# christmas



## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

Is anyone decorated yet? Pics maybe?








Its not the real tree I had hoped for. But I think it looks nice. It will look even better once I crochet the blankets


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2014)

I spent Thanksgiving at my father-in-law's, and we helped him decorate his house. It looks festive. But as a result, we just returned home, and don't have a scrap of Christmas decorations up, as of yet. Most likely that will be for this coming weekend.


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## trazom (Apr 13, 2009)

I did get all the boxes of decorations down from the attic and that was as far as that went. I will get around to it soon, but for now, the place looks pretty Spartan. I'll post a new picture eventually,the only other one I have is me and the dog opening presents from..6 or 7 years ago.


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

SarahNorthman said:


> Is anyone decorated yet? Pics maybe?
> View attachment 57448
> 
> 
> Its not the real tree I had hoped for. But I think it looks nice. It will look even better once I crochet the blankets


It looks sincere and jolly. Enjoy it!

E: I've


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I usually put decorations up on 1st December - I may be a bit later this year because there's a lot going on, with medical checks, house renovations, music lessons etc - but as soon as I do, I will get Taggart to race round with his digital camera. There's nothing he likes better - well, *almost* nothing!


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

In January I threw out our secondhand plastic Xmas tree because I thought we'd have moved out by now, and because it wasn't exactly a joy to behold in the first place! I only got it because there wasn't anywhere local that delivers real trees and the one I tried to grow from a tiny sapling keeled over and died  I think I will try some sort of DIY arrangement of branches in a vase this year and tell the kids that we're saving the planet  and that less money on a tree means more money on presents.

I actually like the traditional 'twelve days of Christmas' which begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5th. It seems more genuinely festive than the advertising men's Christmas which starts some time in September and finishes abruptly when the sales start on Boxing Day. Maybe I just want a short unfussy Christmas because I'm too idle to knit blankets specially and make incredibly elaborate recipes- although SarahNorthman's Christmas sounds like it will be well worth the effort :tiphat:


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> In January I threw out our secondhand plastic Xmas tree because I thought we'd have moved out by now, and because it wasn't exactly a joy to behold in the first place! I only got it because there wasn't anywhere local that delivers real trees and the one I tried to grow from a tiny sapling keeled over and died  I think I will try some sort of DIY arrangement of branches in a vase this year and tell the kids that we're saving the planet  and that less money on a tree means more money on presents.
> 
> I actually like the traditional 'twelve days of Christmas' which begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5th. It seems more genuinely festive than the advertising men's Christmas which starts some time in September and finishes abruptly when the sales start on Boxing Day. Maybe I just want a short unfussy Christmas because I'm too idle to knit blankets specially and make incredibly elaborate recipes- although SarahNorthman's Christmas sounds like it will be well worth the effort :tiphat:


I have never personally considered doing the 12 days of Christmas before. Though i t doesn't sound like a bad idea. I've been considering making an advent calendar this year though. Wish I knew how to knit.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

http://decko.ceskatelevize.cz/advent

For those who like the Central European tradition of Advent calendars. This one is a digital version and a Czech one, just hover with your mouse over the picture and you'll see & hear something happening. One the right side there is a bust of Bedřich Smetana. :angel:


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

mirepoix said:


> It looks sincere and jolly. Enjoy it!
> 
> E: I've


Thank you much!


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

Most of the decorations are up at home, but we don't get our tree until a week into December. I have finals coming up and I'm not at home, so I can't contribute much now, but I always like to help decorate the tree and I like to put up a small fake tree in my room


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

Tristan said:


> Most of the decorations are up at home, but we don't get our tree until a week into December. I have finals coming up and I'm not at home, so I can't contribute much now, but I always like to help decorate the tree and I like to put up a small fake tree in my room


Ah a real tree I presume. Im sure you will have a wonderful time of it all when you sre able to help!

All the christmas decorating is left up to me. My family is a bunch of scrooges.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Being jewish, no trees ever for me. What was nice was that I'd receive gifts for two holidays. My christian friends were envious.


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## Kibbles Croquettes (Dec 2, 2014)

The local newspaper distributed free christmas calendars in to these apartments so I put that on my wall. Now I have a reason for waking up every morning: to see what exciting picture will there be this day! So far there have been: a rabbit, some birds and some owls. I can only imagine what wonderful creatures, non-creatures and such will be discovered from the calendar during the season! 

That is pretty much the only christmas decorating I will be doing. Not to say that I'd be a "scrooge" of some sort, not at all, I quite like christmas. It is just that I haven't bought any christmas decorations so, obviously, there isn't any decorating to do. Maybe I'll be creating christmassy feeling with candles, but then again I do burn candles all the winter so that is not strictly speaking christmas related activity: it just happens to coincide with christmas. If christmas would be during summer, I would not be burning any candles during christmas. Correlation, causality and so on yadda yadda.


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## Guest (Dec 3, 2014)

Bulldog said:


> Being jewish, no trees ever for me. What was nice was that I'd receive gifts for two holidays. My christian friends were envious.


I had a Jewish friend when I was younger - I was always so jealous that he got a present for EVERY day of Hanukkah. I got to try the potato pancakes once, along with some other things . . . got invited to some kind of Hanukkah party with him one year. I have to say that Jewish Hanukkah food was not my thing. I'll take a good Christmas feast any day.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Yes, fairy lights and a fibre-optic tree. We are *so not-cool* that we are *cool*. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Ingélou said:


> Yes, fairy lights and a fibre-optic tree. We are *so not-cool* that we are *cool*.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Definitely reminds me of mr.Bean


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

Merry christmas.


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

TxllxT said:


> Definitely reminds me of mr.Bean


I love your tree! Its so cute!


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

Ingélou said:


> Yes, fairy lights and a fibre-optic tree. We are *so not-cool* that we are *cool*.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I love your tree! Its so cute!


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

Our decorations went up on the first...My friend Robert asked if I used a stepladder or a Trebuchet...sarky so and so!


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Badinerie said:


> Our decorations went up on the first...My friend Robert asked if I used a stepladder or a Trebuchet...sarky so and so!
> 
> View attachment 58143


But at least thanks to him I learned a new word! :tiphat:
I really love all the dark red in your decorations, Badinerie - very stylish, imho!


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have the big colored lights up along the edge of the roof, running 40 feet along the front of the house, and I have Jesus, Joseph and Mary in the front yard lit up. 

Oh, I just wish it weren't so commercial. What a pain in the neck going to the store for the next several weeks!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Here's our first live tree in ten years.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Our Crib










and the Camel Candle all lit up


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

"Yup, we're all done."


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

As it's just me, I rarely bother with decorations. This year however I have gone all-out and have a little 'Christmas Corner'. Here's my Christmas twig, snowy bus photo, candle and pot-pouri tub with some extra bits. The Crossbill figure is incidental but adds a nice touch. Ho ho ho


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Ingélou said:


> Yes, fairy lights and a fibre-optic tree. We are *so not-cool* that we are *cool*.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Will Santa be able to get through your...."fireplace?"


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Just been reading about pagan tree worshipping and decorating and ancient (pre-Christian) Roman gift-giving for Saturnalia (which the last day was turned into Jesus's birthday by the Christian church a couple of centuries later). It's really cool how these millennia-old traditions have been brought together from various sources into the global tradition we have today.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Will Santa be able to get through your...."fireplace?"


As we are Trekkies, Santa likes to beam down into our lounge. 

PS - For you, he'll be hitching a ride in The Tardis...


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

We bought two tiny trees for the main living room. :3


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## jurianbai (Nov 23, 2008)

nice decorations all. now where's the LIKE button when it really needed?


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

SarahNorthman said:


> We bought two tiny trees for the main living room. :3
> View attachment 58239


'Like'! - a very soft & serene ambience.


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

jurianbai said:


> nice decorations all. now where's the LIKE button when it really needed?


Word! Everyone's decorations are wonderful! And I noticed that's missing too.


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## rspader (May 14, 2014)

This is my first Christmas back in the Pacific Northwest after three in Italy and four in DC. Tradition here is to cut your own tree (legally on a tree farm for us) to keep up with that rugged NW image. When I was growing up, we never put the tree up until Christmas Eve. My wife says that the tree should be up by the 15th. So we compromise and put the tree up by the 15th. We are going out this Saturday to fell one.


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

rspader said:


> This is my first Christmas back in the Pacific Northwest after three in Italy and four in DC. Tradition here is to cut your own tree (legally on a tree farm for us) to keep up with that rugged NW image. When I was growing up, we never put the tree up until Christmas Eve. My wife says that the tree should be up by the 15th. So we compromise and put the tree up by the 15th. We are going out this Saturday to fell one.


Have fun! I sm wanting to cut one down someday!


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## Kibbles Croquettes (Dec 2, 2014)

techniquest said:


> As it's just me, I rarely bother with decorations. This year however I have gone all-out and have a little 'Christmas Corner'. Here's my Christmas twig, snowy bus photo, candle and pot-pouri tub with some extra bits. The Crossbill figure is incidental but adds a nice touch. Ho ho ho


A christmas twig! I like it. The openess and calmness of it A regular christmas tree has so much going on that it is hard know where to look. Or something like that. I'm not sure.


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## Guest (Dec 12, 2014)

rspader said:


> This is my first Christmas back in the Pacific Northwest after three in Italy and four in DC. Tradition here is to cut your own tree (legally on a tree farm for us) to keep up with that rugged NW image. When I was growing up, we never put the tree up until Christmas Eve. *My wife says that the tree should be up by the 15th. So we compromise and put the tree up by the 15th.* We are going out this Saturday to fell one.


Isn't that the truth? I want one thing, my wife wants another. So we "compromise" by letting the wife have it her way! Happy wife, happy life.


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## Kibbles Croquettes (Dec 2, 2014)

Chocolate calender might be seen as a kind of a rite of passage. When I for the first time was able to not to eat the chocolates in advance, I felt like _now_ I was an adult, that I was ready, I am now ready to take all the responsibilities of an adult.

This happened yesterday.


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## Guest (Dec 19, 2014)

My house is decorated, but I didn't really get into the Christmas spirit until last weekend, when I spent half the day with my church youth group, sorting and bagging toys for Toys for Tots. The youth had a lot of fun - picking out what toys those kids would be getting for Christmas. Great program!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

rspader said:


> This is my first Christmas back in the Pacific Northwest after three in Italy and four in DC. Tradition here is to cut your own tree (legally on a tree farm for us) to keep up with that rugged NW image. When I was growing up, we never put the tree up until Christmas Eve. My wife says that the tree should be up by the 15th. So we compromise and put the tree up by the 15th. We are going out this Saturday to fell one.


:lol:

Love your *compromise*! I can see who's boss in your household!


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## LarryShone (Aug 29, 2014)

Indeed we have, but haven't got photos of everything


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## LarryShone (Aug 29, 2014)

Here's a ceiling shot taken with the tablet in my lap


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## Pyotr (Feb 26, 2013)

Finally completed putting up the tree this morning. Here it is along with a pic of a new ornament.


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Oh dear!

In 72 hours I will be dressing up as Santa (Jõuluvana) to distribute presents and good cheer to the other family members. 

I am terrified that the young ones will see through my disguise.

("Mamma, why is uncle Kivimees making a fool of himself?")


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

Kivimees said:


> Oh dear!
> 
> In 72 hours I will be dressing up as Santa (Jõuluvana) to distribute presents and good cheer to the other family members.
> 
> ...


I think that's darling. Not enough people do that anymore. Good luck!


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## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

Pictures of my grandparents tree














I supposed I went a little nuts on these pictures.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!


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