Christmas Decorating and Traditions

[Sabrina22LE]

Our stores have been bringing out the Christmas items since BEFORE HALLOWEEN and it has been getting me so excited. I absolutely love all things Christmas and since we were hopping back and forth between Georgia and Oregon last holiday season this will be my first year getting to decorate my own place. When I lived at home my mom didn't allow anything Christmas related until the day after Thanksgiving and that is when we would begin the process of decorating the house. I don't think Christmas decorations take away from Thanksgiving, I think they enhance it, but I think I'll be keeping to that rule for DH's sake. However I will definitely start making and planning the decorations right now. When do you decorate your house? Do you do it all in one day?

Since we won't be going home for Christmas we are going to start our own holiday traditions. What are your favorite either from your childhood or now? My family had a lot, my favorites were painting ornaments, seeing the Nutcracker, decorating the tree together, and driving around on Christmas Eve to look at lights, we did all of these every year.

[sassyspoonicus]

I think one of my favorite Christmas memories was when I was very little. My dad was raising me with my grandparents and uncle, and one of the guys would put flour on their boots to make footprints up to the Christmas tree from the front door - we didn't have a fireplace or mantle, so little me was very concerned Santa couldn't get in. Grandma would also make 'reindeer food' (aka oats mixed with Christmas sprinkles) and we'd sprinkle some out on the front lawn for specifically Donner. Who knows how I got a favorite reindeer?? But it was the coolest thing ever to wake up and see 'evidence' Santa came in, and he'd leave a note thanking for the cookies - we'd always make special Santa cookies. (During which I also licked off the frosting for at least a quarter of the cookies.....) And we also got to unwrap a new Christmas ornament every year that was always related to some accomplishment from the year before.

Once my dad remarried, StepMomma made us a tradition of everyone decorating the entire house the day after Thanksgiving, which also starts the month of too much baking and eating, lol. And Christmas music. She loooooves Christmas music. We also went to Handel's Messiah every year starting in high school. StepMomma also has a deep undying love of everything Nativity scene, so now that there's at least 20 scenes scattered around the house, with 6 of them having movable figures....there's an unofficial tradition that Hubs or my dad move around all the baby Jesuses to have 'playdates'.

Now Hubs and I have made a tradition of getting a real Christmas tree (couldn't have one as a kid, most of my family's allergic to pine) and decorating it together with our own ornaments. We do it all in one day after Thanksgiving. I just found out that where we live now also has an orchestra put on Handel's Messiah so I think I'm going to drag Hubs there with me. I'm making a knit Nativity scene for StepMomma this year, and I think I might make myself one for next year and bring it out too. We don't do too much at home, since it's just us and we still travel back to our hometown to see family that week.

[brahette]

This started out as a tradition by my previous stepmom (she has since passed away). She used to get me and my sister Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments every year. After she passed away, my Dad forgot to get the ornaments and my sister and I were pretty upset so we went straight over to Hallmark the next day and bought them for each other. Ever since then, my sister and I exchange these ornaments every year. It's always a fun surprise to see which ones we get for each other. In all the years of this happening, we only got each other the same ornament once! lol it was bound to happen! What makes it even more fun for me is I never come home and put that ornament on the tree the year that I get it. It gets packed away in my box of Xmas stuff to be rediscovered the following year, so I'm always surprised again because I never remember what the last ornament was!

Last year was my niece's first Christmas so I asked if I could continue the tradition with her. So now I also get my niece a keepsake ornament every year

[Sabrina22LE]

I think one of my favorite Christmas memories was when I was very little. My dad was raising me with my grandparents and uncle, and one of the guys would put flour on their boots to make footprints up to the Christmas tree from the front door - we didn't have a fireplace or mantle, so little me was very concerned Santa couldn't get in. Grandma would also make 'reindeer food' (aka oats mixed with Christmas sprinkles) and we'd sprinkle some out on the front lawn for specifically Donner. Who knows how I got a favorite reindeer?? But it was the coolest thing ever to wake up and see 'evidence' Santa came in, and he'd leave a note thanking for the cookies - we'd always make special Santa cookies. (During which I also licked off the frosting for at least a quarter of the cookies.....) And we also got to unwrap a new Christmas ornament every year that was always related to some accomplishment from the year before.

Once my dad remarried, StepMomma made us a tradition of everyone decorating the entire house the day after Thanksgiving, which also starts the month of too much baking and eating, lol. And Christmas music. She loooooves Christmas music. We also went to Handel's Messiah every year starting in high school. StepMomma also has a deep undying love of everything Nativity scene, so now that there's at least 20 scenes scattered around the house, with 6 of them having movable figures....there's an unofficial tradition that Hubs or my dad move around all the baby Jesuses to have 'playdates'.

Now Hubs and I have made a tradition of getting a real Christmas tree (couldn't have one as a kid, most of my family's allergic to pine) and decorating it together with our own ornaments. We do it all in one day after Thanksgiving. I just found out that where we live now also has an orchestra put on Handel's Messiah so I think I'm going to drag Hubs there with me. I'm making a knit Nativity scene for StepMomma this year, and I think I might make myself one for next year and bring it out too. We don't do too much at home, since it's just us and we still travel back to our hometown to see family that week.

My parents used to do a lot to make Santa seem real and it always made Christmas so magical for me as a kid

This started out as a tradition by my previous stepmom (she has since passed away). She used to get me and my sister Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments every year. After she passed away, my Dad forgot to get the ornaments and my sister and I were pretty upset so we went straight over to Hallmark the next day and bought them for each other. Ever since then, my sister and I exchange these ornaments every year. It's always a fun surprise to see which ones we get for each other. In all the years of this happening, we only got each other the same ornament once! lol it was bound to happen! What makes it even more fun for me is I never come home and put that ornament on the tree the year that I get it. It gets packed away in my box of Xmas stuff to be rediscovered the following year, so I'm always surprised again because I never remember what the last ornament was!

Last year was my niece's first Christmas so I asked if I could continue the tradition with her. So now I also get my niece a keepsake ornament every year

DH's grandmother does the same thing. It's a very cute tradition and I'm glad you're getting your niece involved!

[Heisenberg]

im not sure I'll ever be at my own house for Christmas so I'm not sure when I'll start decorating, but I'm going to start buying ornaments. We're going to Disney in January so I think I'm gonna get us a customized ornament as a little souvenir, I'd like to do something similar every year.

I don't have my own tree either but when I do only neutrals will be allowed on it. You guys do what you want, I won't judge you, but colored lights are tacky af to me and I will never allow them in my house. White lights and metallics ONLY I have very strong feelings about this.

[brahette]

im not sure I'll ever be at my own house for Christmas so I'm not sure when I'll start decorating, but I'm going to start buying ornaments. We're going to Disney in January so I think I'm gonna get us a customized ornament as a little souvenir, I'd like to do something similar every year.

I don't have my own tree either but when I do only neutrals will be allowed on it. You guys do what you want, I won't judge you, but colored lights are tacky af to me and I will never allow them in my house. White lights and metallics ONLY I have very strong feelings about this.

[rayfinkle]

im not sure I'll ever be at my own house for Christmas so I'm not sure when I'll start decorating, but I'm going to start buying ornaments. We're going to Disney in January so I think I'm gonna get us a customized ornament as a little souvenir, I'd like to do something similar every year.

I don't have my own tree either but when I do only neutrals will be allowed on it. You guys do what you want, I won't judge you, but colored lights are tacky af to me and I will never allow them in my house. White lights and metallics ONLY I have very strong feelings about this.

White lights only on our tree too!

But I am such a sucker for those big bulb christmas lights for the outside of the house that are only like red, blue, green, and orange.

[sassyspoonicus]

im not sure I'll ever be at my own house for Christmas so I'm not sure when I'll start decorating, but I'm going to start buying ornaments. We're going to Disney in January so I think I'm gonna get us a customized ornament as a little souvenir, I'd like to do something similar every year.

I don't have my own tree either but when I do only neutrals will be allowed on it. You guys do what you want, I won't judge you, but colored lights are tacky af to me and I will never allow them in my house. White lights and metallics ONLY I have very strong feelings about this.

I also will not do colorful lights. White lights only on our tree! With sparkly red and gold and silver ornaments, of course....plus a couple random favorite ornaments for both of us, lol.

I do have a very good friend who decorates a black tree with orange and yellow and white. Fits well with her general fashion/decor.

[BLBnJVB3]

We decorate the day after Thanksgiving and that weekend. This year will be a bit weird though because we're getting a real tree (we got rid of our fake one before moving here) and I work one job on Thanksgiving and maybe both (at least one) on Black Friday. We put the tree up and decorate the house during that time. Hopefully, I get to partake in as much decorating with the family as possible. We also watch the Buckeye and Wolverine game on Saturday. It's normally the first or one of the first weekends after our boys' football season. However, we may not be done with football this year. So yeah....we'll see what happens, I guess. Lol

[rayfinkle]

Oh also, ALWAYS A REAL TREE.