Do you all do much decorating for Christmas? I just finished getting out the Christmas china (one of my favorite decorating chores). Now the dining room is almost all decorated for Christmas. What a great feeling!

Red tablecloth is as far as I am right now. My christmas china is blue willow. I bought it because it was what we had growing up. My Grandpa bought it for my Grandma when he was a schooner captain. I didn't know them, they both died within 3 months of my birth. 11 days for Grandpa. My Mom used Blue Willow as every day china. We grew up in our Grandparents house. It was well over a hundred years old with the comfy nooks and crannies, crucififs, religious statues and pictures all over. My whatb a tanget I went off on...ha, ha. Reminising a great upbringing I guess.
chick

I've started my decorating early. I bought the green and red M&M's.

What?

JJ

I used to decorate more when the kids were home but I have a new problem this year. I'll be decorating our 5th wheel since we'll be on the road and in California for most of the month. We hope to be back home by Christmas but don't know for sure. So this might be quite a change from a Colorado Christmas!

Nan,

It sounds like an adventure! I'm sure you will make it special!

My DH put lights up this year outside -- for years we didn't do and the kids would just beg us (remember, I'm into simplicity). It's amazing how something so simple as putting lights outside can make a kid happy. LOL. Now I think DH does it to make HIM happy!

Last year we bought a HUGE pre-lit Christmas tree. Can't wait to get it up...and I hope all the lights work!

When does everyone put up their trees?

D.

We do the whole cut your own tree thing up near Fraser on the first or second Saturday of Dec. It's a very important part of the Christmas season for us. When the girls were little we often had a newborn foster child along and if it wasn't too cold I'd be carrying an infant snuggled in the front pack while we tromped through the snow! For the last four years we've had at least one baby grandson who stays home with his Tia (Aunt). The couple that stays home fixes a big pot of chili and cornbread so we come home to a nice hot dinner. The little grandsons get a good workout in the snow that day so everyone heads home and puts their tree up the next day.

Two years ago when my grandson , aged three at the time, was visiting, He said "we need to decorate you tree NannyAng." I went to my tool shed, pulled out my chainsaw and sawed down a tree from the backyard. Everything on that tree was hand made by Dylan, with help from me and daughter. I still have it all. Next visit, maybe next year, we'll get a bigger tree and make more decorations.I kept them to show him our memories of shared Christmas's.
chick

JJ, don't they make Oreos with a red or green filling for Christmas?

For years I only brought out a tree that I kept covered and decorated in the garage with a garbage bag. Yes, that's right - I didn't even have to decorate it! That has all changed because I take my grandma job very seriously, and have to decorate for my little guy. Last year I bought a pre-lit tree and I love it! I will put it up by this Friday and when Clayton spends the night, he will "help" me decorate. Hopefully, the dogs won't un-decorate!

Decorating for Christmas was a huge deal for my grandma - actually, Christmas was a big deal. She always had a gift for each of her 35 grandchildren, even though she was far from rich. She worked a part time retail job just to buy her gifts. I will strive to give my grandson good memories of our Christmas's, just like she did for me and my siblings.

Daisygirl

We were going to hang the lights yesterday but it rained so had to postpone. I'm looking forward to seeing my decorations again this year. We bought several new ones last year but when my sister in law got sick we didn't enjoy any of it and never put the lights on again so everything will still be like new this year. It will be a melancholy one for sure after losing 2 family members this past year but I think the decorations will help make it a little more festive anyway.

You all are bringing out the kid in me. Oh the wonderful memories you have already made for your love ones. KUDOS! My grandmother did the same thing Daisygirl, and my Mother has certainly carried on the tradition. Her tree is always special in some way, and we all participate in decorating it, although we act like we HATE doing it... she knows better and we don't fool anybody. Now that I too have a grandchild, I'm fortunate to see Christmas thru the eyes of a child again, and I'm excited about HER being excited. Did that make sense? And yes, the Oreo's come in colors! Does it get any better than this?

JJ

JJ, I haven't thought of that - our grandchildren DO allow us to see Christmas through their eyes and life in general, if we allow them.

Ladies, this may be the time to invest in Oreo stock.

Mosspatch, where are your grandparents from? I love old houses, too. I feel at home in them. We had a huge round dining table in the "front room" and an organ that was a monster to move, but Mom managed it twice a year.
chick

I have to say that my livingroom, diningroom looks like a Christmas card when all the decorations are lit up. I love Christmas lights. I have cut down a lot of the decorating this year but do have something on every wall area and the table has a red velvet tablecloth trimmed in gold and deep green silk place mats. The manger is in the center. I may live alone but hey Christmas is only once a year and I deserve to be as festive as anyone with a house full. Remember that you singles out there and celebrate....

[ December 02, 2005, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: chatty lady ]

Good for you Chatty! I've been decorating this morning since 5:30, when the dogs woke me up. I would've gone back to bed, but there was a rabbit in the yard and I had to go out to make sure it survived - that was enough to get me wide awake! Anywho, I splurged and bought a tree I've had my eye on at Smith Hawkins. It's a simple iron tree and I set it on my coffee table, which works because you can see through it.

I've decided I don't have enough decorations and I'm going out today to find some bargains.

Daisygirl

We decorated INSIDE today and hopefully will get OUTSIDE done tomorrow. Every year it seems to take us longer to get all those boxes up out of the basement with all the Christmas decorations - or am I just getting older ?!?!?!?!?! LOL Anyway, we had a lot of fun reminiscing as we put our ornaments on the tree....we collect ornaments on each of our trips and getting them out each year gets us talking about our "trip memories".

The house looks really festive.....I'll be happy to have the outside done tomorrow - just pine roping on the porch railing with white lights woven through it and big red bows.

Pam, reading your post makes me realize I need to get off this computer and go start decorating. While I was out today, hubby got all the decorations out of the attic. He is getting the tree in the stand now. I am going to fold a load of laundry (another load of laundry) then begin taking things out and placing them around the house. I love this time of year.

This is a fun forum. I enjoy picturing everyone's homes and thinking aboaut all of us gearing up for the big day.