<p>For me, decorating is all about the lights. In the front of the house I do candles in the window, two of the 3-4 ft tall skinnyish trees in pots on the porch, and a spotlight that shines on our red front door and wreath. Back of the house (we are on a corner) is more “fun” - colored lights wrapped around the deck, a lighted wreath, a grapevine tree w/lights by the back door and some red bows.</p>
<p>Inside lights on the tree (must be colored say the kids!) lights on the mantle, lights on the stairway, over a mirror, on some garland on the top of the piano and some other “lighted” decorations that you just plug in. I don’t get out the other Christmas “knickknacks” anymore - just like the lights!!! </p>
<p>The one thing that seems unbearable to do (for me) is when I see the Christmas “villages” people have - millions of little buildings, people, decorations, fake snow, etc. - I could NEVER have the patience to do this and it’s not my style. </p>
<p>Not just at Christmas, but in general, I am finding less is more. :)</p>
<p>^ I love the Christmas villages, but have never done one. Nowhere to put one except under the tree and my dog would make a disaster out of that! </p>
<p>A few years ago I attended a holiday party at a house that had an amazing village set up. Better still, the family had a tradition of creating a story line of what was going on in the village ( a real soap opera) and writing it down every year. Hilarious.</p>
<p>Haha, “less is more”. I wish my basement had a whole lot less. </p>
<p>I still do candles in the windows, lights and garland on the mantle and stairs, colored lights (kids also wanted when they were young) on the real tree we cut ourselves and a few other small trees around. I also have a Santa collection. I still put a few out. I also have a nativity. But I no longer put it in the manger. Just the figurines on a bookcase.</p>
<p>I use to put all of my santas out, hang wreaths on each window, hang garland above the main archways, display a collection of glass trees and a collection of angels and various other stuff.</p>
<p>Maybe less will still keep getting more…year by year. </p>
<p>Btw, I don’t think the house looks as good outside with the small lit trees in pots on each side of the door. I think the lit garland around the door looked better. So what will I end up doing next year??</p>
<p>Last Saturday I was talking to my mom on the phone - she lives alone now. Though we were raised Catholic (my dad) she was raised Jewish and actually went back to the temple after he died (no regrets, but it made her feel happy to get back to her roots). Anyway, I could tell by talking to her that holiday decorating was truly a dreaded task and more of an expectation rather than something she wants to look at or do. She puts some stuff up each year, but honestly I don’t think it means much to her. </p>
<p>I told her last week, “Mom, there are no expectations, except to do what you want.” You did your “time” with all the traditions when we were little - if getting ready for the holidays and YOU being happy means hanging a wreath on the door and listening to holiday music on the radio then that is ALL you should do - do it for YOU , not for others - we’re not judging you!!!" I tell ya, I think I gave her the greatest gift in those words - I gave her “permission” to make the holiday be as little or as much as SHE wants. </p>
<p>There comes a time when you can go all out or just hang a wreath on the door and be done - embrace whatever makes you smile and enjoy your December!!!</p>
<p>Garland on the front door archway, a fresh pine wreath on the door and poinsettias at the front porch and down the walk, white icicle lights along the roofline and a tall noble fir in the family room decorated with German glass ornaments collected over 40 years of marriage, stockings on the armoire, a small artificial tree with twinkling colored lights in the living room and a collection of candles and greens on the buffet, poinsettias on the hearths of both fireplaces and anywhere else I can sneak them in- this is the basic Christmas decor at our house. This year I’ll probably leave off the stockings because they remind me, sadly, that I have no “kids” spending the Christmas Eve at home, but generally, this is our normal.</p>
<p>sewhappy–how small. Walgreens has strands of 25 lights, about 2 feet long that twinkle. They have larger strands with a box where you can select several different motions for the lights too. Most light sets come with a couple extra bulbs and often one of them is for the twinkling effect.</p>
<p>I usually decorate but my “ornaments” collected over many years are in NYC and will arrive at my location whenever so this year is out with all holiday things. I am going to my sister’s place in California anyway for the Christmas holidays. But my neighborhood is a dazzle with lights and Santas and wreaths. It’s lovely being home.</p>
<p>Since most of my neighbors already have their Xmas displays up, I did my minimal Hannukah stuff last night. In the huge front window sits a Menorah, and each day I’ll turn on one more light. Three strands of blue and silver garlands frame the windows. </p>
<p>Lots of my neighbors have flags outside their house. I change mine monthly, to fit the season. Others put up their favorite college sports teams. Is this common in other parts of the country?</p>
<p>I’m very proud of the satin globe multicolor lights around the gazebo in our backyard. Looks very “Sugar Plum Fair”. And I did it all by myself!</p>
<p>The new Costco candle lights are in all the front windows. You plug them in at the exact time you want them to turn on every day and they will do so and remain on for six hours. Will report back on how they work.</p>
<p>Nice tree this year. One of those slim ones. I like it.</p>
<p>Sew happy, yes let us know how those candles work for you - how strong is the glow from outside???</p>
<p>Bookworm, I’m in Ohio and I still have my flags - a Christmas one out now- they are harder to find it seems - lately I have ordered a couple of amazon to replace those that wear out /fray due to wind. I’m still attached to my flags!!!</p>
<p>Sewhappy-
we love our set-once-automatic-on-off candles in the windows.
We got them YEARS ago, some catalog (Solutions?) kinda before online shopping.
Ours work pretty well. Plug in at 5pm, they go off at 11pm.</p>
<p>The only glitch we have with ours, if there is a power fluctuation or outage, SOME reset for various on/off times and we have to convince our DD to run around the house resetting them at 5pm.<br>
Hope your Costco ones work out!</p>
<p>I used to do so much more. Three trees, Dicken’s Village, candles and wreaths in every window, outdoor lights. It was nice while the girls were here but now we don’t do any of that. I have one tree and do some room decorations. The village is so much work that I stopped setting it up. I still use my Christmas rugs, candles, and framed Christmas prints and decorate the mantle but that is about it. Oh, I do have Ikea lanterns with candles and red bows out front. Still looks festive but not what it used to be!</p>
<p>Count me as another one who does less. The outside decorations remain the same: white lights on the huge holly bush/tree; candles in the windows; giant wreath over the garage. Inside is getting sparser each year. I probably only put out 25% of my Christmas stuff. 2 things will never change. At least 20 years ago, my mother gave us a fabric advent calendar, with pockets containing a little “ornament” to velcro on to the tree. It has become somewhat of a family treasure. It has traveled to college dorm rooms. It spent a semester abroad. It has been in ratty first apartments. This year, its back with us empty-nesters. It wouldn’t be Christmas without it. </p>
<p>As for the Christmas villages - once again, my mother got us started on that when the kids were very young. When we did our family room addition 15 years ago, the builder put a 16 foot mantel over the fireplace/bookshelves. I had him put in several outlets in the mantel. Every Thanksgiving, my now-adult son hauls out the boxes and painstakingly puts everything into place. He LOVES this village and always has some sort of concocted story about his particular layout that year. There were some years we’d keep the village up until his birthday in March. Right now, its a rainy, cold, dreary day and the lights are twinkling. Very peaceful.</p>
<p>As for a tree-gotta say-those table top trees at Target look mighty tempting.</p>
<p>We went to a concert with some friends and I fell asleep this afternoon. I am just wrecked by the decorating this year. Ready for my long winter’s nap.</p>
<p>Well, we got a tree…it’s not decorated or anything, but it smells nice. Hopefully tomorrow after work I will have enough energy to get the lights out and get things going.</p>
<p>But picking out the tree was fun–D and her fiance joined us and picked out theirs at the same time–D insists on getting hers at the same random city tree lot we’ve gone to since she was little. Her F is still bemused by the whole process–he grew up in a “get the tree out of the attic” family, and is totally outvoted on the necessity of a live tree. Compromise is he gets white lights instead of the colored lights D grew up with.</p>
<p>Both seem cool with this, and it is exciting as it’s their first Christmas in their new home.</p>
<p>I am going all out this year. Well, by my standards it is. Our two college kids will be home for the holidays and we will be hosting two parties. </p>
<p>I did go through all of the boxes of decorations and donated quite a bit. I also started boxing up the kids’ personal ornaments to give them when they move into their first homes.</p>
<p>I’m doing a little more this year than recently. (Sick of the fake tree so out it went to Goodwill with some other tired stuff.) Put up wreaths and outdoor greens yesterday, we’ll get a fresh tree next weekend. </p>
<p>Most tiring part for me of the Christmas prep is cleaning the house, which is how I spent the last two days LOL</p>