I can’t top the zebra story (and won’t attempt to!) but we have a Halloween deer. When DH and I were just dating many moons ago he spied the plastic life-sized deer sitting on a curbside in New Orleans (put out with garbage) while walking the three blocks from his place to mine. When he arrived, I saw it had an electrical chord and plugged it in. My cats had hissing fits! So every Halloween it comes out of the attic to grace our garden with its eerie glow. Tried to use it as a Christmas reindeer but it just wasn’t the same.
I have downsized our Christmas decorations several times over the past few years. I schedule a "party " for our immediate family and offer yummy goodies in exchange for putting up the fake tree and our small amount of decorations. It usually takes about one hour to put out the things that still bring us joy.
I continue to downsize as our kids give feedback on what traditions still have special meaning.
Wow, @powercropper, is ^that^ your garden? If so, I can imagine why you would want to simplify at Christmas! I think I would have to hibernate all winter, LOL…
’
Anyone who knows me IRL knows I am NOT a gardener. Just a photo from my bucket list of getting to see fall colors in New England.
I’m just happy a friend posted a DIY video of how to use up all the extra ornaments (meaning, MIL’s old stuff) to make a big, overloaded, pleasingly gaudy wreath- and D2 said if we did it, she’d take the wreath. She might think it has sentimental value and I’d be rid of them.
I have a friend, who shall remain anonymous, who had a house built with a special closet off the family room. Big wide door, eight feet high, six feet by six feet room. She has a really pretty artificial Christmas tree, very fancy, ribbons and bows and decorations just so. It’s on wheels. She wheels it out of the closet the day after Thanksgiving and wheels it back in January 6th.
Does she live in TX? Because I know someone who does the same!
Oh my goodness, the zebra story is hilarious! We only have the Festival pole. Years ago we realized that my husbad’so mother’s birthday is on Festival (Dec. 23 as per Seinfeld episode), and she is such a cranky being that it just seemed fitting that her birthday is on Festivus. We celebrate Festivus every year, to the point where we brought the pole to a restaurant once. We never forget the grumpy girl’so birthday either.
@lookingforward I’d like to see that DIY video for the wreath!
One year when we didn’t have a tree we put some faux garland on a fireplace mantel and hung about 15 ornaments from there. It was nice and easy!
Editing this to bypass FB
http://www.hometalk.com/23351016/ornament-wreath?date=20161106
I don’t know if we’d make it that large, but it could solve my problem of boxes of ornaments from MIL, her sister, and some from my mother. I don’t even know if they’d stick well, but we may try it.
Wow–very cool way to use ornaments and keep them together. Storing the wreath would be a chore in our home.
We lost the wreath in the basement floor last spring so I decided I would like two little pre-lit trees on either side of my front steps. Turns out that’s a thing; if you drive around my neighborhood every fourth house has two little pre-lit trees. Who knew? Anyway, we found a couple at Big Lots but they are in these Grecian urn things that are just ugly. So my husband made a couple wooden box things to slip over the urns. I’m painting them red and then I got these cut-outs of birds and Christmas trees and reindeer etc which I painted gold and am going to glue on the boxes. So I hope nobody is counting on Christmas cookies or presents or parties or anything because I am way too busy with my little porch trees.
Our hearts aren’t in it this year either. We’ll do the tree and lights on the eaves, and that’s about it.
One upside is that I’m not stressing about my gift list; in fact, I haven’t given it a single thought. Guess I should get on that.
I just really need Christmas this year, more than ever…
So, my plans to scale way back this year disappeared. On Christmas Eve S3 is bringing home GF with 2 young children that may well be our family in the coming year. Inspired me to make the house merry and bake goodies. Also shopping for children again, although I was restrained. They aren’t ours yet 
@Singersmom07 , I envy you have little ones in the house on Christmas. Hope you have lots of fun with them.
Taking everything down this weekend!!
Most of mine will be down today. Party tomorrow and I want to be ready for New Years–and a new year.
I always take the tree down Jan. 1, but tomorrow will start on everything else around the house. Just so ready for normal life. The mantle always looks so dark though.