So, for those who get trees (real or fake) for the holidays, when do you set them up and start decorating? And while we're at it, do you have any special traditions associated with tree-trimming?
When Do You Trim Your Tree?
11/07/2010
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We normally do it Thanksgiving weekend. I'm actually thinking about putting it off this year though. Usually I am SOOOOOO sick of it by the time that Christmas rolls around. Hannukah is the first week of December this year, and since we celebrate that as well I was thinking of leaving the Christmas tree away until after Hannukah this year. Also, the Christmas tree has to go where our one table in the living room currently is, which means that table needs to find a new home while it's up. This will of course not be easy since our house is rather small....so the less time the tree is up the better!
11/07/2010
My family waits until the end of the first week of December to do any decorating, so when the tree goes up, everything else goes up. And we do it as a family, no matter how old we kids (my brother and I, who are in our 30's) are.
The very first Christmas my ex-husband had with my family had him putting up the lights while my Mother directed him (think of my Mother as Hyacinth and my ex-husband as Onslow from 'Keeping Up Appearances'). My Dad had escaped to the den to let my ex deal with my Mother. After my ex was done, he stomped into the den and pointed at my Father and exclaimed, "You KNEW!!" My Dad laughed at him and nodded.
Anyway, the most notable tradition is that the man of the family puts the star on the tree, which is the last item to go on. Other minor traditions are playing 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and cussing while untangling light cords.
The very first Christmas my ex-husband had with my family had him putting up the lights while my Mother directed him (think of my Mother as Hyacinth and my ex-husband as Onslow from 'Keeping Up Appearances'). My Dad had escaped to the den to let my ex deal with my Mother. After my ex was done, he stomped into the den and pointed at my Father and exclaimed, "You KNEW!!" My Dad laughed at him and nodded.
Anyway, the most notable tradition is that the man of the family puts the star on the tree, which is the last item to go on. Other minor traditions are playing 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and cussing while untangling light cords.
11/07/2010
My daughters birthday is on the 14th so we go out and find a tree the 15th. We always felt that to be fair to her, no decorations will be done till after her B-day.
11/07/2010
Quote:
My son's is the 16th, so I thought at first that he'd want something like that too...but so far he LOVES that his birthday is so close to Christmas and loves that there are Christmas decorations up for it. He's only 5 though, so we'll see what happens as he gets older.
Originally posted by
ToyTimeTim
My daughters birthday is on the 14th so we go out and find a tree the 15th. We always felt that to be fair to her, no decorations will be done till after her B-day.
11/07/2010
Quote:
My punk is the 16th also
Originally posted by
Alicia
My son's is the 16th, so I thought at first that he'd want something like that too...but so far he LOVES that his birthday is so close to Christmas and loves that there are Christmas decorations up for it. He's only 5 though, so
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My son's is the 16th, so I thought at first that he'd want something like that too...but so far he LOVES that his birthday is so close to Christmas and loves that there are Christmas decorations up for it. He's only 5 though, so we'll see what happens as he gets older.
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I usually let her decide if she wants it up before her birthday or after. Some years she does, others she wants to wait.
11/07/2010
I would love to early, but we usually do it the week of Christmas.
11/07/2010
it's already up and being proudly displayed! : D
11/07/2010
Growing up, we always put it up the weekend after Thanksgiving and that's a tradition I've stuck with when I have time to decorate. I moved to a new place this year, so I'm pretty excited about decorating, so I'll probably stick to that schedule. You've got me scouting my living room for where I'm gonna put my tree now!!
11/07/2010
Friday after Thanksgiving we usually put up a fake tree and decorate while all the family is still around. We used to always get a real tree (til we moved into this house) and on Friday we would always take the kids to go to the local tree farm and pick out our tree - have it tagged - then we'd go back and have it cut a week before Christmas and decorate it then. Fake tree is easier to deal with but honestly I love the real ones.
11/07/2010
Depends if we have Xmas at our house or not. We used to set up, but have gotten lazy/don't care much anymore, though my dad's gf badgers him into decorating.
11/07/2010
We always cut our tree the day after Thanksgiving. We go to a local farm and look for the biggest tree possible since it goes right, tucked into, the grand staircase entrance. I love decorating Christmas trees.
11/07/2010
Quote:
Awesome!
Originally posted by
ToyTimeTim
My daughters birthday is on the 14th so we go out and find a tree the 15th. We always felt that to be fair to her, no decorations will be done till after her B-day.
My birthday is the 5th of Dec. and my mom was thoughtful enough to wait until after my birthday to put up xmas stuff. My nephew's bday is xmas...i always make sure to get him 2 presents or something very nice and let him know it's both. I hated it when people would combine both xmas and bday presents cuz they were too cheap to get two presents.
I'm really torn this year though. Xmas shopping started this last weekend. The sales were good and it helps the economy...but I feel so dirty for xmas shopping before thanksgiving. It's kinda like pooping on the turkey...
(rant/end)
11/08/2010
LOL, I thought this was about "trimming" around the base of a "tree" and wasn't expecting something about actual tree trimming. How sexual minded of me.
Anywho, we have an artifical. When I lived with my mom we would decorate the house and set up the tree the first week of December.
Anywho, we have an artifical. When I lived with my mom we would decorate the house and set up the tree the first week of December.
11/08/2010
Quote:
I was waiting for someone to say this.
Originally posted by
Naughty Student
LOL, I thought this was about "trimming" around the base of a "tree" and wasn't expecting something about actual tree trimming. How sexual minded of me.
Anywho, we have an artifical. When I lived with my mom we would ... more
Anywho, we have an artifical. When I lived with my mom we would ... more
LOL, I thought this was about "trimming" around the base of a "tree" and wasn't expecting something about actual tree trimming. How sexual minded of me.
Anywho, we have an artifical. When I lived with my mom we would decorate the house and set up the tree the first week of December. less
Anywho, we have an artifical. When I lived with my mom we would decorate the house and set up the tree the first week of December. less
11/08/2010
We used to be really good about getting the tree and stuff up in early December, but now we're lazy and we're usually scrambling to finish it before Christmas comes It's a lot of drama, too, having everything dragged in from the garage. In our house, it's not Christmas until someone cries; it's all very frustrating I suppose that holidays and family gatherings are always stressful, though, lol. I do love Christmas. We have a tree base that rotates the tree so I lie with my head just under it and watch the lights spinning. It's very relaxing
11/08/2010
After finals, after a long drive without a map up the coastline in the rain with The Rolling Stones, Carla Bruni, and Newport 100s.
11/08/2010
Usually after Thanksgiving, sometimes we are late though and do it at the beginning of December or the first weekend of.
11/08/2010
Right after we're done eating Thanksgiving dinner I go outside and get all of the Christmas boxes and start decorating. Depending on the circumstances we either use the fake tree and set it up on Thanksgiving day or the next morning, or we go out and buy a tree within a week after Thanksgiving.
11/08/2010
I have not lived at home since 18 and I have not had a tree since then.
Gf says we gotta get one this year though lol. Not sure when.
Gf says we gotta get one this year though lol. Not sure when.
11/08/2010
We don't usually get a tree until the middle of December, so that's when it gets trimmed.
As long as it's trimmed before Christmas Eve, I consider that a success
As long as it's trimmed before Christmas Eve, I consider that a success
11/08/2010
I guess I'm the only heathen who doesn't get a tree every year. Haven't had a tree since 2007 and that was only because I was living with my friends and they wanted a big tree. So I guess my dad and I haven't had a tree since I was 12ish. We have cats and those don't go well with Christmas trees and ornaments and whatnot. I shudder to think of tinsel.
Plus, it's a pain in the ass.
I found a website that sells the little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, a little artificial replica that looks as sad and lonely as the one from the Christmas special. I want that in my house!
Plus, it's a pain in the ass.
I found a website that sells the little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, a little artificial replica that looks as sad and lonely as the one from the Christmas special. I want that in my house!
11/08/2010
Quote:
Hell ya, nothing gets on my nerves more than stuff out to early. They has Christmas stuff out before Halloween this year at the local store. That really drives me crazy.
Originally posted by
El-Jaro
Awesome!
My birthday is the 5th of Dec. and my mom was thoughtful enough to wait until after my birthday to put up xmas stuff. My nephew's bday is xmas...i always make sure to get him 2 presents or something very nice and let him know ... more
My birthday is the 5th of Dec. and my mom was thoughtful enough to wait until after my birthday to put up xmas stuff. My nephew's bday is xmas...i always make sure to get him 2 presents or something very nice and let him know ... more
Awesome!
My birthday is the 5th of Dec. and my mom was thoughtful enough to wait until after my birthday to put up xmas stuff. My nephew's bday is xmas...i always make sure to get him 2 presents or something very nice and let him know it's both. I hated it when people would combine both xmas and bday presents cuz they were too cheap to get two presents.
I'm really torn this year though. Xmas shopping started this last weekend. The sales were good and it helps the economy...but I feel so dirty for xmas shopping before thanksgiving. It's kinda like pooping on the turkey...
(rant/end) less
My birthday is the 5th of Dec. and my mom was thoughtful enough to wait until after my birthday to put up xmas stuff. My nephew's bday is xmas...i always make sure to get him 2 presents or something very nice and let him know it's both. I hated it when people would combine both xmas and bday presents cuz they were too cheap to get two presents.
I'm really torn this year though. Xmas shopping started this last weekend. The sales were good and it helps the economy...but I feel so dirty for xmas shopping before thanksgiving. It's kinda like pooping on the turkey...
(rant/end) less
11/08/2010
I live by myself so as much as the decorating is fun and it's pretty to look at all lit up, it's more hassle than anything else. I did it last year but don't think I will this year. I'm leaning toward just getting a wreath with a small set of battery powered LED lights so I have the Christmas smell and the pretty twinkle without all the other stuff.
11/08/2010
We wait until December because I hate impeding on birthdays and Thanksgiving (nothing gets under my skin like holiday music before Thanksgiving). Which is really funny, because I am always insisting we must be done with shopping no later than Thanksgiving so we can enjoy the holidays.
11/08/2010
We always do ours on the day after Thanksgiving
11/08/2010
We usually do it a week to week 1/2 before Christmas. For years, we would buy a live tree, with a root ball, to plant on our land after Christmas. My Man would dig a hole, before the ground got too hard and then cover it. Then we'd go and buy a small, table size tree with a root ball about a week before Christmas. Then it would settle in the garage for a day or two, and then the basement (you have to acclimate a tree which will go back out) and then finally into a zinc container (decorated by me and my once prodigious stenciling) root ball and all a few days before the Day!
A few days later, it would have to be un-decorated, and re-acclimated to the outdoors, all while keeping it wet enough to stay alive the entire time in the house and the process.
Then, on a semi nice day (cloudy is best) he would take the tree, now acclimated back to the cold weather and plant it, using the dirt he had taken out of the hole.
It was a big thing for us. We were going to have to sell our house to a developer, so we stopped doing this, as everything was going to be bulldozed and it seemed a waste of time, trees and money. (Live trees with the roots are very expensive.) When the economy went South, the deal with the developer fell through, so we had all these trees, and no more desire to continue using root ball trees again. (They are heavy, and My Man needs at least one or two other big men to bring them in and out of the house. Many injured backs were sprung by our Christmas trees. )
So, then we started using the trees we had planted over the last decade plus, cut then down and take them in the house as regular cut Christmas trees. My Man and the kids just go out into the land, choose a tree, cut it down, acclimate it and bring it in for Christmas.
We got in the habit of only having the tree in the house for a short period of time. You don't get tired of it. It's a big deal for everybody, there is less dropped needles, and because we planted the trees ourselves and many of them were on their second use as a Christmas tree, it is really nice.
We have our own little Christmas tree farm. Some are TOO large to bring indoors. But, we often find a good one among the tress we have planted in the past.
I don't like the decorations up too long.
A few days later, it would have to be un-decorated, and re-acclimated to the outdoors, all while keeping it wet enough to stay alive the entire time in the house and the process.
Then, on a semi nice day (cloudy is best) he would take the tree, now acclimated back to the cold weather and plant it, using the dirt he had taken out of the hole.
It was a big thing for us. We were going to have to sell our house to a developer, so we stopped doing this, as everything was going to be bulldozed and it seemed a waste of time, trees and money. (Live trees with the roots are very expensive.) When the economy went South, the deal with the developer fell through, so we had all these trees, and no more desire to continue using root ball trees again. (They are heavy, and My Man needs at least one or two other big men to bring them in and out of the house. Many injured backs were sprung by our Christmas trees. )
So, then we started using the trees we had planted over the last decade plus, cut then down and take them in the house as regular cut Christmas trees. My Man and the kids just go out into the land, choose a tree, cut it down, acclimate it and bring it in for Christmas.
We got in the habit of only having the tree in the house for a short period of time. You don't get tired of it. It's a big deal for everybody, there is less dropped needles, and because we planted the trees ourselves and many of them were on their second use as a Christmas tree, it is really nice.
We have our own little Christmas tree farm. Some are TOO large to bring indoors. But, we often find a good one among the tress we have planted in the past.
I don't like the decorations up too long.
11/08/2010
Quote:
Funny.
Originally posted by
Chilipepper
My family waits until the end of the first week of December to do any decorating, so when the tree goes up, everything else goes up. And we do it as a family, no matter how old we kids (my brother and I, who are in our 30's) are.
The very ... more
The very ... more
My family waits until the end of the first week of December to do any decorating, so when the tree goes up, everything else goes up. And we do it as a family, no matter how old we kids (my brother and I, who are in our 30's) are.
The very first Christmas my ex-husband had with my family had him putting up the lights while my Mother directed him (think of my Mother as Hyacinth and my ex-husband as Onslow from 'Keeping Up Appearances'). My Dad had escaped to the den to let my ex deal with my Mother. After my ex was done, he stomped into the den and pointed at my Father and exclaimed, "You KNEW!!" My Dad laughed at him and nodded.
Anyway, the most notable tradition is that the man of the family puts the star on the tree, which is the last item to go on. Other minor traditions are playing 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and cussing while untangling light cords. less
The very first Christmas my ex-husband had with my family had him putting up the lights while my Mother directed him (think of my Mother as Hyacinth and my ex-husband as Onslow from 'Keeping Up Appearances'). My Dad had escaped to the den to let my ex deal with my Mother. After my ex was done, he stomped into the den and pointed at my Father and exclaimed, "You KNEW!!" My Dad laughed at him and nodded.
Anyway, the most notable tradition is that the man of the family puts the star on the tree, which is the last item to go on. Other minor traditions are playing 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and cussing while untangling light cords. less
In our house, usually the "Baby" gets to put the angel or star atop our tree. As no one is really a baby anymore (and no grandkids yet, thank heavens) the kids take turns.
11/08/2010
Quote:
I saw that tree at Meijer...$40.
Originally posted by
Blinker
I guess I'm the only heathen who doesn't get a tree every year. Haven't had a tree since 2007 and that was only because I was living with my friends and they wanted a big tree. So I guess my dad and I haven't had a tree since I was
...
more
I guess I'm the only heathen who doesn't get a tree every year. Haven't had a tree since 2007 and that was only because I was living with my friends and they wanted a big tree. So I guess my dad and I haven't had a tree since I was 12ish. We have cats and those don't go well with Christmas trees and ornaments and whatnot. I shudder to think of tinsel.
Plus, it's a pain in the ass.
I found a website that sells the little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, a little artificial replica that looks as sad and lonely as the one from the Christmas special. I want that in my house! less
Plus, it's a pain in the ass.
I found a website that sells the little Charlie Brown Christmas tree, a little artificial replica that looks as sad and lonely as the one from the Christmas special. I want that in my house! less
11/08/2010
Quote:
$20 at Walgreens.
Originally posted by
El-Jaro
I saw that tree at Meijer...$40.
11/08/2010