Ship of Fools: Christmas decorations

Thread: Christmas decorations Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

A colleague in work saw a house with Christmas deorations and a tree yesterday. A Facebook friend has put her decorations up already. Anyone else seen "trimmed" houses? It's still only November for goodness sake!

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

I haven't seen any decorations yet, but I'm hearing Christmas music and Christmas commercials. The U.S. Thanksgiving Day is next Thursday (22 November), so retailers are trying to get shoppers in the mood. Thanksgiving weekend a LOT of people put up their home trees and decorations, and some of the radio stations play All-Christmas-All-the-Time. [Mad]

(I decorate on 24 December, and I listen to Advents CDs during December!)

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

A house across the street from me has had Christmas decorations up for nearly a month.

Moo

Posted by Emendator Liturgia (# 17245) on :

I'm somewhat traditional: Christmas decorations up beginning of Advent, and down again on 12th night,i.e. Epiphany.

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :

I'm with you, EL, although as our house looks like a building site at the moment, the question may be somewhat academic ... [Frown]

Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
A house across the street from me has had Christmas decorations up for nearly a month.

Moo

Apartment upstairs has had a Christmas wreath on front door for at least six weeks, possibly more. Mine go up after last Sunday in Advent and down at Epiphany.

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :

Not only are the Oxford Street lights on in all their Marmitey glory, but Regent Street lights are lit, as of yesterday, 13 November (weren't on 6 November)

Posted by Vulpior (# 12744) on :

I've been winding up a friend on Facebook who has already decorated her salon. Advent Santa, full of lollies, will be hung up on 1Dec, and the Advent candles will come out, but no decorations for as long as possible.

Posted by PeteC (# 10422) on :

Many houses here put up outdoor decorations in early November for Health and Safety reasons. Most have the decency not to turn on the lights until December.

There are some who use generic (icicles, for instance) decorations and leave them up all year.

If I remember I might put out my Nativity scene. I think I have a small tree somewhere. But normally I don't bother. It's a lot of work, and just me to irritate.

Posted by TomOfTarsus (# 3053) on :

We begin hauling everything out on Thanksgiving weekend (United States). As Thanksgiving is a Thursday, and we have Friday off work, that Friday is spent hauling out box upon box of decor.

Then hopefully one of those days is suitable for getting the outside stuff put up. It takes my dear beloved about a week to complete the changeover from late fall/Thanksgiving decor to the full Christmas regalia, and then we take a weekend to do the tree. So from the Friday after Thanksgiving on, some various degree of Christmas decor is evident. It comes down (or starts to) over the New Year's weekend - my dear beloved can't wait for the 12 days of Christmas.

Music is a different story, though - she's been playing is since just before Halloween!

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :

We just have a (real) Christmas tree, put up and decorated the first weekend in December.

Nothing else.

[Smile]

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :

Just today I saw the Christmas decorations going up downtown. It always looks very festive, but is it really time to decorate? Isn't it only September or something?

Posted by Spiffy (# 5267) on :

I, for one, am super excited to decorate my house. BECAUSE I OWN A HOUSE! [Big Grin]

However, I will be decorating the weekend of 1 Advent and the lights should be coming down sometime around Epiphany. First, though, I gotta buy a ladder...

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :

November, JJ - doesn't time fly?

We saw our first fully-lit house of the season this evening on the way to the pub after choir practice.

[Disappointed]

Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :

When I lived in Bradford, they turned on their town lights early to cover Diwali (this week, incidently). Obviously the homes with giant inflatable santas do not have this excuse.

I consider homes covered in outdoor lights and hideous decorations in November just a seasonal fixture, after Bonfire Night and before Advent. [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Graven Image (# 8755) on :

I just received my first Christmas Card. [Disappointed]

Posted by comet (# 10353) on :

We go out and "hunt" for our tree, bring it home, and decorate it (and the house) on Christmas Eve. That way Christmas morning everything still feels all magic and stuff. And the tree comes down in only 12 days so I'm not swimming in wicked little spruce needles. On Epiphany we host a bonfire party for everyone's trees and wreaths. It's great fun.

Yes, some folks are already decorated up, but I havent seen any really trashy displays yet. I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Posted by PeteC (# 10422) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Graven Image:
I just received my first Christmas Card.

My deepest sympathies. [Eek!]

Posted by cheesymarzipan (# 9442) on :

Apparently the Xmas lights in Dublin (on the street) were turned on yesterday. Cork is turning theirs on today. (Several big trees appeared last friday, the lights across the street appeared over the last week)
Surely it'd save the council money to put them up/turn them on later? Or do christmas lights/decorations encourage people to spend more money, or something?

The decorations inside our house will go up at the beginning of December (actually it's just a tree really, and any cards we get sent). The outside of our building has had santa and wreaths on it since last Monday (5th november!). Our landlord obviously loves christmas.

Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :

DIL has had her's up for some weeks despite FB mockery from friends.

I have refrained from comment in thre interests of family harmony [Biased]

Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :

We've just walked home from friends and we saw a house with the Christmas decorations up..

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

I just saw my first house. Why is it almost always the really cheap, tacky ones that go up first?

Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :

Saw a tree with lights in a window tonight on my way home.

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :

That's outrageous! Santa decorates the tree on Christmas Eve!

Hmph! I bet it is an artificial tree to boot. Santa does NOT decorate artificial trees.

Posted by Spiffy (# 5267) on :

I would much rather have Christmas decorations up instead of several my neighbors who have yet to take down the skeletons, plastic jack-o-lanterns, and gruesome severed head which I had to tresspass to ensure was plastic and not flesh, which are still cluttering their front yards.

I would also like to mention I received my first Christmas card from a vendor on October 15th, and pitched an ever-loving fit in the middle of my office.

[ 20. November 2012, 01:41: Message edited by: Spiffy ]

Posted by bib (# 13074) on :

Haven't seen anything in the neighbourhood yet, but the restaurant we went to on Saturday night had the decorated tree, tinsel etc. I always wait till Advent when my young grandchildren come and decorate my artificial tree - I don't like killing a real tree for a few weeks of frivolity. I'm afraid the decorations tend to be down by new Year, although my Christmas cards are around for much longer.

Posted by The Intrepid Mrs S (# 17002) on :

First decorated tree of the new season yesterday [Roll Eyes]

on the way home from work - a village near ours is always plastered with lights at Christmas. And then later, going out to a friend's, I saw one house with illuminated ladder and Santa*, and goodness knows what-all else - I think my optic nerve shut down in disbelief. [Eek!]

*I nearly wrote 'flashing Santa' but thought better of it...

Mrs. S, shaking her head

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by The Intrepid Mrs S:
*I nearly wrote 'flashing Santa' but thought better of it...

Like this ?
[Snigger]

Posted by Meg the Red (# 11838) on :

There would normally be lots of Christmas lights already around here, but the snow and cold started early enough to stymie most people's decorating efforts.

Except for the folks at this house.

Oy.

Posted by The Intrepid Mrs S (# 17002) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:

quote:
Originally posted by The Intrepid Mrs S:
*I nearly wrote 'flashing Santa' but thought better of it...

Like this ?

Mrs. S - looking for the brain disinfectant

Posted by malik3000 (# 11437) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Meg the Red:
There would normally be lots of Christmas lights already around here, but the snow and cold started early enough to stymie most people's decorating efforts.

Except for the folks at this house.

Oy.

That household must have an insane electric bill.

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Meg the Red:
Except for the folks at this house.

Oy.

I assume the background music is "Silent Night"?
[Roll Eyes]

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

I have a very simple system for making the outside of my house look festive. I have candle-shaped plug-in lights which go on automatically when it's dark and go off when it's light. I put them on the windowsills, and they look very nice from outdoors. It takes me less than twenty minutes to get them from their storage place and on the windowsills.

I'll put them up in a couple of weeks

Moo

Posted by Josephine (# 3899) on :

We have our family celebration of Thanksgiving early, so on Thanksgiving I get out the first part of our Christmas decorations: my St. Nicholas collection, the Nativity set my mother made, and a stack of children's Christmas picture books.

That's all the Christmas decorating we'll do until Christmas eve, when we put up the tree and the outdoor lights along the eave of our house.

Apparently a few folks in the neighborhood started decorating last weekend -- walking home from the train earlier this week, I could see trees in some of the living rooms as I passed by, and there were lights adorning a few of the houses. I understand that not everyone wants to wait until Christmas eve, but it seems like you ought to at least wait until Thanksgiving!

Posted by The Intrepid Mrs S (# 17002) on :

I was stunned by a handwritten blackboard in our local supermarket reminding us to

'order your turkeys for xma's '

[Ultra confused]

In the words of the immortal Victor Meldrew, I simply could not believe it. Sadly the board itself was out of reach or a wet finger could have delivered any other passing pedants from its malevolent influence.

Mrs. S - I may not know much but I know where the apostrophe should go AND IT IS NOT THERE!

Posted by The Intrepid Mrs S (# 17002) on :

We decorated the office the other day - which means, I took two small ready decorated trees from the floor by the cupboard and stood them ON the cupboards; a friend draped two large garlands along the top of the screens; and I (defying any H&S committees about) stood on the desks and hung clusters of baubles like bunches of grapes, made using paperclips and elastic bands, from the suspended ceiling.

VERY classy! [Angel]

(that's the best I can do for a festive smilie!)

The Festive Mrs. S [Killing me]

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :

Forgive me, Mrs S, as I have been away but I thought you could try:

"order your turkey's for Xmas"

Your turkey's what can be left unexplained.

Posted by The Intrepid Mrs S (# 17002) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
Forgive me, Mrs S, as I have been away but I thought you could try:

"order your turkey's for Xmas"

Your turkey's what can be left unexplained.

Demise, possibly? [Two face]

Mrs. S, snickering quietly to herself...

Posted by Starbug (# 15917) on :

The Snowman is back! (No, not the Raymond Briggs one.) The Snowman is an big, illuminated snowman who lives in the garden of a nearby house, along with his friends Little Snowman and The Robin. We have been known to take detours past The Snowman's house, just to see him lit up - despite his street being littered with horrible speed humps. We also stopped once to take photos, being careful not to appear like insane stalkers (if that's possible when you're taking picture of a stranger's front garden).

Posted by Margaret (# 283) on :

We used to have a local Snowman too - a house on the other side of the road (luckily not opposite, so we don't have to admire its flashing lights from late November onwards) used to have a large inflatable one in the front garden. Unfortunately it developed a slow puncture, and one morning when I went past it was slumped over their wheelie bin in an attitude which suggested it had just had a VERY heavy night out.

Posted by deano (# 12063) on :

I live near some “chavvy” estates and me and the kids deliberately start driving through them in November to see if we can spot some trimmed up houses. There are always one or two!

If it’s left to me the trimmings will go up on the 22nd and be down on the 27th! If it was up to the kids we would put them up when the first ones are spotted on the Chav Estate! The Mrs brings a proper sense of balance to it all and we will put ours up probably on the 15th and they will be down on the 3rd Jan most likely.

We don’t do the outside thing though, apart from a string of multi-coloured lights that go over the garage canopy. Very tasteful in a middle-class way.

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :

Some rather OTT friends of mine in New England go the whole hog with an illuminated Santa on a sleigh with reindeer and all sorts - they sent me a photo one year but we decided not to emulate them. Himself has today hung our illuminated Christmas Star over the balcony. We may add some fairy lights later.

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :

Before I moved here, I used to put up a Moravian star outdoors on the first Sunday in Advent and take it down on Epiphany. Unfortunately, it's too windy where I live now.

Moo

Posted by SyNoddy (# 17009) on :

The tree in my neighbours front garden is garlanded with flashing blue lights that shine down the hall into my kitchen. Every time I catch a glimpse I think the rozzers have finally caught up with me, which they may well be called on to do if I succumb one night and sneek out to sabotage the offending lights.

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :

I would normally put something like this on the sitting-room window-sills at the start of Advent, but they haven't got sills at the moment, so I can't. [Frown]

Posted by Nenya (# 16427) on :

So, who's got the decorations up and who's planning to do it when? [Big Grin]

We're trying to do Christmas slightly differently this year as Nenlet1 is now married so to do exactly the same as we've always done would make us miss her too much. To this end we're having a real tree instead of our usual artificial one and Nenlet2, who works at a local arboretum, is going to be bringing it home today. We're planning to decorate it and the rest of the house on Tuesday evening. I'm so excited! [Big Grin]

Mr Nen and I have just been away for a couple of days and the hotel was decorated for Christmas so our house now feels very naked and plain.

Nen - kid at Christmas.

Posted by Pants (# 999) on :

Tree was put up this arvo. Earliest we've ever done it. We did it to stop the 'can we put the tree up yet?' from the small person.

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Nenya:
So, who's got the decorations up and who's planning to do it when?

I leave it until it gets dark on Christmas Eve.

Posted by Eleanor Jane (# 13102) on :

My urge to decorate is rising...

Of course I didn't bring any Christmas decorations in my suitcase when I moved over here (we bought one in Poland a few months ago) and your average tree seems to be about 15 pounds so I've been too skinflint to buy a tree and trimmings so far. The urge is rising, though...

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

I caved in and bought an artificial one a couple of years ago and have been very pleased with it. It cost less than a tenner and even sheds needles on the carpet, just like a real one.

I also used to leave putting up the decorations until Christmas Eve, but the sight of the tree with the little lights glowing amidst the branches, gleaming off the red and gold decorations, is such a pleasure that I now put it up at the start of Advent so I can enjoy it for the entire Christmas season.

I don't really decorate anything else, but it's not a big place, and there are usually flowers in seasonal colours.

Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :

Our (large, real) tree is due to be delivered tomorrow and I have started putting up a couple of things around the place - an Advent wreath on the front door, some baubles on an orange tree in from the garden cos of frost, and on a ficus by the window; a poinsettia garland; some (fake) branches with red berries; and I always put out an Advent candle thing that I remake every year so that we can light one of the candles when we have dinner each Sunday evening in Advent.

I love it all [Axe murder]

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :

I drive through the neighbourhood looking for people who think they are better than chavs. [Paranoid]

Anyway, without his giant blow-up Santa and Snowman in the driveway, how else would the newest choristers know which was the Director of Music's house to turn up to for the Christmas party?

Posted by Graven Image (# 8755) on :

I make up the Advent wreath the first Sunday. It always has an angel in the center, replaced on Christmas eve with a candle. I used moss covered branches this year in place of green, a gift from a wind storm early in Dec. I put a large wreath made out of red bells on the front yard. I have given up on standing on ladders, so no lights on the house anymore. I bring out my collection of Santas on St. Nicholas day and keep them up until Christmas Eve. Friends and Neighbors tend to leave Santa figures at my door to add to the collection. : ). Then away they go for anther year on Christmas Eve and the tree goes up before the grandchildren arrive. Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child come out on Christmas Eve as well. and the three wise men start their journey around the living room. On 12th Night we have all of our friends over, have a 3 kings cake, bless the house, the apple tree and have a party to end the season.

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