The 2010 PS Holiday Tree Thread

[HollyS]

But . . .
My local radio station is already playing Christmas music, and so I'm ready for Christmas trees NOW!

It is very difficult to have to live vicariously through PATIENT people. I am already wearing my wool coat and gloves, everyone, and I'm listening to Christmas music every day, and yet you refuse to put up your trees!?

I have resorted to wandering through Hobby Lobby after work, pretending that I'm walking down my street. I. NEED. CHRISTMAS. TREES. NOW.

ETA: Davi--My savior! Thank you.
I want to curl up in your photograph. Your home looks lovely.
At least someone cares.

(Couldn't you have just a tiny one? You could quickly unplug it and hide it when family comes over . . . )
Or would that be cheating??

You know, we Christians just appropriate customs that we want to use for our holidays. Decorating trees is a fairly new (in a 2000 year history) custom for us. I see no reason not to share it with our Jewish friends.

 

[Haven]

Oh, Holly, I adore you.

I am currently in year three of a slow implementation plan, and things are progressing quite well. Year one, I bought beautiful white reindeer ornaments (they're covered in glittery stuff, too!) and hid them in my blue and white Chanukah decor. And some snowmen--they're benign. Year two, a colleague gave me a smushy doorknob hangy thing with santa on it, and I hung it on the door to the family room. And I covered the ceilings of our home in white twinkle lights. You know, like the night sky. Not like "Christmas lights." Year three, I'm breaking out a "cone" shaped table centerpiece--I bought a big styrofoam cone, lots of little silver and blue and gold ball ornaments, and I'm going to cover the cone with them. I suppose some may misinterpret the shape of my ornament cone as that of a Christmas tree, but I say it's half of a Star of David.

Next year: tinsel.

 

[february2003bride]

DH and I just moved into our new house a few weeks ago and I am so excited to get a tree! It will be my first live tree ever, I grew up with an artificial.

Funny story...my mother hasn't taken her tree down since Christmas 2008. She said it's too much work now that all her kids are out of the house and so she just keeps it up year round.

My mom does too! Except she changes out the decor depending the year. She takes the ornaments down in say, February, lol, and for Easter/Spring she puts artifical flowers and birds on the tree! It's actually really pretty!

 

[HollyS]

Haven, you are equally adored.

I'll be glad to share my Christmas with you.

 

[bebe]

Christmas junkie here too !

Most of my decorations are up, but you guys have seen them - same stuff every year !! (well, tiny changes here and there)

But I want to see everyone else's, I need new ideas and I'm not above stealing 'em from ya'll !!

 

[somethingshiny]

Aaaaahhhhhhh. I love this thread every year. I wish I still lived in the big house we used to have. It was so fun to decorate. With this little house, I don't have room for half my stuff.

I love the pics of "random" things. Like the glass with the tree in the background. It's just so...Christmasy!



Haven~ It really makes no sense to cut down a tree, bring it in the house, and decorate it for Jesus anyway. Just put one up and say it's a New Year's tree to celebrate the upcoming.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'm pretty sure my tree is going to be naked. There is no way my cat is going to cheerfully enjoy the lights/ornaments from a safe distance. I KNOW he's going to climb up into the tree and display his wild nature.

So, yeah, just a plain tree! Or maybe just put bells on the branches. Since I know he's going to play with the ornaments, make them fun ones for him. hahaha

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Is anyone else a total nazi about the way the tree is shaped?

One year, my dh decided we were going to put the tree in a corner, so well, we found a three-sided tree that fit perfectly. It kept tipping over.

 

[zoebartlett]

We don't have a themed tree (done in certain colors, etc.) and in fact, there are some years we don't bother getting a tree. I really should change that. We ARE getting a tree this year, and the ornaments will be a mixture of a collection that my parents began for me years ago and things we've gotten more recently. My favorite ornaments are at my parents' house still, and they'll be going on their tree.

ETA: I will admit that I'm petrified about trees catching on fire, and I'm hesitant about putting lights on them. I love little white lights so that's what we use, but I'm not sure if our tree will have lights on it this year.

 

[zoebartlett]

Oh, Holly, I adore you.

I am currently in year three of a slow implementation plan, and things are progressing quite well. Year one, I bought beautiful white reindeer ornaments (they're covered in glittery stuff, too!) and hid them in my blue and white Chanukah decor. And some snowmen--they're benign. Year two, a colleague gave me a smushy doorknob hangy thing with santa on it, and I hung it on the door to the family room. And I covered the ceilings of our home in white twinkle lights. You know, like the night sky. Not like "Christmas lights." Year three, I'm breaking out a "cone" shaped table centerpiece--I bought a big styrofoam cone, lots of little silver and blue and gold ball ornaments, and I'm going to cover the cone with them. I suppose some may misinterpret the shape of my ornament cone as that of a Christmas tree, but I say it's half of a Star of David.

Next year: tinsel.

I love it!

 

[D&T]

well our prelit tree is up (NOT any of the ornaments )... we're trying to train our new kitty not to climb the tree and have her get used to it before she takes the ornaments off, so its a bit nekkid right now.

 

[Steel]

I'm pretty sure my tree is going to be naked. There is no way my cat is going to cheerfully enjoy the lights/ornaments from a safe distance. I KNOW he's going to climb up into the tree and display his wild nature.

So, yeah, just a plain tree! Or maybe just put bells on the branches. Since I know he's going to play with the ornaments, make them fun ones for him. hahaha

3 month old kitten's 1st Christmas, alone with the tree...



(ignore the background - this was when we lived in the garage )

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I just put the radio in our kitchen on the Christmas station and was about to start dinner when I took a little PS break. I was so excited to see everybody's trees, but alas, you're all in the same boat as I am--waiting for T'giving first.

We do a real tree every year, so I'll be putting that up soon. I would really love silver and blue ornaments, but ours are a rainbow of colors and I don't want to buy all new ornaments.

I'd also love to see everybody's exterior Christmas lights. This is the first year in our new house and I think I'm going to do something more than the tree for once. When we were buying the house our realtor told us our neighbor goes way overboard with lights and everybody drives by to see the house, so maybe I'll sneak a picure of our neighbor's house, too, haha.

 

[CNOS128]

Oh, yes--everyone, please post pictures! Give a Jewish girl something to look at.
I have the worst Christmas envy every year. This is going to be my favorite thread.

Ditto Christmas-envy.
(I have three glittery silver and gold snowflake ornaments that I hang in a doorway. Love them!)

 

[Burberrygirl]

I will post pictures of our trees, yes plural. There's talk about a third tree this season too. The better half wants to decorate now, I think Thanksgiving deserves it's own time in the house. But next Friday, it's free game

Anyone else have multiple trees?

Here's a teaser from last Xmas. Our littlest tree (our first tree from our first year living together) (Just for you Haven)

Davi, your decorations look beautiful! I cant wait to see pictures of what you do this year. One year my mom did three trees, one in the foyer, one in the living room, and one in the great room. I'll take pictures of her decorations this year. She goes all out.

Speaking of Christmas trees, do you guys like short fat trees or tall and skinny trees? We normally have two tall skinny Fraser Firs.

 

[somethingshiny]

davi~ lots of psers have multiplke trees. there have been tree threads every year for the last several. i would link them but am currently typing one-handed.

 

[les12]

This thread is making me giddy! I love Christmas and decorating for the holidays.

DH and I just moved into a new apartment a few months ago so it's extra exciting to have a new space to decorate. And it's our first Christmas as a married couple!

Unfortunately, he won't be here for Christmas so the tree will be up for quite a while so he gets to enjoy it too We'll just be celebrating Christmas a little later than everyone else! Can't wait to see everyone's trees!

Davi- your home is so warm and welcoming! I look forward to seeing your decor this year!

 

[lulu66]

can't wait to put up the tree all i know is we better get a real tree this year! ever since DH & i have lived together, he's promised we could get a real tree (as that's what i grew up with & i need that tree smell to get in the "spirit"), every year we put up the crappy little "corner" tree that he already had. then last year, we really were going to pick one out & his mom gave us her old fake tree, much nicer than the "corner" tree, so we used it. i've always given in in the past b/c we go to my parents for christmas & they have a real tree, so i get my fix. this is the first christmas for us being married & we're too far away (and used up vacation for the wedding & honeymoon) to travel for christmas, so we ARE getting a real tree or else....

can't wait to see everybody's trees! we don't have a theme, just ornaments we love

 

[diamondringlover]

I dont have my tree up yet and I dont really have a different theme each year. I decided a few years back how to deal with the kid made ornaments that I adore, but really clash with my crystal, pretty ornaments...I use to put them on the side and back of the tree, but now I have 2 trees, I put the "big" tree in my living room, it is a 7.5 ft prelit artificial tree, it has all the white lights and pretty ornaments on it, but in my dining room I put the "kids" tree up (it is the first tree you see when you enter my house) it is a real tree and I usual keep it around 3 to 4 feet, and on that tree I put all the ornaments that my kids have made or ornaments that I have bought them (teenage mutant ninja turtles, rugrat ornarments, ect) and that way I have a conversation piece tree and the kids are happy, they get to tell people about their ornaments, it is the best of both worlds for me!

 

[afreebird]

We don't have a themed tree (done in certain colors, etc.) and in fact, there are some years we don't bother getting a tree. I really should change that. We ARE getting a tree this year, and the ornaments will be a mixture of a collection that my parents began for me years ago and things we've gotten more recently. My favorite ornaments are at my parents' house still, and they'll be going on their tree.

ETA: I will admit that I'm petrified about trees catching on fire, and I'm hesitant about putting lights on them. I love little white lights so that's what we use, but I'm not sure if our tree will have lights on it this year.

This used to worry me, too. Not anymore now, thanks to LED lights. Last year we bought "warm white" LED Christmas lights for the tree at Target. I picked up a few more boxes today. They stay cool to the touch. I kept the tree on pretty much 24/7 last year.

 

[afreebird]

We don't have a themed tree (done in certain colors, etc.) and in fact, there are some years we don't bother getting a tree. I really should change that. We ARE getting a tree this year, and the ornaments will be a mixture of a collection that my parents began for me years ago and things we've gotten more recently. My favorite ornaments are at my parents' house still, and they'll be going on their tree.

ETA: I will admit that I'm petrified about trees catching on fire, and I'm hesitant about putting lights on them. I love little white lights so that's what we use, but I'm not sure if our tree will have lights on it this year.

This used to worry me, too. Not anymore now, thanks to LED lights. Last year we bought "warm white" LED Christmas lights for the tree at Target. I picked up a few more boxes today. They stay cool to the touch. I kept the tree on pretty much 24/7 last year.

 

[merilenda]

Can't wait to see everyone's trees! I've been abstaining from full-size trees for the past few years because I got tired of picking ornaments up off the floor. We had a mini-tree that we put on top of the bookshelf last year.

Any ideas on cat-proofing a tree? Is this even possible?

 

[bebe]

I'm pretty sure my tree is going to be naked. There is no way my cat is going to cheerfully enjoy the lights/ornaments from a safe distance. I KNOW he's going to climb up into the tree and display his wild nature.

So, yeah, just a plain tree! Or maybe just put bells on the branches. Since I know he's going to play with the ornaments, make them fun ones for him. hahaha

"

I can just see your kitty slapping those bells on the tree !! Maybe he will hit 'em to the "Jingle Bells" tune

 

[geckodani]

I have a wee artificial tree (DH is allergic to real ones ) that will go up the Friday after Thanksgiving. I always do red, silver, crystal and an accent color. I think I'll do lime green this year. My mom gets both my sister and I the Swarovski ornament each year since we married (I can't wait to see what our tree is going to look like in 30 years!) and DH and I get a small silver ornament every time we go on vacation. We've got a pineapple from Maui where we were married, a coin from the Dominican Republic the first time we went and a little silver map from the second year. I've also got a bat from when we went to the Colombus Zoo for the weekend (we spent like an hour staring at the fruit bats) and a butterfly ornament from last year when we went to Cleveland and the butterfly conservatory. It makes putting up the tree a lot of fun.

Oh yeah. We've also got a plane attached to the Chicago skyline. Because we've spent enough time at Chicago O'Hare Aiport that we decided it deserved recognition...

Haven - You could always do a Chanukah bush. Get a swirly topiary and decide it looks great with silver and white ornaments...

 

[geckodani]

I got my tree up! Here are some pics. I wish I could really capture how lovely it is! This year's tree makes me feel all bright and shiny.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Gecko: what a beautiful tree!

We went and cut down our own tree yesterday We felt like lumberjacks (and that's ok! ) It's an almost 9 foot Frasier Fir. I love having high ceilings.

Tree One: silver black and white
Tree Two: whimsical and colorful but still traditional
Tree Three: All our special ornaments This is the tree we cut down ourselves

 

[geckodani]

Davi - I love Frasier Firs! That smell. Mmmmmm. Lovely trees, all three of them! And thanks for the compliment on mine. The lime green is a fun touch this year, and I'm glad I did it!

Oh, and the husband has informed me that I am mistaken, and even though he is allergic to hydrogen, he's not allergic to Christmas trees. We just can't have real ones in our apartment complex.

 

[charbie]

Gorgeous, davi and gecko!!!

DH and I have such a random hodge podge or hand me down decorations we got from parents, crap...I mean craft shows, that christmas throws up in our house.
We are living in temporary housing right now and our decorations are boxed up, so we r getting a mini tree this year. We actually took our tree to my moms bc her tree is broken. She will get a new one on sale after Christmas. She did buy a little pencil tree this year tov hang our pictures with Santa. Yup, all 29 of them...since my mom still makes us sit on Santas lap. Its the "people tree."
I'm amazed by the themes people have! It must be regional, since everyone I know here has a random assortment of ornaments. Every year DH and I buy one another an ornament...those are my favorites.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

I will post pictures of our trees, yes plural. There's talk about a third tree this season too. The better half wants to decorate now, I think Thanksgiving deserves it's own time in the house. But next Friday, it's free game

Anyone else have multiple trees?

Here's a teaser from last Xmas. Our littlest tree (our first tree from our first year living together) (Just for you Haven)

Wow! Will you come decorate my house?!

 

[JewelFreak]

Davi, great trees & you have the coziest looking living room! Steal, your kitty is hilarious -- I can relate. I have collected ornaments forever, buying some each place I traveled for work around the world & getting others on sale after Christmas. LOVE doing the tree & never do the same one twice. But....then we found a 5-wk-old kitten in our driveway & he became part of the family...to my dismay, that Christmas...and the one after....and the next. He got in league w/the puppy the 1st year, climbing the tree & throwing all my pretty feathered birds to the puppy, who chewed 'em up. In the morning I found a litter of little plastic corpses. Then Joe Don the Terminator got to work on lights, garlands & other ornaments. Here is his decor, our Christmas card the following year. My husband happened to catch him admiring his handiwork.