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Would you share your most/least successful holiday decor experiences, along with what you think are the best/worst decor choices during this time, both indoors and outdoors?
I will start it: my usual "hit" is a great wreath at the door; I always try to make it as beautiful as I can, with different ornaments and colors. It is the first thing one's guests see when they visit during the holidays, and I think it is a great way to welcome one's friends/family into the house.
I think a miss would be to over-decorate the front lawn, some people have very nice decor which just does not really coordinate when placed altogether, so maybe stepping down a bit would make their beautiful outdoor decor stand out even more.
I'm grateful when people decorate. I get a kick out of even the over-the top "not-coordinated" looks - at least they are trying and getting in the spirit. One of my favorite houses in California that was decorated for Christmas was so over the top that I just loved driving by. Those people had Snoopy, several Creches, Elvis in a Santa suit, penguins dressed as elves, 8 foot tall toy solidiers, several electric trains set up, cardboard stand-ups of snowmen, elaborate blow-up scenes - you name it, they had it. Probably not great taste but it was fun. So, nope - no judging at Christmas time...everything works for me.
I like the overdecorated yards. They always make me smile when I go by.
Our big "miss" this year is putting LED lights on our 20 foot tall pine tree. I usually use the real C9 bulbs on this tree and it looks amazing. I decided to try the LED's and it looks like a Charlie Brown tree.
Golfgal - I absolutely hate those LED lights - bought some for our Christmas tree and don't like the look at all - dull, yellowish and not pleasing to the eye at all.
I like the overdecorated yards. They always make me smile when I go by.
Our big "miss" this year is putting LED lights on our 20 foot tall pine tree. I usually use the real C9 bulbs on this tree and it looks amazing. I decided to try the LED's and it looks like a Charlie Brown tree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cattknap
Golfgal - I absolutely hate those LED lights - bought some for our Christmas tree and don't like the look at all - dull, yellowish and not pleasing to the eye at all.
OMG! I hate the LEDs too! I "requested" that my husband decorate my kids' swingset with the C-9s, so I picked up a couple of boxes of the LED C-9s and they s*ck!!! They're so poorly made and don't get me started on how weak they look. SO...we ordered some ceramic C-9s for the swingset/playset and my husband's shed. Guess what we're doing this weekend!?!?
I've already warned my husband that I intend to phase in plenty of C-7s (for the lamp posts) and C-9s in the front of the house.
My Hit: Putting a Christmas tree up in the balcony that overlooks our LR. The first year I did this it was to decorate for an early-December party. I wanted to decorate, but didn't want to give up floor space. The Balcony Tree has become a tradition in our house. Even once the "big" tree is up in the LR the little tree is still my favorite. It casts a nice glow on the room and is a "surprise" for guests.
My Miss: The first year in this house I bought three little cut trees and put them in pots in the front yard. They looked charming, but oopps, were too light and blew over constantly! I learned the hard way to weight those bases!
General Hit: I like the over-crowded yards that do it with a bit of humor (intentional or not). Yesterday I ran past a house with a lovely, lit Nativity Scene....annnnnnnd huge blow up Polar Bears!!! Evil Plaidmom wants to buy a little toy gun for Joseph so he can protect his family.
General Miss: Also noted on my run--people who put up decorations without removing the decor from other holidays. Is this a new trend ? I saw more than one house with rotting jack-o-lanterns on the porch, a scarecrow or turkey or other "Fall" decor, AND their Christmas lights or blow-ups. Please people, one holiday at a time!
Thanks for the heads-up about the LED lights. I was asking my SO last night if we should make the switch and he said he thought we needed to wait a few years for the technology to improve.
I'm not liking the looks of the LED lights either. The white ones look way too blue and kind of hurt my eyes. One neighbor has the multi colored LED nets in their shrubs and you can barely see the lights. They are so dim it is more annoying than anything. As for the over decorated yards.......... LOVE'EM! There are two not too far from me that both yards are COMPLETELY COVERED! There is not an inch of space in either yard to walk thru. Every blowup, plastic sets, lights, everything. They are so awesome .
We have all white lights on our front and hubby wants some color. So last year we put a few of the multi colored nets in select shrubs and it doesn't look bad. We used to have 3 angels but they have seen better days so we didn't use them this year. HOWEVER, we have this 4x8 Gingerbread house we did for the church FallFest 2 years ago that I sooooooo want us to put in our yard. Hubby is not hip on it only because of the time and work to do it. I think it would be AWESOME and all the kids in the neighborhood would love it. So we might do that this weekend.
Inside, a big MISS that many people do is a LOT of little things. Just like decorating your house at any other time it looks better and has more impact to have a few BIG things than a lot of little bitty things that can begin to just look like clutter. Our house was on a Holiday Tour of Homes this year and one house stayed decorated for Fall. I was not impressed at all. It looked like all the fake fall foilage from Hobby Lobby, Michael's and every other craft store threw up in that house. Not only that but they did not remove any of their other decor to put in the holiday decorations. It's always best to take out a few of your everyday decor items and replace them w/ the holiday decor. Not everything but some things so that you don't get the cluttered look. You still need room on your end tables and such for guests to sat down a drink or something.
I need to take pics of my house this year since it was all done up.
I'm not liking the looks of the LED lights either. The white ones look way too blue and kind of hurt my eyes. One neighbor has the multi colored LED nets in their shrubs and you can barely see the lights. They are so dim it is more annoying than anything. As for the over decorated yards.......... LOVE'EM! There are two not too far from me that both yards are COMPLETELY COVERED! There is not an inch of space in either yard to walk thru. Every blowup, plastic sets, lights, everything. They are so awesome .
We have all white lights on our front and hubby wants some color. So last year we put a few of the multi colored nets in select shrubs and it doesn't look bad. We used to have 3 angels but they have seen better days so we didn't use them this year. HOWEVER, we have this 4x8 Gingerbread house we did for the church FallFest 2 years ago that I sooooooo want us to put in our yard. Hubby is not hip on it only because of the time and work to do it. I think it would be AWESOME and all the kids in the neighborhood would love it. So we might do that this weekend.
Inside, a big MISS that many people do is a LOT of little things. Just like decorating your house at any other time it looks better and has more impact to have a few BIG things than a lot of little bitty things that can begin to just look like clutter. Our house was on a Holiday Tour of Homes this year and one house stayed decorated for Fall. I was not impressed at all. It looked like all the fake fall foilage from Hobby Lobby, Michael's and every other craft store threw up in that house. Not only that but they did not remove any of their other decor to put in the holiday decorations. It's always best to take out a few of your everyday decor items and replace them w/ the holiday decor. Not everything but some things so that you don't get the cluttered look. You still need room on your end tables and such for guests to sat down a drink or something.
I need to take pics of my house this year since it was all done up.
Agree with everything you have said......I also do Christmas decor for my clients, a lot of them have a gabillion teeny tiny things, instead of 1 big thing.
I started a thread about show us your Christmas decor, please post your pix over there, dying to see what you've done!
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They're so poorly made and don't get me started on how weak they look. SO...we ordered some ceramic C-9s for the swingset/playset and my husband's shed. 
Guess what we're doing this weekend!?!? 
? I saw more than one house with rotting jack-o-lanterns on the porch, a scarecrow or turkey or other "Fall" decor, AND their Christmas lights or blow-ups. Please people, one holiday at a time! 
