When do you start decorating for the Holidays?

[bunnymendelbaum]

We are hosting Thanksgiving, so I was thinking we'd have our tree up for it. But that means we have to get it next weekend! Seems so soon!
(Usually we go the weekend after thanksgiving.)

[oneslybookworm]

We normally put up the tree after Thanksgiving. My DH is one where he's all "one holiday needs to finish before we can focus on another"...so lame. I'm ready to slap up the tinsel and deck the damn halls!

[bunnymendelbaum]

superduper, My youngest daughter is almost 4 so I'm hoping we can use the glass bulbs again on our tree!

[TBM]

We kind of have a rule about Thanksgiving Day being the earliest that we can do anything Christmas (except watch whatever is already on TV), and at our old house DH and the kids worked on the outdoor lights while I cooked, and it was lit up that night. We also gave them a Christmas book that night.

Since we have artificial trees, we usually put them up that weekend. I am tempted to put up our trees now, just to help lift this cloud of doom and gloom that is consuming my thoughts...I need something uplifting and beautiful right about now. Maybe I'll leave my trees up for the next four years or so.

[hbomdiggity]

Early December. I order a real tree online and its delivered around the 5th.

[CrazyLucky]

We usually decorate starting the weekend of Thanksgiving, depending on travel plans. We always have a real tree and I love smelling it all December. If the weather is decent, we put the lights up too. The first few years in NC, it felt so weird to be looking for our tree, decorating, hanging light, etc in a T-shirt. Now I'm like, "What, it's only 60? let's see if it warms up next weekend."
The year I had DD we didn't put lights up. The neighbor told me her kids always like our lights and were disappointed. Which was so nice of her, I thought. To let me know they like our lights.
I think I will break down and get an inflatable this year.

[CrazyLucky]

Nov 10, 2016 9:29:59 GMT -5 TBM said:

We kind of have a rule about Thanksgiving Day being the earliest that we can do anything Christmas (except watch whatever is already on TV), and at our old house DH and the kids worked on the outdoor lights while I cooked, and it was lit up that night. We also gave them a Christmas book that night.

Since we have artificial trees, we usually put them up that weekend. I am tempted to put up our trees now, just to help lift this cloud of doom and gloom that is consuming my thoughts...I need something uplifting and beautiful right about now. Maybe I'll leave my trees up for the next four years or so.

This is an interesting idea.  I'm in such a fog right now.  I wonder if putting out Christmas decorations now would help me or ruin Christmas.

[TBM]

Nov 10, 2016 11:50:46 GMT -5 CrazyLucky said:

Nov 10, 2016 9:29:59 GMT -5 TBM said:

We kind of have a rule about Thanksgiving Day being the earliest that we can do anything Christmas (except watch whatever is already on TV), and at our old house DH and the kids worked on the outdoor lights while I cooked, and it was lit up that night. We also gave them a Christmas book that night.

Since we have artificial trees, we usually put them up that weekend. I am tempted to put up our trees now, just to help lift this cloud of doom and gloom that is consuming my thoughts...I need something uplifting and beautiful right about now. Maybe I'll leave my trees up for the next four years or so.

This is an interesting idea.  I'm in such a fog right now.  I wonder if putting out Christmas decorations now would help me or ruin Christmas.

I wondered the same thing, then got myself in a bigger funk wondering how to celebrate Christmas this year when I am afraid of what will happen in January.

We usually do our yard up big with lights and sometimes inflatables, and people drive down to end of our dead end street to see what the neighbors across the street and us do.  Last year, just coming off the Paris bombing, we felt the need to keep our message simple, and we made a big marquee sign that simply said 'peace', and we made a large peace sign.  This year our oldest daughter, her H and our grandsons are coming, so we have been planning a retro/retro toy theme with huge old school lights, big ornaments, Mr Potato Head, a robot and  a huge arch inflatable...something fun and probably tacky as all get out. I'm just not as excited about it as I was, and I kind of feel like I need to find a way to express my concerns and wishes for our future...maybe adding a giant Dear Santa letter would do it.

I guess I will hold off on the trees for now, but I'll keep that as an option in the coming days.

[emoflamingo]

We try to go black friday and buy a tree at the farm. I'm trying to decide if I want to just pop for a fake tree this year to set it up early or not.

[redheadk]

I take down fall decor (which is minimal) the day after Thanksgiving and I put up Christmas decor on Cyber Monday while DD is at school. It is far easier and faster to do it when she's out of the house.

[simpsongal]

We started testing our outdoor lights and ordering more last weekend. We'll start putting them up next weekend (maybe this weekend if the leaves don't take too long to gather). It takes 3-4 days to put our outdoor lights up, so we like to build in time.

As for inside, we wait until after Thanksgiving. I may start taking boxes down from the attic beforehand so I can start decking out the house Thanksgiving evening

[pumpkin]

I usually start putting up/out my decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving, but am thinking that a few things before might also help with my overall funk.

hbomdiggity please tell me more about ordering a real tree that gets delivered. . . .

[hbomdiggity]

pumpkin, I've ordered from here www.fivestarchristmastrees.com/ for 3? years now. They usually have 50% coupon which makes it the same or better than home depot et al.

[pumpkin]

Nov 10, 2016 14:53:24 GMT -5 hbomdiggity said:

pumpkin, I've ordered from here www.fivestarchristmastrees.com/ for 3? years now. They usually have 50% coupon which makes it the same or better than home depot et al.

Thanks!
Since it's just me, sometimes go to get a tree and getting it home, and inside, etc is a big ordeal, but this could cut some of it out.

[heagen]

Day after Thanksgiving (if we can wait). Then it's all down the day after Christmas.

DS1 is a late December birthday, so I want all Christmas décor down for his party.

[adhdfashion]

I plan to decorate after Thanksgiving. We put up are lights on black Friday. Then we go to the tree farm on Saturday to cut one down. I love Christmas.

[lilac05]

Depends on the year & our plans for DS1's birthday. His birthday is 12/10 & he's almost 6. If we are having his party at home, I generally wait until after the party to put our tree & bigger stuff up. Partially because I want the focus to be on his birthday, not Christmas, and partially because I don't want a million kids running around with all of my decorations out.

If the party is somewhere else, usually the week after Thanksgiving.

[Pibs]

The day after Thanksgiving. Except this year I didn't get it off (bitter, party of one) so I'm putting everything up on Wednesday. TBM isn't alone though -- I'm contemplating putting things up sooner and saving the real tree for Wednesday.

[mrsukyankee]

December as my H isn't a Christmas celebrator (not Christian). But now I have to wait until we move so it might be the day before Christmas.

[dottyblue]

The day after Thanksgiving. The only remotely Christmas-y item I do on Thanksgiving is watching Miracle on 34th Street that night.

No holds barred the day after though. The tree goes up, DH does the outdoor lights, the other decor goes out and Christmas music blasts. I only get (approximately) 30 days of Christmas and I make the most of every single one.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Day after Thanksgiving. But yeah, I'm not 100% into Christmas this year. I'll still decorate and such, but I hope it doesn't stick in my craw too badly.

I just keep trying to think of Christmas as a reminder that even in a messed up world, there is still innocence and goodness.

[partiallysunny]

Weekend after Thanksgiving.

Don't do it!

[RamblingRose]

I'm usually a wait till after Thanksgiving type. I won't be home that weekend, but my birthday is the Monday after. I think I'll do it then, I don't have anything else to do that night. :/

[candreco]

Weekend after Thanksgiving for most decor, and the tree goes up sometime the first week of Advent (depends when we get it). This year we're doing Thanksgiving on the Monday before the holiday because of my sister's work schedule, so all of the fall stuff will go away Tues/Wed and Christmas goes up Thurs/Fri. We won't get to decorating the tree until Dec 2 because I'll be OOT that week