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Only Christmas, I love the lights on the house during the dark winters. I have always disliked "decorating" for an occasion. It just looks out of character for a home, juvenile somehow. Or extra. I guess I can't explain it fully but I really dislike decorating for holidays.
It has been a while since we've been in a house and we are really looking forward to decorating for Halloween, Fall in general (pumpkins etc), and Christmas. We were thinking about doing some patriotic decorating for the 4th of July. I already have an American flag out all the time.
So, what all holidays do you decorate for?
We may put a pumpkin out in the fall, but most times not.
We DO IT UP for Christmas though. We are "that" house - and our house is the one in the neighborhood that everyone likes to drive by and see. We've gotten handwritten notes in our mailbox from people saying how much they like our decorations and how it puts them in a festive mood to see them.
Every year we add 3-4 new pieces that we get in post-Christmas sales the prior year. At some point we're going to run out of room. *lol*
Usually very minimum because it is a lot of work to decorate and undecorate. Usually, for Halloween, we will put a pumpkin on the porch. I have a straw witch that someone gave me that I sometimes hang on the door. For Thanksgiving, I have a poster for the door that I have had forever. Sometimes I even forget to put that out. For Hanukkah I just set out my menorah to light the candles. For Christmas, we only get a tree if we are having Christmas at our place. Many times we have Christmas at the kids' house so we don't even bother with a tree.
This year however, I do plan to decorate a bit more than usual. It is our first year in this house and I want it to be memorable. I have already told all the kids that we are having Christmas here-no excuses-even the ones out in California.
I may do a bit more for Halloween, too but haven't really thought about that yet. The other house we had mega-kids come to the door (I would buy 10 bags of the Hershey bite-size and run out) The fact that we are only one block from the old house, I'm assuming we will still have that many kids. But, being in a big old Victorian house would make it perfect for Halloween. I have a few months to think about it. lol.
We have a closet that's dedicated to seasonal items - thank goodness because I wouldn't be nearly as energetic about all this seasonal stuff if I had to climb up into the attic for every change!
Let's see, starting with the first of the year - I have "winter decor" that I put out. I have a wintery painting of a bare tree, and I change out my throw pillows and some accessories to my browns and greens, sort of forest colors. I put out more candles in lanterns, that sort of thing. I don't have a winter wreath for my front door but I do put some (fake - so shoot me) pine branches with little crystallized frosty pine cones on them in my planters by my front door.
Spring and summer - I have a painting that I switch out to over the mantel that has more blues in it, so I switch out my throw pillows to blues, change a few accessories to highlight that blue, change my DR centerpiece to a flower arrangement (usually fresh - they're not expensive at the grocery store!), and plant cascading flowers in the planters on the porch. No wreath for summer either. I generally fly the American flag on the porch in the summer (Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, etc).
At Easter, I usually have a big display of real tulips in the middle of the dining room table as well as in the kitchen. I may scatter a few little antique rabbit figurines I have around here and there.
In late summer, I have another fall leaves painting that I switch to. I switch my accessories to burnt orange and turquoise (throw pillows, table runners, etc). I break out the ceramic pumpkins and group them around on the table, in the foyer, etc. I have candles and candelabras in leaf motifs. I change out the accessories to some fall leaf thingies that I've collected. I have a fall wreath for the door and I buy real pumpkins and group them on the front porch. I change out the flag to our New Orleans Saints flag because it's FOOTBALL SEASON!
Inside I have a table that I put this display on - it's a metal tree and I made little frames that hold family photos over the years of family members dressed in costumes. I also have some cute photos of grandbabies in Halloween costumes that I display in the living room. I leave all this up till the last weekend of November when I start on Christmas decorations.
In December, I break out the Christmas decorations and I do have a lot of them, including four trees (three small ones and one large one - the smaller ones go in the den and foyer and dining room and the big one goes in the main living room). I pack everything back up the weekend after Epiphany (around January 6).
I only decorate my front door for fall and Christmas.
When we get around to it we put a few decorations for Christmas otherwise we don't decorate, except for those Halloween sheers I still have hanging on the dining room windows.
I miss my old house in Cincinnati - it was white with emerald green trim and an emerald green door. Already decorated for Christmas! Add a fir wreath on the door and candles in the windows - the kind that come on automatically at dusk and go off automatically at dawn - voila!
Clutchrider, your house at Christmas looks spectacular. Not too much, not too little.
A few of our Halloween decorations (sorry for the terrible quality)!
dead flamingoesssss
Hung on my front door:
Centerpiece although there is now also a spider on it
na na na na na na na BATWALL
another web on a frame
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