Record time this year…30 minutes with 11 strands. One was dead and another half dead, but I used that one anyway. Each and every year I put too many on the bottom and spend 10 minutes spreading it out. I think I’ll go buy some replacements.
I don’t have the money this year for a prelit tree. Also, my 20 year old artificial is still in great condition, very full and pretty enough.
And on another note, do you wrap your ribbon around the tree or hang vertically.
No ribbon. Lighted star on the top, colored lights and ornaments. That’s it!
30 minutes sounds about right. I always seem to put a lot of lights at the top and get more skimpy at the bottom. We have a real tree, not artificial, and the lower branches sometimes can’t hold too many lights. I also am not fanatic about the lights - once you put the ornaments on, it all looks fine.
We have a pre-lit artificial tree. It always takes us a long time to put it together and “fluff” up all the smashed branches, though. I have to really push DH to bring it downstairs, as he really dislikes this particular chore.
We don’t have ribbon. Many years ago, I had individual custom bows made. I put them on the tree strategically. It gives the tree some unity, as our ornaments are all different and come from DH’s childhood tree, and the ornaments each one us would chose on dinner/ornament night. We would go out for Mexican food, then to a store to pick out four ornaments that appealed to us. I guess sort of like families go out to pick out their real tree, we just did ornaments (D1 and MIL are very allergic to real trees).
After putting up the tree, it takes about three stiff eggnogs to get the lights on.
I did pop-garlands last year. That was a lot of work to make but putting it up was easy. I wrap it around.
What’s this with vertical or horizontal ribbons? I’ve never heard of it.
Horizontal:
Vertical:
Ribbons on the tree add a unifying element, like garland. You can have streamers coming down from the top point or ribbon wound horizontally through the branches. I do the horizontal approach with metallic burgundy and gold ribbon. It adds some shine and covers up the center trunk of my artificial tree.
Re putting the lights on the tree: There is a way to put the lights on the tree so you don’t need to take them off. You just take the tree apart and leave the lights on there. You can wind your lights around the branches with strands ending at the center trunk. Plug several strands together and get all the ends going down the trunk to the floor to plug into a power strip. I have had my lights done that way for years since a woman at a store showed me how to do it. an advantage of this over a prelit tree is that you can replace one strand of lights if it fails.
Half hour ish. It’s the ornaments that take forever.
We have a real tree but it’s never too big. Usually around 6ft.
No ribbons for us but I do like tinsel. Not sure if we’ll be able to use it this year because of the puppy.
But the real question: colored lights or white lights?
I like the look of white but always use colored lights on my own tree. It’s much prettier to me.
Our trees aren’t that large, so it doesn’t take too much to put lights on, and though I’ve seen the ribbons, have never had an interest in using them.H and I do something with the tree that is a bit unusual. We met when I was 40 and he was in his late 30’s, I had two kids already. He had been collecting boxes of pretty, matching ornaments for years, while mine were from my childhood, my KIDS childhoods, even a few from my parents’ first tree, and not a few handmade pieces. I like the twinkling lights, H likes the crazy frantic flashing ones. I like long-needle tress, he prefers small ones. SO, we decided that on years my kids were at their dad’s, H got “his” tree with his ornaments and choice of lights. The years the kids were with me, we did things my way. Even now that the older kids are long grown and out of the house, we switch it off. This year it’s “my year”. H already gave me a box of matchy-matchy ornaments for my tree-I think he hopes to convert me still! But at least they’re cupcakes after my hobby, so I guess I’ll use them (smile).
My preferred kind of tree is the white pine that growers called “weeds” back east, but which I couldn’t find out here anywhere. But 2 years ago I did find a farm out about an hour from Seattle which grows them. I cried I was so happy, and H got down on the frozen ground to cut it down. S is coming with us this year so HE can cut it. Then we’ll come home and put on the macaroni wreath, the tissue glued on cardboard candy cane, and the 70-year-old glass heart along with everything else. And it will be perfect.
I love Noble Firs!
We didn’t have much money so we had to go out and get our tree, which was fine because it meant a family outing to the mountains. The trees you could cut were often in cleared areas, such as under the transmission lines, so they grew fast and had spindly branches which limited your selection of ornaments.
Fraser fur (real), colored lights. White lights around the house.
2 trees, both artificial. Family room tree is colored lights. That tree was pre-lit, but has had to be supplemented over the years with additional strands. Living room tree is white lights and the wrapped lights stay on permanently. I would really like to downsize, but my biggest hesitation is how I would downsize the Christmas trees! I have LOTS of ornaments and the process of unwrapping, hanging, packing them up requires a serious time commitment over the season, which is why I start early 
I’m trying to decide whether to get a Christmas tree this year.
My daughter will be traveling to meet her boyfriend’s family this year so won’t be home on Christmas. I live alone, so no one is pressuring me to get one.
I’ll be having people over during the week after Christmas, but not on Chistmas Eve or Christmas Day, when I will be at other relatives’ houses.
It just doesn’t seem worth the hassle, but my daughter is trying to talk me into getting one anyway because she thinks it will be too depressing for me without one.
How about a small table top tree, maybe in the 4’ range that you can easily handle by yourself? That way you have something decorative for guests and to put presents under but not so much of a hassle to put up and take down. Put it on a small table with a pretty Christmas tree skirt or tablecloth, maybe in a window and it would look very festive!
I agree, just do a small one. If you don’t want to hassle with that, just put out some decorations to warm the pkace up, go buy a big poinsetta and call it a day. that is what I would do.
I did my tree a little different. I normally do half colored and half white lights. My ornaments are a mish of everything under the sun. I’m tired if it after 20 years. It’s very colorful, full and warm.
This year I did 8 white strands and just 3 colored. I did 3 color of ribbon, in a shimmer red, gold and cream. Cut them in 4 ft strands, gathered in the middle. I made 10 sets and hung them vertically thtoughout the tree, letting the strands hang and drape naturally. I only put up the shiny gold, red and silver ball. Tons of other shinier ornaments. Hardly any kid stuff this year. My first grown up tree in 22 years. It was fun for a change. Next year I might get a small tree and put all the kids homemade stuff, ornaments given to them ,etc. on it.
I’m surprised at how many people have trees up already! It’s not even December.
Do you think people have been accelerating tree buying? We used to always go the second Saturday of December and often felt that was early or right on time
