<p>For the past 5-10 years I had put fewer and fewer decorations out, since “what goes up must come down”. Last Christmas I purged our collection of items I no longer liked or hadn’t used in years. But this year…I’m retired! I have all the time in the world to decorate, and to put things away. I thoroughly enjoyed decorating with my collections of Santas, nutcrackers, and Byers’ Carolers. The dining room table is looking beautiful with the gold and white decorations I had come up with over 10 years ago but haven’t used in awhile because it was too much trouble. I reworked the stairs garland so it looks fresh again. We will get the tree on Friday when DD gets home from college. </p>
<p>Outside is a different story. So far we haven’t put up a thing, and no one seems to mind. It’s feels liberating.</p>
<p>I do think there is a trend to do less as we get older.</p>
<p>I don’t think it will look odd,sewhappy. I live in a big suburban neighborhood built in the early 90’s. A lot of the houses have the large window over the front door. I haven’t noticed anyone decorating them. Your spotlighted wreath will draw everyone’s eye. They won’t even notice the window above the door.</p>
<p>Another thing we did to make things easier this year was to put a time on the spotlight outside. So I don’t have to go out in the freezing cold just before bedtime to turn it off. Don’t know why we never got around to buying a timer before but I’m lovin’ it now.<br>
We are planning to put our house on the market shortly after Christmas and had to move lots of furniture out for renovations. We gave some away and took other pieces to the house we will move to when this one sells. So I really don’t have places to put out a lot of Christmas decor this year. Sure does make it simpler. I think daughters care more about the decor. than sons. I don’t think either of my grown sons would care if there was a tree or not.</p>
<p>The parent cafe made me do it!! (buy a fake tree, that is) We will be travelling over the holiday, but I really wanted a tree so I did what I thought I never would do - but only after being prompted by a thread on the parent cafe. I actually quite like it! I did go out to a tree lot and buy an armful of greens so I could have that Christmas smell, so that helps a lot. </p>
<p>We moved last spring so I purged a lot of the old Christmas stuff. The rest is in our storage room. When I went there to pick up decorations last week, I realized that the only thing accessible was the wreath box, so I grabbed that and headed home. Not an ornament in sight, so I started putting little dolls and stuffed animals from my weird collection on the tree. Tossed a few random ribbons on there. Then I remembered the crystal chandelier I had dismantled, and decided a bunch of hanging crystals would complete the look. Easiest Christmas decorating ever! </p>
<p>I just hope the kids don’t freak out when they realize there are no stockings…</p>
<p>another scaled back holiday here. After several years of going by myself to get the tree I bought a fake one on black Friday a few years ago. Real is nicer but here in CA I’m appalled by the cost and it is just too much work by myself. DH and DS could care less. DD still likes the tree I think but is in college and not home to help with it. After a week of begging DH to get the fake one out of storage it is now in our Family Room but still in the box. Planning to get it up and lit today then decorated this week. I still enjoy the family ornaments. Pics of the kids when they were younger, etc. I keep telling myself that one day I’ll have grandchildren and get to enjoy these holidays again. At
this stage they seem like a lot of work with little reward.</p>
<p>sewhappy, I don’t think so at all. It sounds like this window is different than all the others – not on a line with the rest, and perhaps a different size and shape. Your idea sounds lovely to me.</p>
<p>I would limit it to candles in the windows, spotlights on the door and a nice wreath. My wife likes all the crappy deer, blow up junk and other garbage all over the yard.</p>
<p>She says it is because I am lazy. I am lazy but that is not the reason I don’t want all kinds of junk all over.</p>
<p>You can now buy candles for the windows - that are “on” or “flicker” and go off and on with daylight all by themselves. No cords, just batteries - very cool and easy … also they don’t get hot.</p>
<p>performersmom: You can buy holders with a suction cup which attaches to the window or good old fashion clear packaging tape works too. The ones that are battery run and go off when it gets light outside are not as bright as the plug in ones but they do work. </p>
<p>I agree about less is more. Have been doing the lights in the windows for years because that is what my mom did when we were kids. Wreath on the door, stockings on the banister, nativity set my mom gave me and a few incidentals. Broke down and bought a very nice pre-lit tree about 4 years ago. With the high cost of real trees, the fake one paid for itself fairly quickly. Although I still wind up doing the bulk of the put up and take down, at least I can do the tree almost by myself. Just need some help due to it’s weight.<br>
The biggest concession to “big” stuff is a huge blow up Santa but we only stick him outside for Christmas Eve. Then deflate and haul him back in until next year. The kids do it so I don’t mind.</p>
<p>Great advice here. I’m really grateful. Going with the battery powered candle lights in the windows and the spotlighted wreath. The suggestion to put the spotlight on a timer is brilliant. I will also hang lights from the little gazebo out back. The hooks are already there and theres an outlet. Maybe a few red ribbons and a garland . . . No! Enough. I’m not going to go crazy and then have to trudge out into the snow to dismantle it all. Not, not, not!</p>
<p>^^Exactly. Keep in mind how the weather will likely be in a few weeks when you have to go out and take it all down!!!</p>
<p>I have all my outside lights on a timer. I’ve had the same timers for years. You can set it to go on at dusk and then choose how many hours after dusk you want it to stay on or you can choose for the lights to go on at dusk and off a dawn. </p>
<p>I prefer the candles that plug in - they do stay on all day and are a hassle to work out all the plugging in, but I feel they are much brighter and replacing batteries would drive me nuts! I have 9 windows in front that have lights so that would be alot of batteries!</p>
<p>I’m a little sad…we don’t have any outside lights on our house this year because we were away on vacation through the end of the good weather, and then we got a large snowstorm and it has just been unpleasantly cold. Ah, well. </p>
<p>My Jewish neighbors have a really lovely blue and white light theme going on their Victorian, and down the block is a family with a swing set in their yard that has it all outlined with lights – very cute.</p>
<p>The good news is that inside we’re getting up to snuff, and the evergreen passes the scent test.</p>
<p>(I still remember – with a shudder – they year my mom went bonkers and brought home a pink flocked tree. That was not good.)</p>
<p>Has anyone noticed all the different colors of “white” for the Christmas/holiday lights? Some of this year’s white lights look like those xenon/halogen headlights that come at you in the night. I tend to like a warmer white.</p>
<p>H conned #2D and her BF into bringing the trees down last night. Today while I was shopping H & D brought down the decorations and started the process. We did one tree and the other will be done when #1D gets home on Tuesday evening (we put the girls’ ornaments on one tree). </p>
<p>Stockings are sacrosanct…H & I knew we were destined for each other as we had the same Christmas stockings from the same local dept store from 1959/61. Filling those stockings is a tradition in itself.</p>
<p>Seeing my mom and my ILs cut way back on decorating makes me want to keep up the traditions as long as possible. </p>
<p>It’s funny, though. For the last couple of years, #2D was decidedly in a non-decorating mood & wouldn’t do much of anything. This year, maybe resulting from being away at school, she was all set to decorate the outside with lights as well as do more than her share inside.</p>
<p>hey, hey, hey. I resent that! LOL. For some reason even I can’t explain I have wanted a pink xmas tree for years. Last year H gave me one. I anticipated it would be used as our second tree, maybe outside on the front porch. H decided he would rather save money though and it will be our only tree this year. 11yo D is thrilled, 18yo S is mildly OK with it, and H is thinking of the money he saved not buying a real tree this year. I am going with a whimsical theme and most of my traditional ornaments will not be used. D and I spent a few hours over the weekend looking for a tree topper. Going with a multicolored lighted star. It was not my first choice, a really tacky multicolored hammered tin start was my first choice, but D vetoed it. It was whimisical though! I bought fabric to use as the tree skirt. Now we just have to pull it out of storage and get it set up.</p>
<p>two years ago I hauled all the Christmas Decoration out of the attic and my daughters took turns picking out ornaments/lights/dishes/nativities/etc to keep. I bought them a rubbermaid ornament box and we tucked them away for safe keeping. When my oldest moved out to her first home, she had a 'starter" supply of decoration things. Now I do a fresh garland on the mantel, wreath on the door, small tabletop tree all with white lights, a few ponsettias, couple of great Christmas scent candles and viola! All done , looks great, packs in one box and super easy. Couldnt be happier.</p>
<p>This past Spring, birds built two nests in my front door wreath, which I hadn’t yet removed from last Christmas.</p>
<p>It was one of the funnest experiences of this past year. We could watch the nest being built through the window on the door, the eggs being laid, hatching, babies feeding, and being launched from the nest. </p>
<p>THEN, the birds laid another round of eggs, that disappeared. We discovered starlings were eating the eggs, and the birds kept laying more. They finally built a second nest behind a ribbon that the starlings couldn’t see, and had another round of babies.</p>
<p>Halfway through the process we added a videocam, so we could better see and photograph the process.</p>
<p>Am waiting to put up my Christmas wreath this year and I’m looking for an extra large one!</p>