A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Home for the Holidays What do you do for Christmas decorations?

I figured it was time to start getting this area hopping for the Christmas holiday. So, what do you do for Christmas (or Hanukkah) decorations??? We will be getting our Christmas tree ASAP after Thanksgiving. Stephen will be working 2nd shift, so we may have to wait until his first day off which would be December 2nd. There is a Christmas tree farm right down the road that we'll go to. I can't wait!!! I am looking for the Little People nativity scene to start to teach the kids about what Christmas is to us. Also, this year I want to have a Menorah for Hanukkah because that is part of my heritage too. I guess I need to start looking for a Menorah that I like. Maybe Bed Bath and Beyond will have one that I like??? They did last year.

What do you all do??

Jenn: This year will not be typical, so I will fill in with what is typical.

Tree is put up thanksgiving weekend--(if I do not it then very nearly does nor get done.)
--This year the girls are helping me put up a small artificial one this weekend. (What rod & I had when we frst got married)

I will decorate the complete house--I have 3 or 4 nativity sets, and display them all around the Livingroom.--I have candles, and a ceramic santa that holds REAL candy canes, for young guests to have.--I have all sorts of window clings that I put up on my glass sliding doors as well.--I begin with a nativity scene, and work around it with, cling ornaments and snow flakes.

The yard Nativity Scene will be put out when the weather and Rod's time permits.
it will come down after epipheny.

don't know if you want it or not--but here is what we do for Christmas.

Christmas Eve we will get together at some family member's house around 2pm (this year me) carrying appetizers & cookies to share. We will visit and let the children (anyone that has not graduated college and is still single.)

Then when it is time we will go to church. I usually sing in the choir, this year and last my health has not permitted that. I am hoping to next year.

Then we ususlly go to my MIL's after church and stay until time for midnight services at church.--More eating---

The next day we open gifts with the kids (both are marries but all come to my house to spent xmas eve night now)--and then get ready to go to whatever family members house that is preparing Christmas Dinner.--we all bring a side dish, a pie or 2 and whatever beverage we want to drink.

After dinner The adults exchange gifts---we draw names at my nephews birthday paerty in september. We begin with the youngest OR oldest and work our way thru the family.

I have a little 3 foot tree that I decorate. This year I'm making a tree skirt for it. Then I have a santa and an angel for the tables. I want to do bows around the fireplace mantle this year and put up a cute little stocking. I'll have to see what I can find. And I hang the cards around the entry foyer and put christmas balls on ribbons for the windows.

I have so many boxes of decorations that I'm embarrassed to even say. With all the outdoor decorations I'm up to 10-12 boxes of stuff. And many of those plastic boxes are the super sized kind. My sister helped me up with it all yesterday..............

I'll have to take a video clip when it's all cleaned up and post it here so you can see my decorations. Too much to say what all I have.

Just did the outside too.........I'm beat.

We will start decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving too- I have 3 nativities that go up, window clings that sound just like Carols too.. then I do the village... have a set of really small houses and people and then the larger houses too- have a train- park with a skating rink and bridge- lots of trees and people to set around it... it goes up on top of the entertainment center.. I make a 2nd level with books and a snow blanket... hide the wiring under it and the elec strip - setting this up takes at least 3 hours ... have to put a big piece of board under it all to make the surface bigger ... Joe and I have it down to a science of how to do it- of course I keep adding to it and it gets harder to figure out how to make it all fit...
then we set up the tree, it's artificial now- 6 ft tall and really wide to hold all the ornaments I have- have a battenburg lace skirt for underneath it, I hang the stockings from the bannisters , we decorate them with garland and lights..too... I made all the stockings and just make more as we need them- even made all the pets their own too- with appropriate decor on them- bones for the dogs- a sheaf of wheat for the birds.. and a mouse for the cats... people ones have trees,wreaths, stars and bells on them - embroidered accents on each ... I made the pattern up over 35 yrs ago and still use it when I need a new one.. Joe and I have the oldest and the white felt has yellowed some but we love them .
I decorate my house plants too - have a set of butterfly lights for my ficus tree... and hand tiny presents boxes from it too, other plants get picks with different things on them , we decorate the mantel in the family room with the Rudolph and the Misfit toys set-(hubby's fav movie)I have all sorts of figures that go on bookcases and tables in living room and family room too.
We have our dinner on Christmas Eve usually... in the evening cause Joe works the day... that way the kids can all have their holiday at there own houses and once we clean up it's done at my house... we open presents after dinner- and with as many as we can have it usually takes a while- Joe puts on his Santa hat- passes them out and the kids go to town... I try to get them to do it one at a time to get good pics but doesn't always happen... the twins are autistic and don't get it that all the presents aren't theirs... they just want to open them - not play with them... other boys usually let them too... some yrs my nephew is here with his kids too but not this yr- he just moved to Ga and they have a new baby so they don't want to travel this yr.
The outside of the house has lights and we will put our luminarias on the eve along the walk provided we don't have to much snow at the time.
Nana

Wow Nana that's some work you have to do. It sounds lovely though.

Nana you sure do put up alot.

I esp like the sounds of you villiage.--and your stockings sound so intrcate---do you happen to have pictures??--I would love to see them.

I have a villiage too, That I made myself. and at my other house it had its own coffee table it lived on--in the winter/Christmas I decorated it with snow, & a few Christmas pieces I have. Small people & animals & street lights abound. But it now lives in the bottom shelf of my curio.--There is just not the space now to display it year round.

I keep telling myself to set it up on the marble in front of the fireplace, but all I can make myself put there as of yet is my nativity basket that I keep my Christmas cards on, my Precious moments 12 inch resin angel, and a few other odds & ends. If my mantle were not full of Nativities and "the flight to egypt" I would attempt to do as you have described--it sounds lovely.

You made me remember--I too make stockings for all my family.--mine are really large rectangles. When the kids were small I bought this piece of fabric that had a small tree skirt and 2 stocking bags on it.--I made the skirt for my oldest DD's small tree that they used to put up upstairs on the landing (well I would do it for them) I gave it a backing, lace edging, and batting. and after that first xmas I quilted the train set and all the toys depicted on it.

the stockings I made a muslin lining for, and red ribbon to pull the draw string top closed with. When they got married, I made the "boys" their own bags, using the girls bags for patterns.---I then made my DH one too---I guess this year I will try to make myself one.

All of this talk is making me anxious for the season to begin.

Thanks Tk and Carol.. Christmas is my favorite holiday- I have every Christmas card I ever received in the last 41 yrs ... I bag them up every yr and keep them with my Christmas boxes... have 8 large 50 gal tupperware containers full of stuff... I will take pics of our stockings when we get them out- they are not intricate- just used a pattern from an old simple shapes coloring book ... and use felt to make them and simple embroidery to decorate them...
We do love our family time here... and Christmas is big for us for the time together - not the commercial stuff but the time we spend as a family...even when the tempers flare as ocassionally happens it's still family.
Nana

Our family cherishes it's together time as well.

We have not forgotten what the season represents---

I can still hear my first DD, when a baby, calling out--"It's Jesus's Birthday"--for any and all to hear--
it makes me smile just to say it even now---it was so cute--

Oh How I Love Christmas.....

Although we were all raised in a traditional way, my siblings and I celebrate Christmas differently in our individual families.

My sister in Ohio and her husband prefer to let everyone stay in pj's all day if they want to. My sister cooks the day before so they can eat picnic style on The Day and not be bothered with cooking.

Maxi and I celebrate in a very low-key style that suits us just fine. On the Eve we like to attend church dressed in Evening Wear... just as one would dress if being presented to a King. Then on The Day we like to attend church dressed in denim... the surprise of Christmas... the King is a babe born in a barn.

We like all the festivities, the special shows, the caroling, the decorating and baking, the crafting, the get-togethers. And we also like to spend time at home listening to the music of the season or watching TV specials, just hanging out together.

I'm a timeworn crafting insane-iac before The Holidays. What is Christmas if not glitter pots and glue and things made of soft fuzzy yarn? I adore the sometimes lopsided unusually colored ornaments Maxi makes.


Merme

Our church does a Christmas Eve service too. I am not sure that I'm really into going to it tho. We didn't go to it last year. I hate screwing around with the kids' sleeping schedules and the service starts right at bed time for the kids. I do not know if the nursery is available either. Sunday nights are screwy as far as bed time for them ad Mondays are horrible....I don't really want them to go to bed later on Christmas Eve and then have a yucky day for Christmas. ...maybe next year.

we didn't do the christmas eve service when the kids were little for that very reason jenn. it wasn't worth it to have miserable kids.

Jenn, like Jiffy, I waited until Maxi was a bit older to attend the Christmas Eve service.

However, our church offers two services that night. The one at 5 PM is called The Family Service and it is packed with little ones in a fever pitch of excitement! It is loads of fun, too. The one at 10 is the "Midnight" service and is my favorite.

When I am playing for the Midnight service, Maxi usually opts to go to the Family Service with his dad, leaving me to get ready and do final rehearsals. But we have also done both services together, going out for a bite of dinner in between.

I like to go to the Family service and help Maxi pass out his gifts. He likes to make a little something (like bags of Reindeer dust) for ALL the kids and he likes to give out special ornaments to favorite adults. It is also a nice time to catch visiting college students home on break.


Merme

I remember going with my dad and family to Christmas Eve service one year when I was 8 or 9. I thought I was so special because it didn't start until 11pm and I was up so late!

There are decoration pictures down in my lounge in case anyone missed them.

Hi Loz.
Yes that is a tradition, when we were children, mum and dad would go to "The Kings Head" a pub of course it closed at 10-30pm, they would come home and then take my sisters and brother plus me, to the Christmas eve service at 'St Lukes Church' in Norwood High st. I loved it, my dad because he had had a few to many to drink used to sing the most loudest of all, but it did not matter because he had a wonderful voice, it use to rise above all others, we were so proud of him.

Thank you Loz for the rememberance, have never been to the Christmas Eve service since l was married, am now going to make an effort and go, it will bring so many poignant memories.
Hoping Dad will be watching me, as l sing my heart out for the love and memory of him.

Love you Lozxxxx
Doreen

I think mine are staying boxed this year. No reason to put them up for just me.
And I have to say being from the east coast and now 50 years old, we never did this put the decorations up right after thanksgiving thing. So tired of looking at them by the time Xmas rolls around. Seems here in Michigan they go up after halloween.

Yes there is a reason to put up your decorations for you!! You deserve to be happy & festive right??


..I am so pleased----DH put up my outside decorations on sunday-=--All we do (well so far) is a nativity and lighted garland around the front porch pillars---and well I have 2 canleds on either side of the front steps---but it is so nice----I must please easy----

Color me happy.