<p>So I use to decorate the home quite a bit for the holidays. We used to have a holiday party ( haven’t for a few years), the kids were young (now all young adults) and had my mom stay (she died over a year ago). No other relatives were close to where I live.</p>
<p>I personally love a decorated home, but it is a lot of work. I put up all of the decorations. I find that my H does not seem interested now. He doesn’t participate in decorating or even turn on/off lights once they’re up. My S, a college grad who lives home, always helped me with the tree lights, did not seem to want to help this year.</p>
<p>So I am wondering, why bother? I like it, but it is a lot of work.</p>
<p>I have cut back drastically and have moved to less difficult decorations. But I am just wondering. I love the decorations but dislike the work.</p>
<p>I’m not really asking what to do but more what YOU do and why.</p>
<p>I used to put up all sorts of decorations and a huge tree, but I have cut way back. You’re right: it is a lot of work. I am thinking about doing more this year because it might be the last year my D is home for Christmas for a few years. </p>
<p>Just as long as you have some sort of tree and a few decorations inside, a wreath or something else on the door–that’s enough. I have a small tree with lots of little ornaments that is really pretty, and that’s what I use in difficult years if I’ve been sick or we have to travel in Dec. </p>
<p>What I do year after year is not start soon enough! We go away to my sister’s every year for Thanksgiving and that is what throws me off. I need to start on things more in November before Thanksgiving. I say that every year, but I don’t seem to remember it!</p>
<p>Don’t make it too hard or you won’t enjoy the season.</p>
<p>We still do a lot of decorating but the kids are still at home. I can see scaling back some when they have moved out and live in their own homes. As long as I can I will do SOME decorating, especially lights outside. I can always hire someone to do those for me too–heck you can hire someone to decorate the inside too :D.</p>
<p>FallGirl- a little funny about the red lights–several years ago a house in our neighborhood decorated their trees and the outside of the house in all red lights. I’m sure they thought it would be festive however, it had a laser effect and was blinding to walk or drive by. The city made them turn them off because it was downright dangerous, oops.</p>
<p>I’m on my own with it this year. DH is traveling a great deal and exhausted when he’s home and both kids are out of the house. I am pacing it, picking and choosing what to put up and what not. Still very tired from it. That’s why there are Christmas cookies and egg nog for energy. :)</p>
<p>Also helps me to play the dorky radio station with all the oldie Christmas music.</p>
<p>I tone it down on years that I am not hosting Christmas. If I am hosting I do something in every room. I have a small house, though so it isn’t too overwhelming. The talk that kills me is hanging the garland on the front porch railings. Inevitably, there is a stand of lights not working and somehow it is ALWAYS the strand in the middle of the set of three. I dread it and haven’t gotten to it yet this year.</p>
<p>Today is decorating day, and we don’t do much - though even that will take the whole day! Nativity set on the mantel, decorated tree seen through the front living room window, white candles in the other windows, wreath on the door. A few family heirloom-type pieces, my favorite of which are 80 year-old porcelain cherubs bought by grandmother in the early 1930s. </p>
<p>We used to have a pair of lighted reindeer for the front lawn, but the neighborhood kids kept placing them in compromising positions.</p>
<p>I have scaled back this year to about 2/3 of what I usually do. I have a traditional style home and have put wreaths up that are suspended from red ribbon on all the front windows for over 15 years. I skipped those this year in favor of front door only wreath and also skipped all the garland I usually use inside as well on stair railings, mantle, etc. I want to use the time that I would normally devote to putting those things up/taking them down in reading and relaxing. However, it has been a bit hard when I drive past homes that decorate similarly. I’ve decided that Christmas decorating is a little bit of an addiction and I have to remind myself of the downside when I’m tempted. Maybe others do a better job of the taking down, but I find that no matter how well I think I vacuumed up the silk greenery bits that shed, I always find some pieces on a sunny day in the spring. I also find it annoying how the wreaths bang against the windows during heavy rain & winds. There, talked myself down from dragging the wreaths out for another day!</p>
<p>When the kids were small, I used to put up a tree and decorate the mantle and stair railing. We never did outside lights. Then when they were teens for a few years, we took trips at Christmas instead of a traditional holiday celebration. Finally, it came to the point that no one wanted to help me, so I don’t put up any display at all. We have a nice meal and I do make Christmas cookies, but that’s about it. We don’t even exchange presents any more. We usually give the kids money and we told them we’d rather have their presence than gifts we don’t need. S1 usually finds some interesting gift that he thinks I’ll like, but it’s rarely at Christmas. I don’t really miss it too much. If we ever have any kind of party around the holidays, I would drag out the decorations.</p>
<p>We are already getting comments about missing decorations outside of our house. We lost a huge pine tree in a storm that we always put the big C9 lights on, the neighbors are all in mourning (as am I). It’s just not the same. Be careful of eliminating your outside stuff :D</p>
<p>I always put garland with lights around the outside door. I would test the lights, then go out in the cold and climb the step ladder, turn them on and…like EPTR, one of the light strands wouldn’t work!</p>
<p>This year I bought trees with lights and placed them on either side of the door. Just place them out there and plug them in. Unplug, lift and bring inside when Christmas is done. I also hang a wreath.</p>
<p>Steve–I love C9’s! We put them up around the door and porch; at least, we have…nothing up yet inside or out. Would like to get the tree this weekend, but it was cold and rainy last night, not much better today, and H is out at all-day conference.</p>
<p>I’ve definitely cut back on most Christmas habits–cards, cookies, presents. I need my tree, though!</p>
<p>I know people who pay people to do their decorating. (ps hate my town) I love decorating the tree - have collected ornaments for years, that’s my “thing” - so it’s just like Christmas unwrapping all the really good ones from the boxes and putting them up. I can’t imagine doing less of that once the kids are gone. But, the outdoor stuff has stopped besides a wreath. We have those wooden deer that you assemble (like a puzzle to make plywood into 3d - know what I mean?) and between the frost, snow, freezing rain, sleet, winds…those things would take a beating putting them into the ground and then you couldn’t get them apart until the ground unfroze (they are staked into the ground so they don’t fall) - I’m done with that!! My neighbors have an amazing light show and you just can’t compete with that anyway.</p>
<p>We still do a lot of decorating, even though our ‘kids’ don’t live here anymore. They’ll all be here over the holidays, along with significant others, and my parents and two siblings, and everyone expects it! Seriously, though, I love doing it. My H, two Ds and our granddaughter helped with the main tree. The next day, I did the second tree I love myself. I also did all the other inside decorating myself, mantle greens, stocking holders, candles, Hallmark snowmen, poinsettias, etc. Our outside lights are put up by a company that offers that service, and which admittedly we pay a lot for, but our house is too big and we are too old to be up on 30’ ladders hanging lights. I fill my outside urns with greens and put wreaths on our doors. Love Christmas and love the decorating. As my parents age, I think I get even more into it because we just never know if it will be the last when we’re all together.</p>
<p>Not alot of decorating here. Garland on the mantel with the stockings. A few favorite nutcrackers arranged. A great primitive nativity scene made by a friend. Poinsettias at the stair turn. And the tree. We don’t have many windows facing the street so a wreath on the door is all we do. It feels holiday enough. I’ve collected ornaments since I was a little girl so the tree is more meaningful to me than anyone else in the family and I remember each one as I hang it on the tree.</p>
<p>H & D do the decorating, so it will wait until she’s home on break. Truly, I have nothing to do with it other than run to CVS or Home Depot for more lights.</p>
<p>We have cut back also. DS is out of house for the first time at Christmas (other than school).
BUt we have a 23 yo DD with special needs…so she still thinks she NEEDS all the Christmas stuff.
Our compromise is that DH drags white candles for windows up from basement and DD run around setting them in windows, finding extension cords, plugging them in.
DH drags fake Christmas tree down from attic and DD decorates.
DH throws ONE pitiful strand of twinkle lights around the front portico.</p>
<p>We still have two huge bins of Christmas pieces that usually go all around the house…I am going to see if we can sneak by without!</p>
<p>My BIL rents a cherry-picker to put up his decorations, which are amazing hand-made light installations he designs himself and builds during the year. It’s a pretty spectacular display. (His 9/11 tribute back in 2001 made it into Newsweek.)</p>
<p>Does anyone know where to get the small strings of twinkling lights suitable for indoor trees ? Nothing too heavy, just a little bit of twinkling light would be so nice.</p>
Seriously, though, I love doing it. My H, two Ds and our granddaughter helped with the main tree. The next day, I did the second tree I love myself. I also did all the other inside decorating myself, mantle greens, stocking holders, candles, Hallmark snowmen, poinsettias, etc. Our outside lights are put up by a company that offers that service, and which admittedly we pay a lot for, but our house is too big and we are too old to be up on 30’ ladders hanging lights. I fill my outside urns with greens and put wreaths on our doors. Love Christmas and love the decorating. As my parents age, I think I get even more into it because we just never know if it will be the last when we’re all together.</p>