Christmas lights--do you decorate your house?

AppleCori

Well-Known Member
Not sure if we are going to do this or not this year. Yesterday was the day to put them up on the outside of the house, weather wise, but we were gone much of the day and missed that window of opportunity. It's raining today and for the foreseeable future. Then it's not going to be getting out of the 30's.

We will be gone for Christmas, so not sure if I want to even bother. Except, my daughter loves them.

How about you?
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
We don't put up lights...instead, we put inflatables on the roof because we have a very small yard. We have penguins, reindeer, a fox, and I can't remember what all goes up there. Inside, we have a 4 foot tree with unbreakable ornaments (we have cats). Thanksgiving weekend, after we go shopping/people watching, is decoration time.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
I think if we still had a little one we definitely would. This year, since it's just Jabber and I and we'll be traveling for Christmas, I think we won't decorate at all.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
We have an apartment now and no young kids so probably just our five foot tree. Christmas is usually in Chicago at my daughter's house.
On the other hand, we still do put up stockings and on the actual Christmas day Jumper and Sonic who live near us will be over at least in the morning. Oh, and doggies and cat get a stocking! We usually have Chicago Christmas the weekend before Christmas and we all go down there...and t hen Christmas is not a big deal here.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
Some people at our apartment complex put lights out on their balconies but we don't. I do have a big fake Christmas tree we put up with colored lights for us to enjoy, however.
 

nlj

Well-Known Member
A real tree harvested from the local forest, gets potted in the house and decorated 23rd Dec and comes down New Year's Day. Nothing else apart from the 11 year old's stocking in the fireplace. The shops here are full of Christmas tat. You can even buy festive musical plastic toilet seats. Awful. What's the worst bit of Christmas tat you've seen over there?
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
When we are used to cold and pine scent (from real, growing trees) and then, begin spending the holidays where there is heat and nothing smells anything like pine, it is very hard to feel the Season. Even Thanksgiving does not feel like itself without the cold, and without family. I think it is more missing family than it is missing cold, but that is part of it. I decorated with lights and artificial garland and baking and all the things we do when we first began spending the holidays further South, but now I do only the wreath (hang it up, put on a few extras, plug it in) and the tree.

Which is a most excellent invention of a tree and one day, maybe, I will market it.

I remember going for drives to see the lights. Now when we do that, there seem not to be any lights. Those that do decorate seem to have hired someone to do it. The lights are that perfect.

So, something human is missing.

But I do like my tree very much, and will hang the wreath, too.

No reindeer this year. I had to replace lights last year for the reindeer in the yard? And I wound so many light through the wire and they are those ultra bright ones and they are so blaring bright they turn their area almost bright as day!

But I spent so much time winding all those new lights in. Roar. Last year, I put them out, anyway.

But no reindeer in the yard this year, I think.

Just the wreath and the tree.

And music.

So, this has me thinking about favorite holiday things. I have two.

When the grands were little, D H found a Christmas train to go around under the Christmas tree. It has Santa and the elves and skaters with magnets beneath their skates going round and round as the train circles the tree. The child could push a button on the controls and Santa would roar out Merry Christmas.

The other thing is Christmas music in general. I cannot think of which is my favorite. All of it seems to go together with the lights and the things that make it special from the rest of the year.

I am making baklava this year from the recipe Lil found me on allrecipes.com and sending it along with the story of the War of the Grandma's Baklava and the Ugly Christmas Sweater contest that never was because Baklava Grand and the Greek boyfriend broke up over Christmas.

Now, I am getting excited for the holidays.

What an excellent thread.

:O)

Cedar

:forchristmas:
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
I do not decorate the outside of the house. This year if my kids are going to come over, then I will decorate inside. The grands are the only reason I will go to any trouble at all.
 

PatriotsGirl

Well-Known Member
Oh we have a lot of outside decorations! LOVE them!!

We are not putting up our normal Christmas tree inside, though. All of our ornaments are the breakable Hallmark ones passed down from husband's mother. We have a new kitten and Connor is still into everything as a two year old normally is...lol. DANGER. I have a small tree that goes on the fireplace mantle complete with lights and small ornaments - I will be doing that again with lighted garland. Then we have lots of smaller decorations placed here and there around the house.

Christmas is my favorite!! I am too excited to start watching the Christmas classics with Connor after Thanksgiving. He is at the age where he will sit and watch cartoons now. :)
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
The shops here are full of Christmas tat. You can even buy festive musical plastic toilet seats. Awful. What's the worst bit of Christmas tat you've seen over there?
LOLOLOL! This is hilarious. If I saw one and it were cheap, I'd buy it for husband and maybe Bart. Both of them have sort of that kind of goofy sense of humor. Would be even better if it played "Jingle Bells" when sat on.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
spending the holidays where there is heat and nothing smells anything like pine, it is very hard to feel the Season.
I was in Rio for one Christmas. Nothing smelled like pine. It was summer there. Humid and Hot. It was bliss.
I remember going for drives to see the lights
Me too. As I child, with my Dad and sister. I loved it so much. All of the houses had a tree in the window. I was thrilled with the differences. Then it was just green ones (of several types) and white and pastel ones (it was the 50's.) And all one color ornaments. Or the traditional mixed up ones. Or just red ribbons and lights. I can still see each and every type in my mind's eye. Then, I thought the pastel trees with the same color of lights were the highest of style. Now I have hundreds of different kitschy ones from the thrift store.

It would be the best if I could get it together to put up a tree.

When the grands were little, D H found a Christmas train to go around under the Christmas tree.
Oh how, how fun. I stood for hours as a child to watch the Lionel Train set up in the children's department of the department store. Maybe I'll get one. I never had a train. You only live once. I wonder what M will think about that?
The other thing is Christmas music in general. I cannot think of which is my favorite.
My best christmas music is EVERYTHING. When I was a girl scout we went to carol at the Military hospital almost right on the ocean. It was COLD. The men came to their windows. It was such a thrill.

Isn't is something how such things can give such pleasure that one remembers for an entire lifetime? I wanted to say, "It was all downhill after that," but you are my friends and I do not want you to feel bad.

Now, I am getting excited for the holidays.
Me too.

I made a ham to bring to M's sister's house. And a pumpkin pie. The ham is sooo good. I tried to make a "honey baked ham" by compiling recipes from Allrecipes. OMG. Utterly delicious and I do not much like ham. My poor ham and pumpkin pie will be the only American food.

Typically I cannot eat when I go to M's sister's house because the food is so spicy I get severely ill. But I can drink just fine.

We will go and drop off the food. M is disgusted with his sisters. But I insisted we go and say we feel ill (not a lie), so that there is not a greater rift.

I hope all of you have a contented day, with minimal sadness and worry. I will try, too.

I must say it is hard to not be with my son. And yet I am glad to not be with him. Because everything is just so sad. I resent this holiday because it brings to the fore that horrible Catch 22, that is my life as a parent. I cannot live with him or without him.

COPA
 
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Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member

They do look like pants! I couldn't see it at first, either.

I made a ham to bring to M's sister's house. And a pumpkin pie. The ham is sooo good. I tried to make a "honey baked ham" by compiling recipes from Allrecipes. OMG. Utterly delicious and I do not much like ham. My poor ham and pumpkin pie will be the only American food.

We are making ham for Christmas Day. I will look on allrecipes.com. The honey ham sounds delicious.

Yesterday, I looked on allrecipes for how to make the most delicious turkey. I spiced everything with rosemary and sage. No one in the neighborhood had any thyme.

Thank goodness.

So, what you do is mix butter with salt and pepper and spices. Applying liberally inside the turkey, the highly spiced butter then goes beneath the breast skin. Envisioning a kind of echoing, spiced musical theme with my recipes from allrecipe and The Food Channel, I used that same spice mixture in my dressing.

Who knew D H does not like rosemary?!?

We were actually still discussing his aversion to it, this morning.

:O)

Cedar
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
Who knew D H does not like rosemary?!?
I just found out M does not like it either. Romero, in Spanish. He suffered through my roast potatoes, without saying anything.

Cedar, your turkey sounds great. The way to keep it moist is to put breast down in preheated oven at 500 degrees and cook for one half hour. Or if the turkey is too big to turn do it right side up. Then after one half hour turn the oven down to 350 degrees. This is how the Chinese cook their turkeys.

My mother was a meticulous housekeeper. To her credit she let me do this in her house. It filled with smoke. I miss my Mother.

COPA

PS The name of the detangler Insane recommended is Show Sheen. For those of you who may be in sackcloth.

How did you like your Turkey, Cedar?
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
:O)

For those of us in sackcloth.

I thought that was really funny, Copa.

***

The turkey was moist and delicious, I thought. Thank heaven I did not extend my musical scent medley to include the potatoes! I would have, if I'd thought of it. D H bought a pumpkin pie from Sam's. Our plans changed Wednesday afternoon. I did not have time to bake a pie, but I was going to do it that night. D H was going on about how one from Sam's would be just as good.

Ha! It's awful.

Vindication is sweet.

Cedar

I know.

Bad Cedar.
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
D H bought a pumpkin pie from Sam's.
I had promised a pie to M's sister. I did not want to bother with a crust. I used a crumb crust to which I added crushed walnuts (kind of like a walnut streusel but on the bottom). Then I used the Eagle Condensed milk recipe. It took 5 minutes max to prepare.
 
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