Stargazer lillies for Christmas Day itself. Outside all year long lives a Bay tree and this gets some coloured lights and lots of 'bows'.
ReplyDeleteOther than this, I love to cover everything in Christmas cards from our friends and families and - of course - drape Christmasy quilts everywhere.
Its great to see the house dressed in its finery, but it doesn't normally last longer than about 2 weeks all told :-)
Luv.....AJ
Lots of decorations here, too. But no outside lights, just the candles in the windows. I'm very sentimental and have lots of ornaments that came from grandparents or were my mother's. She decorated beautifully, but unfortunately, I overdo it. I have a collection of Annalee dolls, and they cover about every surface. And here I am making more Christmas stuff:)
ReplyDeleteI don't even put up a tree any more. I just do the mantel in a different theme each year. I have a few 'swap' pieces now that get put out, but I am very minimal. My brother puts outside lights out , but even that has been whittled down - we are all getting older. When you spend a lot of time shoveling and plowing - you just don't get the spirit of decorating it all.
ReplyDeleteI mostly decorate with quilts for the holidays. During a major move a number of years ago, I let my daughter have all the Christmas decorations intending to get some new. Since it was just my husband and myself after the move, it was decided the quilts were enough. Just this past Christmas, I was given a primitive style artificial tree and I decorated it with old cookie cutters.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to you, Sue. We have a tree in the conservatory with lights & decorations plus red ribbon. I put a triangle candle thingie in the front window, tie holly onto some of the lamps in the sitting room and put a few bits & bobs on the windowsill of the conservatory. Outside I have the icicle lights on the guttering and the mini trees along the path. That's about it. We usually put up in mid December and take down on 7th night.
ReplyDeleteI am quite simple with my decorations. Last year I hosted (and probably will again this year) a world wide homemade ornament exchange. So my tree only has the homemade ornies that everyone sent me.
ReplyDeleteI love just a few lights outside..or if it is a big house with lots of windows...a single candle in each window. Of course I don't own this--just love to see it!