My Christmas Tree

[faffa_70]

I LOVE Christmas and indulge my kids (and myself lol) and allow the tree and outside lights to go up on the 1st December. Hard and fast rule otherwise it would get earlier and earlier every year just like the retailers!!! 

[Vivaroo]

Faffa 1st December is us too.  My kids beg and beg and I have to give in.  They want it up in November NO WAY!!  Hubby's birthday is 1 week before Christmas, and I used to hold back the tree until after then but now the kids win.  I have to put on blinkers for the horrible external factors (plastic crap and buy, buy, buy) and concentrate on all the nice parts of Christmas. 

Now I have Thermie I want to give away homemade things, what things to people like to make that are well received?  Look at me, thinking about Christmas already when it's only October!!  Next thing I'll be ironing my undies!!

[judydawn]

I have bumped the Hamper thread in Recipe Requests for those starting to think about those sorts of things.

[cookie1]

Our tree goes up sometime in the middle of December. When I was working it went up when school finished but it's a tiny bit earlier now. I love all the excitement of Christmas.

[Wonder]

1st of December for us and I like to make a big deal of Christmas although I find it's harder and harder as the kids get older and i get busier with frequent travel for work. We also do Christmas in July so the tree and all the house decorations are actually put up twice per year. I find the Christmas in July seems to look better with an open fire and cold nights - hopefully one day we'll get to experience a white christmas!

[faffa_70]

DH's birthday is 7th December so I make sure I am organised before the 1st for that and then breeze through that week and breathe deeply for the onslaught of Christmas lol

[johnro]

I found the hamper thread so handy last year and loved this thread as I am like Kathryn - I love Christmas and indulge everybody!!!!   

[tarasis]

When do people put their trees up?

I like to have them up around the 1st of December, or at least the 1st weekend around then. My wife grew up with hers going up around the 19th as her dad has a birthday on the 18th, and as our daughter has a birthday on the 8th of December she always wants to hold off till after that :/

Anyway here are trees from the last 4 years. I have many pics of the deep snow we had outside, icicles galore and snow suited kiddie-winks Yes I am enjoying being able to buy real and large trees

[maddy]

Lovely Rob  Nothing beats the fragrance of a real tree *sighs*......my tree hugging daughter had put a stop to that for us.....even though I tell her they are farmed especially for Christmas these days........it's just not worth the lectures 

My Mum always put the tree up on my Brothers Birthday, Dec. 17th, and then it was down pretty quickly after Christmas 
I usually put mine up at the start of December, and make sure I enjoy it for a good month,  because of all the hours it takes me to decorate the thing   

[Cornish Cream]

Have you ordered any new baubles for your tree this year Maddy

[maddy]

Have you ordered any new baubles for your tree this year Maddy

Heehee.....see the shopping thread Denise    food theme this year 

[tarasis]

Thats a shame Monique, the fragrance is indeed part of the joy. When we lived in England we had a plastic tree with fibre optic lights threaded through it but it was so blah.

Like you I try and keep the tree up for at least a month (longer if I can get away with it, though the missus tries to get it down on the 12th day post Xmas) and the lights outside (just a long strand of white or coloured led's) for a while longer till spring starts to show its face which was quite late this year.

[Frozzie]

missed this thread too but will post some pics from last year...the kids decorated the tree lol..I dont do colour coded trees...whatever the kids feel like doing they do...  and a pic of our street, part of front of yard at chrissy...always snow lol!  Couldnt find one with all the fairy lights up on the house..

[Bedlam]

Kim,
Your  street looks beautiful.  We had a white Christmas a couple of years ago it really is magical.

[Frozzie]

Its pretty when your inside lol...I do love the snuggly feeling of christmas here and you can do lots of cooking without worrying about the heat...but if you have to go anywhere like to the supermarket for supplies its a pain and takes forever...slipping and sliding until you get on a main road (they only salt big main roads here)...lots of praying goes on to not hit other cars parked on the side of the road  ..my brother came two years ago and kept asking me to come outside and take photos of him in the snow, went to eurodisney with him and the kids (not fun in freezing weather) and visited local chateaux etc etc lol..