When do you put up your Christmas tree? (living, shoppers)

[moughie]

Originally Posted by mainebrokerman

nothing like a real christmas tree,,
wish i had a time machine to be a kid again.... not just the thrill,,,but sitting around a table of many family members that have gone to the promse land.

I second that bittersweet wish.....Everything seemed so much more real then- the sights, smells, tastes and sounds.

[CoastalMaine]

Originally Posted by moughie

I second that bittersweet wish.....Everything seemed so much more real then- the sights, smells, tastes and sounds.

I'm with ya on that one MBM... I'd give everything I have up to have my mom and dad, grandies, and some aunts and uncles back again. Since that can't happen, I guess recreating some of the holiday spirit is a good way to at least feel a closeness to them again.

[mollysmiles]

Originally Posted by moughie

I second that bittersweet wish.....Everything seemed so much more real then- the sights, smells, tastes and sounds.

simpler.... My favorite toy that I got the year I was 5 was a "crazy carpet".... I had asked Santa for it at the Parish Hall Christmas party, and I'd talked about it for weeks before. Santa happened to be a sweet man I'd known my whole life, the same man who sat at the diner up at the counter with me while mom was finishing work. Needless to say he'd heard a lot about that crazy carpet. A few days after Christmas I saw him at the diner and I was so excited to tell him I'd gotten that crazy carpet! For years afterward he'd ask me about the crazy carpet when I saw him. I didn't know he was Santa until I was in my teens! Sweet sweet man!

[cmperry]

that Parish Hall was a popular place

[mollysmiles]

It was the happening place for Saturday morning Catechism! oh, and Wednesday's after school for the First Communion stuff!

[maine4.us]

Well, since we are empty nesters, the tree gets up a bit before Christmas Eve. After all the 12 days of Christmas don't end until Jan 6. The house is decorated, the lights are up outside, but no tree as of yet. The live trees we get in Florida are mostly dried out by the time they get here. We use an artificial tree because it is always fresh, granted, it lacks the smell of a fresh cut tree. We went to Wally World in search of a small ceramic tree to put in the dining room window, but no luck. My DW, MeNMe is hard at work on the internet, and so far it is a Vermont site that has the ceramic tree she wants. It is a bit like Christmas here in Florida this evening. It is in the 40's, and a stiff breeze is blowing. We have a freeze warning tonight (inland). That is about as Christmassy as it gets here. Christmas day could be 80. The one thing that bothers me here in Florida is the fall and winter. We don't really have one. It's just not hot, and seldom what I call cold. Mainers, don't let the lure of the deep south fool you. Seasons here are simply on the calendar, and related to whether you run the A/C or not. Maybe you freeze your buns off 4 months a year, but that is still better than 8 months of summer and 4 months of spring. Sorry if I am venting, but I sure miss those bitterly cold mornings of my youth and making the "first tracks" on the road in fron of my house. So, we will get the tree up, sometime before December 24th. Thats great, we will still have 12 days of Christmas!

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by maine4.us

Well, since we are empty nesters, the tree gets up a bit before Christmas Eve. After all the 12 days of Christmas don't end until Jan 6. The house is decorated, the lights are up outside, but no tree as of yet. The live trees we get in Florida are mostly dried out by the time they get here. We use an artificial tree because it is always fresh, granted, it lacks the smell of a fresh cut tree. We went to Wally World in search of a small ceramic tree to put in the dining room window, but no luck. My DW, MeNMe is hard at work on the internet, and so far it is a Vermont site that has the ceramic tree she wants. It is a bit like Christmas here in Florida this evening. It is in the 40's, and a stiff breeze is blowing. We have a freeze warning tonight (inland). That is about as Christmassy as it gets here. Christmas day could be 80. The one thing that bothers me here in Florida is the fall and winter. We don't really have one. It's just not hot, and seldom what I call cold. Mainers, don't let the lure of the deep south fool you. Seasons here are simply on the calendar, and related to whether you run the A/C or not. Maybe you freeze your buns off 4 months a year, but that is still better than 8 months of summer and 4 months of spring. Sorry if I am venting, but I sure miss those bitterly cold mornings of my youth and making the "first tracks" on the road in fron of my house. So, we will get the tree up, sometime before December 24th. Thats great, we will still have 12 days of Christmas!

Yes but you don't have to shovel sunshine!

[island mermaid]

I have to tell you about how my FIL decorates for the holidays. He and my MIL live in Lisbon Center. This little elderly man of French-Canadian descent goes all out with such pride and joy. His outdoor lights look like that of the movie Christmas Vacation. Indoors will make your head spin. He hangs ornaments off of the lamp shades, the wall clock, the window shades - everything! The toaster is decorated as is the mixer and the coffee maker. The beautiful tinsel garland we've all grown to love, in every color from purple to red garnishes every doorway. Every type of decoration one can imagine is in every nook and cranny in the house including the bathroom. He has blinking, twinkling, flashing, musical, light up, animated objects throughout the entire house. I haven't even gotten to the tree yet! OMG! Same as above, lit, twinkled, spinning, musical tree! Tinsel icicles? Why would we bother to delicately hang it so neatly, strand by strand when you can stand 4 feet from the tree and throw it on the Gob-full! Literally! Just grab a pkg and throw it on, really hard! It's gorgeous!

All of the above is no exaggeration. Here, I'm getting to the nice part.... it makes him so happy! He's so proud of his work. He loves to have company come in and he takes you by the hand and leads you throughout every room showing off the latest of decorations, his eyes all a twinkle.
We oooh and aahhh at all of his handy work and he giggles with delight.

There! That's me ... doing my best to muster up some Christmas joy!

[Maineah]

Now in direct contrast to the above post......We have nothing resembling Christmas up as of today. DW is not in the mood for some reason.
We have done zero Christmas shopping. Neither one of us has any enthusiasm for the season. We're not scrooges...we're just not feeling it. Maybe it's the economy, the instability of it all. Maybe it's seeing a man actually crushed to death by nut job shoppers...Maybe it's listening to worn out Christmas songs in stores since HALLOWEEN. These things just suck the life out of the whole thing. I expect we'll put up a few lights this week.

[juststoppinby]

We had planned on putting up our tree today. I even went to the basement and made sure it was here and not in our storage unit. It is down there as are the totes with all of the decoartions. I bought a wreath on Friday from a little old lady that came into work and was selling them. Well..I left the wreath at work and the tree is still in the basement. Who knows..maybe some night this week. I used to love Christmas when my kids were growing up and I still do but when I decorate the tree now it kind of gives me an empty feeling. When I got divorced I did not end up with much and all of the Christmas decorations were one of the things I did not get. I had so many things the kids had made and things that had nice memories. I have asked my ex if I could have some of them and he always says maybe and that he will think about it. Grrrrrrrrrrr. Now that I am remarried and we have bought new decorations and have built new memories things are a little better. I know soon I will receive things that my grandchildren have made. That will be nice. We won't do Christmas with my kids and grandkids until January. We are still trying to nail down a good time for my husbands kids and grandkids. Maybe someday I can get them all together for one big Christmas. Until then, I will try to get some Christmas spirit..somehow.