Christmas decorating: Too early? Whats your favorite thing to do?

[moremoremore]

Bah humbug

 

[MichelleCarmen]

MMM - I''m totally feeling bah humbug now, too. Believe it or not, I was escorted by two people out of Barnes and Noble today!

I think this was the worst day of my life. Christmas and gifts for preschoolers have both officially topped my list of events/things that will forever haunt me.

So far, I''ve flipped off two people too for being complete jerks over driving issues that were not any big deal!

Okay, so far the only GOOD thing about Christmas has been the yummy lotions that bath and body works have come up with. I may drown myself in candy apple bubble bath!

 

[cflutist]

MMM and MC, please try not to feel down during the Holidays. I have read that this time of year is very stressful for some people, family obligations, gift giving, expectations that you should be happy etc. Plus the gloomy weather doesn't help.

My mother is one of those that gets depressed every year during this time (probably because her father passed away 12/24). We do what we can to try to cheer her up but for some reason she picks a fight with one of us kids every single year.

MMM you have your new diamond, and MC you have your new house !!! Things that should bring happiness to you.

 

[diamondlil]

Date: 12/9/2004 4

9:12 PM
Author: Patty
DL, I love your house! I''ve always loved stone and I love the combination of siding and stone on yours. Beatutiful!

I got rid of three large bags of decorations this year. It feels great to do that! I had saved things from the early years of our marriage and other things that had been given to me that I just didn''t care for. This year I decided that I was only keeping the things I love. My daughter, however, dug through the bags and salvaged some wreaths, but at least now they are HER junk, not mine.

Thanks Patty. When we moved to the country, I just had to have a house with nice front porch. The stone was a last-minute additon to the design. I really like the way it turned out. We also have the same stone on a raised-hearth, floor-to-ceiling fireplace in the family room.

We have collected our ornaments over many, many years. There are a few that belonged to my parents from their first tree when they got married 50 years ago. They are very fragile, and I seem to lose one each year, but they are special. The majority of our ornaments are hand made, most by the children. I really liked the tree best with the construction-paper-ring garland, but I guess those days are over.

DiamondLil

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/9/2004 8:13:31 PM
Author: cflutist
MMM and MC, please try not to feel down during the Holidays. I have read that this time of year is very stressful for some people, family obligations, gift giving, expectations that you should be happy etc. Plus the gloomy weather doesn''t help.

My mother is one of those that gets depressed every year during this time (probably because her father passed away 12/24). We do what we can to try to cheer her up but for some reason she picks a fight with one of us kids every single year.

MMM you have your new diamond, and MC you have your new house !!! Things that should bring happiness to you.

I''m so sorry your mother has a hard time during the holidays and also am sad for what happened to her father. Hope you can cheer her up this year!

You''re right that my new house should bring happiness. It''s sad that the excitement of a new house can be overshadowed by the stress of moving and the aggrevation of things not going perfectly as planned (like the cabinets we''re having designed are going to take a lengthy three months to complete!) But, on a positive note, all else will be done by the 14th, when we move in. . .new hardwoods and carpets being installed - by professionals - rather than my husband {phew!} lol, and also all new appliances. Should be snazzy even sans furniture - lol.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Beautiful photos, all!

D-Lil...Wow, can I use your house photo as MY Christmas Card?

Classic!

 

[Mara]

i think anytime after thanksgiving is appropriate for decorations. what i don't understand is the 2 weeks after halloween people!! some people around here had their lights up first week of november! i was still eating the halloween candy!

we usually put our tree up the weekend after thanksgiving. we did the house lights the weekend of thanksgiving...first year so it was alot of fun. restoration hardware outdoor light snowflakes are my favorite thing this year. love listening to xmas music, and especially The Nutcracker CD. we go to the SF Ballet version of it every year. holiday party at our house with our friends, this year xmas eve with the big family is at our house too since it's the new addition to the family. i love decorating, the tree, the wrapping of the presents. i keep sane during shopping season by just not visiting the mall..i do about 90% of my shopping online, and visit the mall at 9am on a weekday morning when no one is there. my ornaments have been collected over the years too, i still have some from when i was a little girl. it's funny how when you decorate the tree you can see a 'trend' on some items and remember when you were really interested in one item or another. aka for a while i was into 'balls' and the last 2 years it's been 'snowflakes'. i can almost remember where every ornament came from. this year i had more ornaments than i could fit on the tree, that was probably a first.

no picture yet this year of the xmas tree...maybe this weekend. the camera needs to be charged!

anyhow, i adore the holidays and everything that comes with it. the bows or wreaths people put on their cars, the decorations on the houses and trees inside seen through the windows, the gathering of the family and the yummy food and pies! my dad keeps asking when i am getting the reindeer ears for Portia!!

 

[fire&ice]

I, too, have mixed feelings about Christmas. I love getting together, buying gifts, wrapping gifts - all those things - but it makes people crazy. People take someone''s parking spot. Crazy driving. Like Mara, the way I remain sane is shop on line, shop during off hours if I must go to mall & try to get all my gifts lined up the first week or so of December.

That said, our family tradition is - we all head to my parents house. Christamas Eve, we have fondue. We open gifts to one another Christmas Eve. Christmas Day we open gifts from Santa. Yes, I still believe! I think this may be the last (or next to last year) of having someone in the house that believes. It''s so fun to watch their wonderment Christmas Day.

I''m highly allergic to pine. Can''t have any garland except Holly. We put up a "fake" tree about two weeks before Christmas. BUT - we leave it up all of January!

I just love the lights & it''s a benefit to having a fake tree.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/10/2004 10

1:11 AM
Author: fire&ice
I, too, have mixed feelings about Christmas. I love getting together, buying gifts, wrapping gifts - all those things - but it makes people crazy. People take someone''s parking spot. Crazy driving. Like Mara, the way I remain sane is shop on line, shop during off hours if I must go to mall & try to get all my gifts lined up the first week or so of December.

I so wish I had done my xmas shopping online! It''s really hard to find gifts this way, though, so I''ve been hitting the mall. Yesterday a car was pulling out of a parking stall and I stopped and let them out so I could park there and a guy came up behind me and started yelling at me for waiting. It was pathetic and made me wonder what shopping is going to be like after the 17th when my husband and I go shopping together. I''m kind of scared. Maybe we should take a cab to the mall???

Oh, and I planned to buy a bunch of gifts at Barnes and Noble, but now I''m scared to set foot in there again. Yesterday my son FLIPPED out at a whole new level and two employees had to help me take him, my other son, and my shopping bag out to my car

The sales woman said this happens all the time. I think she was just trying to be nice. They probably have banned us from their store.

 

[Libster]

Michelle,
Online shopping is also what I prefer. I finished my shopping week before Thanksgiving and haven''t set foot in the mall. I know shipping prices can be outrageous at times, but the hassel of exactly what you described makes it worth it to me. I know that some people just don''t like buying something that they can''t actually see and feel first. It''s just too crazy out there for me this time of year

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 12/10/2004 11:40:51 AM
Author: MichelleCarmen

Oh, and I planned to buy a bunch of gifts at Barnes and Noble, but now I''m scared to set foot in there again. Yesterday my son FLIPPED out at a whole new level and two employees had to help me take him, my other son, and my shopping bag out to my car

The sales woman said this happens all the time. I think she was just trying to be nice. They probably have banned us from their store.

Michelle, they probably went home & had a chuckle at the melt down dujour. I''m sure you are yesterday''s news. Anyone who has kids or have been around kids - know that meltdown is possible anytime anywhere. Most just comiserate with you. The one''s who look disapproving don''t understand or have a bee up their butt. I never think one should put a child in a very adult place - but Barnes & Noble is fair game!

To quote my nephew when he was about 4 on our family cruise us: "Are you going to be good at dinner time tonight?" him w/ his head held down "I just don''t know Aunt F&I."

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/10/2004 3:11:19 PM
Author: fire&ice

Date: 12/10/2004 11:40:51 AM
Author: MichelleCarmen

Oh, and I planned to buy a bunch of gifts at Barnes and Noble, but now I''m scared to set foot in there again. Yesterday my son FLIPPED out at a whole new level and two employees had to help me take him, my other son, and my shopping bag out to my car

The sales woman said this happens all the time. I think she was just trying to be nice. They probably have banned us from their store.

Michelle, they probably went home & had a chuckle at the melt down dujour. I''m sure you are yesterday''s news. Anyone who has kids or have been around kids - know that meltdown is possible anytime anywhere. Most just comiserate with you. The one''s who look disapproving don''t understand or have a bee up their butt. I never think one should put a child in a very adult place - but Barnes & Noble is fair game!

To quote my nephew when he was about 4 on our family cruise us: ''Are you going to be good at dinner time tonight?'' him w/ his head held down ''I just don''t know Aunt F&I.''

lol At least your nephew alluded to a hint of possibly being good. hahaha. My son would have flat out said no! lol I swear he''s a teenager trapped in the body of a little four YO. He''s got an enormous amount of attitude and he perfected the act of rolling his eyes when he was only three

Libster - next year I''m going to try online shopping. The shipping rates can be a lot, but I think if I try and only shop at out-of-state stores, the prices may not be that much more than the cost of sales tax. I''d rather pay extra shipping expenses than give to the government. lol

 

[diamondlil]

Oh, Michelle, I so can relate to the meltdown scene. My daughter had the worst meltdown I''ve ever experienced in the middle of our mall. We were at one end, and our car happened to be parked all the way at the other end. Thank heaven for my son who carried the bags so I could carry my daughter, kicking and screaming, all the way through the mall. I remember the scene like it was yesterday. I remember people looking at me like I was killing her. They were probably wondering if I was kidnapping this little girl except that I had a little boy walking along side dragging 4 shopping bags! Needless to say, I did not take my little angel shopping again for about 2 years -- no lie! Having been there, when I see another mommy going through the same thing, I smile to myself and think, "I''m so glad mine are beyond that."

DiamondLil

 

[MichelleCarmen]

, I smile to myself and think, ''I''m so glad mine are beyond that.''

DiamondLil

hahaha Yeah! I''m really looking forward to the, "trust me, it does get easier" stage. (I''m not sure how long this stage lasts though. . .maybe from ages five to 11 and then it''s back to hell on earth again with the preteen stage again???) My doctor refuses to give me anymore Xanax too so these are going to be some rollarcoaster years

 

[Mara]

Michelle, sign up for e-newsletters to your fave stores online and usually they send out a coupon or two near holiday season, esp large stores like B&N. I see alot of free shipping ones floating through my inbox from time to time. Red Envelope also almsot always has a coupon out there. You''ll find you will perfect the Google search for coupons when you shop online! Shipping can be $7-15 depending on what you order, and sometimes more, so that is a big savings indeed! I almost always get free shipping when I buy online, some way, some how!!

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 12/9/2004 7:29:47 PM
Author: MichelleCarmen
MMM - I''m totally feeling bah humbug now, too. Believe it or not, I was escorted by two people out of Barnes and Noble today!

I think this was the worst day of my life. Christmas and gifts for preschoolers have both officially topped my list of events/things that will forever haunt me.

So far, I''ve flipped off two people too for being complete jerks over driving issues that were not any big deal!

Okay, so far the only GOOD thing about Christmas has been the yummy lotions that bath and body works have come up with. I may drown myself in candy apple bubble bath!

HI MC:

Don''t ever think that your task of raising small children is not a challenging one--it most certainly is!!! While my son didn''t have vocal tantrums, he would just lay down in the middle of the mall on the floor spread eagle and didn''t move until he was ready. Sometimes it was a while....
I recently saw this same scenario with a young mother/child while Christmas shopping the other day and I chuckled to myself and totally related...........

cheers--Sharon

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/10/2004 6:13:12 PM
Author: canuk-gal
HI MC:

Don't ever think that your task of raising small children is not a challenging one--it most certainly is!!! While my son didn't have vocal tantrums, he would just lay down in the middle of the mall on the floor spread eagle and didn't move until he was ready. Sometimes it was a while....
I recently saw this same scenario with a young mother/child while Christmas shopping the other day and I chuckled to myself and totally related...........

cheers--Sharon

Oh no! I feel for what you've gone through as my son does this too. In fact both of my boys do this at the same time and I end up crying right there on the spot as all hope is lost and yet another shopping trip has ended in disaster. I think every outfit in my closet comes with a story of chaos and violent tantrum-styled eruptions!

It's actually a bit surprising that there are mothers left to talk about the years gone by as I'd think most would have been commited after a few years of trying to reason with a little kid! lol (you know it's bad too when you've actually asked your husband to take you to the mental hospital . . .lol . . . I've begged my husband but he keeps refusing mostly because he needs someone to do his laundry

.)

Mara - thanks so much for your e-newsletter suggestion! Great idea. Right now a few places send me coupons but most are clothing and clothes are a bit tricky, IMO, to buy for relatives. Oh, and i've been meaning to try out red envelope. Do you have any discount codes for them (oops, edited to add, you're right. . . I found with a couple quick clicks a free shipping code (redstyle) and now took care of two gifts -> that place is a bit pricey, but at least I'm done shopping for my husband who's impossibly hard to shop for!)? So good as I am so shopped out after going to four stores looking for the specific large bulb ceramic blue outdoor lights my husband had to have (and in the process spending almost $200 on weird stuff like chilipepper xmas lights

lol they are cool so oh well. . .what's more debt?) lol

 

[cflutist]

Diamond Lil, your home looks so beautiful decorated for the Holiday Season. Snow is something I wished we had at least once in a great while in California (there IS snow in the Sierras ... higher elevations, but websailor and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area).

 

[hoorray]

Diamondlil, your house looks beautiful decorated in the snow! I love the symmetry of the wreaths in the windows!

I'm in the process of finishing our tree. I'm really having a hard time getting motivated. For some reason, I almost can relate to MMM's Bah humbug! I never feel like this....but the Christmas spirit isn't moving me this year. Part of me thinks, if I ignore it, it won't catch up with me. WRONG!

 

[Patty]

We just got the tree and put it in the stand. Daughter #1 came up, looked at it and said, "I knew I should have come along."

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 12/12/2004 5:17:44 PM
Author: Patty
We just got the tree and put it in the stand. Daughter #1 came up, looked at it and said, ''I knew I should have come along.''

HI:

That''s totally halir!!
In keeping with my usual practice of supporting the underdog, I got a Charlie Brown type tree this year--and ungroomed Balsam. Smells good and is not perfect, but is perfect for us. I''ll post a picture when I get our camera back from the friends house we left it at yesterday--doh.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Patty]

Date: 12/12/2004 5:43

5 PM
Author: canuk-gal

Date: 12/12/2004 5:17:44 PM
Author: Patty
We just got the tree and put it in the stand. Daughter #1 came up, looked at it and said, ''I knew I should have come along.''

HI:

That''s totally halir!!
In keeping with my usual practice of supporting the underdog, I got a Charlie Brown type tree this year--and ungroomed Balsam. Smells good and is not perfect, but is perfect for us. I''ll post a picture when I get our camera back from the friends house we left it at yesterday--doh.

cheers--Sharon

I love Charlie Brown trees! They show off the ornaments better. I always choose tall, skinny trees. I guess it''s psychological...I remember what it was like to be tall and skinny in high school when the boys all chose the shorter, rounder, more voluptous trees.

 

[sevens one]

Date: 12/12/2004 5:17:44 PM
Author: Patty
We just got the tree and put it in the stand. Daughter #1 came up, looked at it and said, ''I knew I should have come along.''

LOL. When I was younger, my brother, sister and I would drag our poor father from lot to lot just for the "perfect tree."
Poor Pop

 

[Mara]

Update to the thread with our Tree and some decor pictures!! I LOVE our tree this year, we got a great shape and it fits perfectly into the space we have in the family room.