Wanna Know What I Did This Weekend?
December 3, 2007
Just like everyone else in the free world.
Posted by Chris @ 2:34 pm
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Were you buying or selling? My husband and son are cutting ours down this afternoon. For $1 you can cut any tree you wish off the local military base reservation. My daughter calls it our Charlie Brown tree. They usually are pretty ugly. But, they are cheap.
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:09 pmexcept the jews. we just watched and wished. then we went home and tried to figure out how we could put the hanukiah on top of a hanukkah bush and not look like posers.
at least we get fried food for 8 days!
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:15 pmWe bought a fake tree several years ago; my allergies just wouldn’t stand for another season of fir/pine mayhem. It is amazing how real they look now! Our son helped decorate the tree this year, and he really got into it. 6 broken ornaments later, we decided to move on to the tree lighting at our town center, then home to turn the lights on on our tree. Lots of fun.
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:33 pmY’know, the attic elves forgot to post that stinkin’ sign when we crawled up into our overheated place between the ceiling and the roof to drag ours out again.
Raise a glass.
THREE CHEERS FOR CHILDREN WITH ALLERGIES.
And? In case that wasn’t sarcastic enough? It is sprayed with snow.
JOKING.
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:46 pmIck.
No.likey.sprayed.on.snow.
We wait. I hate being sick of the tree by Christmas.
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:50 pmAre you only including America (and possibly Canada) in the free world?!
In Europe, most folk don’t put up their trees or any other decorations until at least the middle of December, sometimes not until about the 20th, sometimes not even until the 24th. Then we keep them up for the twelve days of Christmas, ie until January 6th.
We always used to go with about Dec 20th (end of school term), but this year I think it’ll be Dec 14th, as we’re having a home group social that evening, and a guest arriving for Christmas on Dec 16th, so it would be nice to be festive beforehand.
Most folk in Cyprus use artificial trees, too. There aren’t many pines available, and they’re so messy with needles everywhere.
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:51 pmActually we only bought it. We will go and pick it up and bring it home next weekend.
Almost everyone I know already has their tree up. I like to wait because we keep it up through the Epiphany. I can not tell you how much it irks me when I see all the decorations down the day after Christmas. It’s like people are missing the best part of the holiday.
We used to put up our tree on Christmas Eve, but the kids asked us to do it sooner. So ever the over indulgent parents we listen
Stephanie, can I come over and eat some fried food. Mmmmmm
OMSH, overheated place? That would be the frozen place at our house.
December 3rd, 2007 at 4:08 pmOurs is purchased, up, decorated — awesome, 9ft. frasier fir. And tree decorating was actually fun this year and NO ONE is trying to rearrange the ornaments, not even me.
December 3rd, 2007 at 5:08 pm*sigh*
My living room is still decorated for Fall/Thanksgiving. BUT the lights are up on the OUTSIDE of the house. That’s gotta count for something, right? This weekend was all about finishing my cards and care package for soldier’s in Kandahar. Now that that’s done and out of the way I can turn my attention a little closer to home.
(BTW, I can’t imagine making TWO trips to get a tree. I’m too much into instant gratification.
)
December 3rd, 2007 at 5:23 pmWe have an alternative to the usual full fir Christmas tree. I just posted a photo. It looks a lot like Charlie Brown’s tree but it’s kind of pretty in its own sparse way.
December 3rd, 2007 at 5:41 pmWe celebrated the first Sunday of Advent this year by doing our typical Advent reading, lighting the candle, and letting the kids put up the tree.
Did you catch that? ‘Letting the KIDS put up the tree.’ They are between 8 and 16.
Some ornaments did not survive & my tree is downright scary looking.
A few years ago I would have fixed it. Not this year. They decorated it and it will stay the way they want it.
Growth, I am experiencing growth.
Kids can suck the perftctionisim right out of you.
December 3rd, 2007 at 6:27 pmI love this post fewer words provoke great thought. And your last photo of the bauble was wonderful too. I think your new camera may have to be on my wish list for Santa, not to take away from YOUR fantastic photography.
December 3rd, 2007 at 6:38 pmWe’re old school and like to put up our tree as last-minute as possible before Christmas. Growing up my family would decorate the tree on Christmas Eve. My husband and I typically end up putting up the tree about 2-3 days before Christmas, and then we leave it up for the whole Christmas Season (which comes *after* Christmas Day). To add to the fun, this year we’re moving on Dec. 22, so we’ll be getting our tree REAL late. And decorations? Eh. We’ll see if I can pull a Supermom.
December 3rd, 2007 at 7:14 pmWe used to wait until the 15th, but I got tired of going to all the trouble of putting up the tree and taking it down 2 weeks later (my husband insists that the tree goes out on New Year’s Day). This year we bought a live 4.5 foot Frasier fir in a pot and will plant it in the spring. Only $25 more than the usual 5.5 foot tree from the supermarket lot and up on a milk crate (covered by an extra tree skirt) it looks great. I’m posting about it tomorrow.
December 3rd, 2007 at 8:36 pmI hope you picked out a good one!
December 3rd, 2007 at 8:41 pmWe are the only house on our block that hasn’t been fully decked out since the day after Thanksgiving. I like to claim that it’s because I am a traditionalist who doesn’t think the Christmas season should start before the first Sunday in Advent, but really I am just lazy.
Although my (brand new seven and a half foot tall pre-lit plastic) tree is up.
December 3rd, 2007 at 10:27 pmChris,what’s with the week’s lag time between picking it out and bringing it home? We just pick one out and keep it outside until we’re ready to commit. Would that drive the kids crazy? Also, how do you know it’s the same tree you all picked? Yeah. I know. I ask a lot of questions.
December 4th, 2007 at 12:23 amSue, that’s a fairly common tradition in the US, too. Probably not the norm, but it’s not unheard of completely.
December 4th, 2007 at 12:27 amlol. I could not shut up my preschooler this year. I made a comment that I would put up the Christmas tree (fake) after Thanksgiving. She took me at my word. Asked on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, to put up the tree. I told her mommy needed a break and it would wait until Satuday. The tree was up Saturday. The lights on Sunday, the decorations took a few days more. Why the slowness? My husband is out of town, I don’t get more than 15 minutes to do anything in. Also, I have to back off and stop, the kids try to help to much ( 4 years and a 22 month old). I just stop and say that’s enough for now, we will work on it later. Took a week to get it all done.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:43 amI normally don’t put up the tree until AFTER my mother’s birthday, Dec. 7th. No fair you have to compete with Christmas. I try to get it down before my birthday on Jan. 8th. But I grew up in a community with a large Serbian population ( in California of all places). The Orthodox Serbian churches use the old Julian Calendar and celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7th. The small gold rush town I grew up near always had Christmas decorations up until then. No rush to get them down on Dec. 26th, some of the population wasn’t done with Christmas yet.
Traditionally the 12 days of Christmas is from Christmas eve to 6th January which is know as “Little Christmas”. So going with tradition we put up out tree on Christmas Eve and take it down again on January 6th.
Whatever you do I hope everyone has a great time and if those of you getting snow and cold weather feel you have too much of it, send some over here to Western Australia we’d just love it. In fact if WA got snow in winter it would make it the most perfect place on earth.
Have a great time everyone.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:10 amLove Carolynn
I love your blog. It’s my favorite. I was just wondering…why all of the pictures with the short posts? I miss when you “blogged” on your blog.
December 4th, 2007 at 8:25 amYep, been there, done that, bought the tree. Ds, age 5, developed a Gregorian chant at the end of last week, “when are we getting the tree when are we getting the tree, when are we getting the tree”. Had to get it to shut him up. Of course, he thought he could cut it, drag it to the truck and tie it down himself (see photo on my blog) but he eventually gave into the idea that he weighs 50 lbs., not 200 and not quite as strong as he thinks.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:20 amOne of my favorite Christmas trees many years ago was when we put up a 12 ft. white birch tree. Did you know on a birch tree you can actually see all your ornaments! I still have good memories of that. Maybe that’s why I like my trees a little thin.
In my husband’s family they didn’t even put up the tree till Christmas eve. Then the kids went to bed and the parents decorated it while they were asleep. They’d all come down to the tree in its glory in the morning. While he had wonderful memories of it, by the time we had kids I told him it was either that tradition or a sleeping wife on Christmas morning…I couldn’t do both. We slowly began putting it up a few days before Christmas from then on, and let the kids help decorate, something I wanted them to be able to participate in. Since my husband passed away, we put it up around the 15th and I take it down New Year’s Day. Changing the holidays somewhat has helped us all cope with his loss.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:54 amthe only decoration up in our house is my son’s doll’s christmas tree. i blogged about it because, well, what else can you do?
December 4th, 2007 at 3:38 pm