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YadaYadaYada said:
Not to threadjack or derail but I do feel your pain on the presents. This year the our 16 year old asked for:

A computer
A PS5

The nine year old asked for:

An IPad
Mario Wonder Game
About $400 in Legos

So fewer presents but way more money!
Click to expand...
* sorry for the threadjack tree people but this is too good.
Oh, that was 3 Christmases ago for us with the laptops! I'm glad I researched and bought what I did because they're still 'good enough' for now. They have to be, they cost too much.
This year it's money for the older one and a better professional quality digital drawing pad for DD. She also does serious paleo art, she actually has discussions in a real paleontology group, which I only found out about somewhat recently because she was doing something and a bone animation thingy came up on some site while I was talking to her(yes, I'm also looking at her screen, I'm mom) and I said 'Oh hey, that looks like your style!' and she said, 'No, mother, that is one of mine'. She went on to explain that it's part of her response to an ongoing hip/femoral density dysplasia socket thing? as a friendly disagreement she's having with someone- she wrote a short dissertation about it on some dinosaur I can't pronounce or spell. The kicker is I'm thinking it's another precocious teen and she gives me that smile and a the name and it's an actual working paleo scientist. With books. She said she was originally invited into this group by mistake because they thought she was 'legit', as she says- found out she was just some snot nose when they asked where she studied after quite a while, were impressed instead of angry and let her stay. So the scientists get to read her parts in discussions and look at her animations and argue with her. She loves it.
I had no idea that this was ever a possibility as a real thing.
It wasn't for us.

This is the good side of the internet, there are people out there that are fostering real scholarship and science. It's been a lovely experience for her.
I'm glad she's found a safe corner to geek out in with one foot in her dragon drawing and schoolfriends gaming and one toe in the adult world of actual science. The profess. group is helping her decide where she'll eventually go to school and her specific discipline. I'm hoping her friendships in the community will help her a little bit later.

I thought that was so cool and it cemented for me that she is incredibly serious about this paleontology thing and I've altogether not been serious enough.

So fancy pad thingy for way too much, it is:lol:

NOW, BACK TO THE BEAUTIFUL TREES!
 
Yes, more trees ,please! Or…
some fireplace decorations, if you have one?
 
Absolutely gorgeous. Moreover, I LOVE your sentiment of "I am pretty impressed," I'm definitely going to borrow this! :lol:
 
Neighborhood holiday tree on our beach

ourbeachholidaytree2023.png
 
fussykiki said:
Not a tree but I made a wreath, from scratch. I am pretty impressed.

AB7413F1-BDF4-4AE1-9379-77FD9BCF13D2.jpeg
0D95D7B6-F0CD-4F28-B2D2-D5C55BCE60FD.jpegD95937A8-ACCD-45E8-9660-87BA82D76ECA.jpeg8D499679-8CFE-49E0-AEBE-D675E6C77EF9.jpeg
Click to expand...

Wow! This is absolutely beautiful! You are very talented.

I am thrilled you said you are pretty impressed, because you should be, as creating this beauty is impressive.

Also your photos look like they were professionally done for a magazine. :kiss2:
 
a week till xmas eve so i finally hung up the wreath at the front door but as im a bit of a scrooge i wont turn its lights on till next weekend
 
Our tree can change colors - so here it is white and multi - IMG_0250.jpeg

IMG_0257.jpeg
 
Thinking of you @MamaBee and @mrs-b. I was scrolling thru this thread, looking at everyone’s beautiful trees and decorations. It doesn't seem the same without your beautiful pictures. I hope all is well with you and your families and that life is just busy at the moment. Callie
 
I was not planning on putting up a tree this year. But I remember I purchased a pink flocked tree on sale last year from King of Christmas after the holidays and it is a Barbie Year so I decided to at least put it up. I would normally put it in the corner by the window but I didn’t feel like moving stuff around. I used all my old ornaments but I think it came out nice. IMG_1400.jpegIMG_1399.jpegIMG_1392.jpegIMG_1376.jpeg
 
Under the wire, but it's up. Gruss Vom Krampus!
5270829500746226765.jpg
 
I love trees and live trees in particular so I usually get a tree in our Texas place then again when we come to TN. The first pic is the TN tree which is super wonky bc we didn’t get it until Dec 16 and most of the fuller trees were gone.
 
I'm sorry to be so late to the party this year - we've had a LOT happening. And @Calliecake - thank you for your so kind words! <3

Normally, I put up a bunch of trees - the main one in the living room, but also one downstairs in my daughter's bedroom, one in my office/workout room, one in the family room, 3 in the dining room (it's like a little forest!) and one in the main bedroom, plus a small, decorated one on the dresser in the second bedroom. But this year we were meant to be in our townhouse in California, so I thought - minimal decorations, right? So after Thanksgiving we did all the outside lights, so the house looked pretty for our neighbors, then did a more modest "indoors decorate" - just enough for the couple of weeks we were going to be here in between Thanksgiving and when we left for California. One tree only - and a slim one, at that.

And then, on December 2nd, I got strep. And RSV. And some sort of weird recurrence of shingles around my neck and up my nose, And I was siiiiiiiiiiiiiiick...... And then it lasted. And lasted. And LASTED. And 2 and a half weeks later, after rescheduling our trip to LA 3 times, my best friend, who had flown in to LA from Sydney to celebrate Christmas with us and with her husband (who also lives in LA, while she lives in Australia - it's a long story, all about Covid and immigration issues), flew out to Boston to look after me for a few days, then fly back to LA with me on December 21st. A late start - but we were gonna make it! (She's a nurse, btw, and I'd been having multiple episodes of my throat closing up and being unable to breathe and ending in the ED. So it was a whole thing.)

And *then* on the 20th - the night before we were to leave, I had a huge closed-up-throat episode and ended in the ED overnight with a medical situation, with which I won't bore you. So we pushed our flight back AGAIN - till December 24th. And I was getting on that plane, come hell or high water!

And *then*...my best friend walked one of my dogs for us the afternoon before we were supposed to leave - and a little dog ran out at them, my dog lunged, and my best friend fell in the middle of the street and fractured her humerus - right up near her shoulder, as well as cracking a rib and smacking the side of her head into the road. So - back to the ER, and there was zero chance of us getting on a plane a day and a half later.

So - her husband flew out the next day instead and we had a very unexpected, impromptu Christmas day in Boston, and I was very glad for the small decorate I'd done, and my single, skinny tree, and all the gifts we never got around to shipping out to LA, and for the turkey and plum puddings I'd bought - "just on the off chance...." - and for the friends and family with whom I ended up sharing the day.

And having said all *that* - here is my "cut-down Christmas"!

Our living/dining rooms:

IMG_3428.jpg

The family room - which had more things in it than show up in this photo and was actually very pretty
:
IMG_3434.jpg

Inside the front door:

IMG_3432.jpg

My mantelpiece. The picture is blurry, but there are tiny lights along it, wrapped around the ducks and, had I panned back a bit, you'd see a small Christmas tree on each end as well.

IMG_3431.jpg

And this was our table, which we literally threw together in 5 minutes. I have a huge collection of Christmas china, but keeping things low key seemed more the thing this year. We had cream of mushroom soup with hot bread and champagne to drink, then roast, stuffed turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce, roast beets, carrots and whole onions, brussel sprouts with bacon, onion and pine nuts, and potato au gratin, served with a fabulous zinfandel, then plum pudding with custard and whipped cream.

IMG_3448.jpg

The lights outside are beautiful and, since we had thought we weren't going to be here, nor decorate inside that much, we made more of an effort with the outdoor lights this year, and the house looks really magical. We ended up doing rather more inside in the end than we'd originally planned as we stayed longer and longer, and all up I was very happy with the level of effort we made and the feel that we got.

And lastly, my daughter is an artist and has a small Etsy shop where she sells cards. This is one of her cards she added this Christmas; I love it.

Untitled_Artwork.JPEG

Wishing you all a very merry belated Christmas, and a New Year filled with hope and health and happiness!
 
Last edited:
@mrs-b I am so sorry that you have been dealing with so many health issues. Sending healing thoughts your way for you and your friend. Your decor is amazing especially considering all of those obstacles!

ETA I LOVE the card!
 
Please just ignore this barrage of photos - my Christmas has been so odd this year, I think I wanted to add some photos here to kind of prove to myself that we did indeed have a Christmas.

Here are just a few more I took today....

Flowers at Christmas are particularly important to me and, while I'm no expert, I always do a few arrangements that give me a disproportionate amount of pleasure.

In the main bedroom -

IMG_3476.jpg

On the dining table for Christmas lunch -

IMG_3469.jpg

In the family room - and those "Christmas lights" above the sideboard are, in fact, made from felt.

IMG_3478.jpg

While I was contagious, my husband was sleeping in a different room. So I did him his own little Christmas tree, which he turned on each evening when he went to bed.

IMG_3474.jpg

And lastly - a different angle of the living room stick-thin tree, and also the wire tree that I sat this year on the coffee table.

IMG_3482.jpg

It really did happen....
 
mrs-b said:
Please just ignore this barrage of photos - my Christmas has been so odd this year, I think I wanted to add some photos here to kind of prove to myself that we did indeed have a Christmas.

Here are just a few more I took today....

Flowers at Christmas are particularly important to me and, while I'm no expert, I always do a few arrangements that give me a disproportionate amount of pleasure.

In the main bedroom -

IMG_3476.jpg

On the dining table for Christmas lunch -

IMG_3469.jpg

In the family room - and those "Christmas lights" above the sideboard are, in fact, made from felt.

IMG_3478.jpg

While I was contagious, my husband was sleeping in a different room. So I did him his own little Christmas tree, which he turned on each evening when he went to bed.

IMG_3474.jpg

And lastly - a different angle of the living room stick-thin tree, and also the wire tree that I sat this year on the coffee table.

IMG_3482.jpg

It really did happen....
Click to expand...

Your home is lovely! And SO neat!!!!
 
I forgot to take a pic of my little tree and now I've already put it up again lol. I used to just feel overwhelmed and overdosed by Christmas, with all the Christmas music, lights and stuff in the stores etc. for 6 weeks or more. Personally, I'm happiest with a short and sweet Christmas. It really is fun though, to see grown-ups who still feel that Christmas magic and go all out for it. :)
 
canuk-gal said:
Your home is lovely! And SO neat!!!!
Click to expand...

Thank you, @canuk-gal. I get a lot out of having a clean and organized home. It's part of why I love my CA townhouse so much; mostly, it's just me there, so I have it ex-act-ly how I want it! Woe betide the person who messes it up!!
 
mrs-b said:
I'm sorry to be so late to the party this year - we've had a LOT happening. And @Calliecake - thank you for your so kind words! <3

Normally, I put up a bunch of trees - the main one in the living room, but also one downstairs in my daughter's bedroom, one in my office/workout room, one in the family room, 3 in the dining room (it's like a little forest!) and one in the main bedroom, plus a small, decorated one on the dresser in the second bedroom. But this year we were meant to be in our townhouse in California, so I thought - minimal decorations, right? So after Thanksgiving we did all the outside lights, so the house looked pretty for our neighbors, then did a more modest "indoors decorate" - just enough for the couple of weeks we were going to be here in between Thanksgiving and when we left for California. One tree only - and a slim one, at that.

And then, on December 2nd, I got strep. And RSV. And some sort of weird recurrence of shingles around my neck and up my nose, And I was siiiiiiiiiiiiiiick...... And then it lasted. And lasted. And LASTED. And 2 and a half weeks later, after rescheduling our trip to LA 3 times, my best friend, who had flown in to LA from Sydney to celebrate Christmas with us and with her husband (who also lives in LA, while she lives in Australia - it's a long story, all about Covid and immigration issues), flew out to Boston to look after me for a few days, then fly back to LA with me on December 21st. A late start - but we were gonna make it! (She's a nurse, btw, and I'd been having multiple episodes of my throat closing up and being unable to breathe and ending in the ED. So it was a whole thing.)

And *then* on the 20th - the night before we were to leave, I had a huge closed-up-throat episode and ended in the ED overnight with a medical situation, with which I won't bore you. So we pushed our flight back AGAIN - till December 24th. And I was getting on that plane, come hell or high water!

And *then*...my best friend walked one of my dogs for us the afternoon before we were supposed to leave - and a little dog ran out at them, my dog lunged, and my best friend fell in the middle of the street and fractured her humerus - right up near her shoulder, as well as cracking a rib and smacking the side of her head into the road. So - back to the ER, and there was zero chance of us getting on a plane a day and a half later.

So - her husband flew out the next day instead and we had a very unexpected, impromptu Christmas day in Boston, and I was very glad for the small decorate I'd done, and my single, skinny tree, and all the gifts we never got around to shipping out to LA, and for the turkey and plum puddings I'd bought - "just on the off chance...." - and for the friends and family with whom I ended up sharing the day.

And having said all *that* - here is my "cut-down Christmas"!

Our living/dining rooms:

IMG_3428.jpg

The family room - which had more things in it than show up in this photo and was actually very pretty
:
IMG_3434.jpg

Inside the front door:

IMG_3432.jpg

My mantelpiece. The picture is blurry, but there are tiny lights along it, wrapped around the ducks and, had I panned back a bit, you'd see a small Christmas tree on each end as well.

IMG_3431.jpg

And this was our table, which we literally threw together in 5 minutes. I have a huge collection of Christmas china, but keeping things low key seemed more the thing this year. We had cream of mushroom soup with hot bread and champagne to drink, then roast, stuffed turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce, roast beets, carrots and whole onions, brussel sprouts with bacon, onion and pine nuts, and potato au gratin, served with a fabulous zinfandel, then plum pudding with custard and whipped cream.

IMG_3448.jpg

The lights outside are beautiful and, since we had thought we weren't going to be here, nor decorate inside that much, we made more of an effort with the outdoor lights this year, and the house looks really magical. We ended up doing rather more inside in the end than we'd originally planned as we stayed longer and longer, and all up I was very happy with the level of effort we made and the feel that we got.

And lastly, my daughter is an artist and has a small Etsy shop where she sells cards. This is one of her cards she added this Christmas; I love it.

Untitled_Artwork.JPEG

Wishing you all a very merry belated Christmas, and a New Year filled with hope and health and happiness!
Click to expand...
First of all, Merry Christmas and I'm glad that no whether you spent it, you enjoyed it.
Your home decorations are beautiful, and they certainly outdid mine... By about 50 miles. I'm happy if I get one tree up.

I hope you are feeling better.
 
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