O Christmas tree or whatever you light.
 

We downsized our Christmas tree this year but our ceilings are now closer to the floor than they used to be.

Tell us about your tree or your traditions. Ours it green and full of all kinds of ornaments, no theme.

P.S. I posted a picture of our tree in Albums above. I don't know how to insert in post.

The day has finally arrived. Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Things are cooking and the aroma is in the house. We are thankful for our jobs even though we had to work on Thursday. Making up for that today. My mouth has been watering for for days. The cravings for this feast unthinkable. The tree will go up tomorrow. Miss Sam bought a new one this year. Narrower than usual. She has her Hallmark series collection ornaments and our White House collection that sis gives us each year. Also memento ornaments from vacations, schools etc. We both like the larger colored lights (childhood memories). A spot for kit is saved because he loves to get under the tree.

Tradition is my given mandate
 

My wife loves tradition and decorates for each Holiday which means my wife and I. We have family and friends ove Easter, Thanksgiving Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Despite protests from me each season we compromise and do it her way. She always ask why I complain about decorating and I always explain that when DIY guys build something they build it to last. So its not the putting up I mind its the taking down each season. :wave:

Correction, I was informed that the tree is going up today, so moving furniture etc is taking place. Miss Sam is also a decorator for all seasons, at least only one season involves me on a ladder.

Posh 08 I might have joined you but I told my wife I was mowing the lawn first which prompted her to tell me she had to go out and secure her Saturday sale items. So its early tomorow to assemble the tree.

Put the tree up today. So easy since I went with the pre-lit one a few years ago. Always take my time and reflect on the memories associated with the ornaments. Lots from vacations taken, foreign countries visited, White House ornaments from our times in the DC area, commerative 9-11 ornaments and of course the precious handmade ornaments by kids and grandkids. Cried a little..smiled a lot!!!

We'll be putting ours up soon. Steve used to put 5 trees up when his kids were young, now I only want one. I have so many ornaments that have to be gotten rid of before we move so I figure it's the perfect time to go through everything. We are really hoping that next year we will be there!

I live alone and don't see the need to go through a lot of trouble to put up decorations just for myself. If I want to see a Christmas tree I'll go to the town square or one of the recreation centers. As it gets closer to Christmas I'll enjoy seeing the outdoor lights that others have put up. If I were to put up any lights, I'd just be thinking about all the work it's going to be to take them down in a very short time. I figure I have enough to do without putting up decorations. (Bah-humbug!) I'd rather spend the time reading. That's my tradition.

:wave:

My tree is up, but not decorated yet. I've put out the other Christmas decorations I have and will start on the tree tomorrow. Have a smaller tree just for the ornaments we've collected on various trips. This tree is a bit smaller than the one they used to be on in CA....gave that tree away before we moved, but the ones that don't fit on the tree, will be displayed around the house. Those particular ornaments are very special and we smile when we remember the trips they were a part of.

Merry Christmas, Gracie!

graciegirl
 

I have a question the picture you have on your postings. Who are they.I see you have over 80000,post you must be on top of a lot of TV news.

80,000 - good grief !! That would put her into the stratosphere !! Gracie might come away with a swelled head !!

My avatar is of our daughter Helene who lives with us and of myself. If you click on my home page you can see Helene's dad and my husband of almost 50 years, who I call Sweetie, because he is.

I have WAY too many postings and the only excuse I offer is that I can read better than I can hear in a crowd anymore and so enjoy the "conversations" on here and the interchange with delightful and interesting people.

We don't really do Christmas, but we have an alien Santa Claus that we got while in NM at the annual Christmas Parade. Yep, it is a green alien in a santa suit...it is an inflatable. We have had it for years. The dogs growl at it every time they see it. We went to the parade every year, parking the truck in the chinese restaurant where we would eat first, then jump in the truck to watch the parade.

No tree!
 

For the first time our 52 years of life we will not put up a tree or decorate the house. Don't feel too bad for us.....we will be going to see out daughter in north Carolina to celebrate with her and her fiancé. It will be great to help her start her own traditions. Couldn't bear having to take all that stuff down when we got back. I must say, it does hurt my heart just a little to break tradition. When we do put up our tree,we have a variety of decorations....decorations from different places we've traveled, wonderful hand made ornaments from when my daughter was a little girl, new ornaments and all in between. A fake pre lit tree is best for us. Hope you all enjoy your holiday and all the joy it brings.

Our first Christmas.......
 

This will be our first Christmas as retired snowbirds. We are so excited! We were last in TV for Columbus Day weekend. It was raining, and hubby was watching football, so I put up the Christmas tree and all the decorations. This way when we get there on Dec 23rd, it will be all ready and waiting for us!

Our tree is up , but not decorated yet. The grandchildren will come over this weekend and dress the tree. The only ornaments I brought with us are of the grandkids. I have picture ornaments of them from the time they were born.

I had three trees up north, but the most important tree was their tree . I would set an evening aside, they would all come over,we would make cookies and then they would dress the tree. In the beginning all the ornaments were
Around the bottom, it was so funny and of course as they grew the tree became a thing of beauty.

We have two grandchildren who live here in Fl. Will continue the tradition with them, and miss terribly the five up north.

We rethought the Christmas Tree thing and are taking down the fake one (sending it back to China) and cut a fresh tree today and got a Made in USA tree stand.
http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/...1322943575.jpg

Fake "china" tree
 

You made me laugh! The fake "China" tree... boy do I get where you are coming from. Everything's made in China. My husband says when we move to TV we aren't buying anything made in China! Is that possible???

Our tree comes up from the basement and out of the box every year - our $29 Christmas tree. It's actually pretty sad looking - not as fancy as the newer artificial ones sold nowadays. But it's special to us: Sandy and I bought it.....ummmm.....a loooooooooong time ago - for the first Christmas we ever spent together.

I don't know what's held up better - us or the tree!!!!???? :pepper2:

Bill :)

Our 3' tree is on the lanai, decorated with multi-colored lights and red bows. On the top is "Angel," a cardboard cone angel with mousy blonde hair, wings that have been taped and re-taped back on, and a rather crooked halo. We bought her for our first Christmas 40 years ago and wouldn't think of putting anything else atop our tree! The rest of the house is decorated with the nutcrackers that we have accumulated over the years...some are 3" tall and the rest go up to 36" tall. Each one has a special meaning and a special place to sit.

Mac9, I have an angel that I put at the top of my tree every year. My oldest son made it in kindergarten many years ago. She is made of construction paper, crayons, lace doily and glitter...lots of glitter! I had to laminate her two years ago as she was really beginning to show her age. I gave it back to my son this year. He recently got married and he and his wife have their own tree where our angel sits atop!

With our house still on the market in VA, we have to be a little conservative with the decorations, but we do have a 3' artificial tree on a table, along with a few other decorations. We will be visiting the kids in NYC over the actual Christmas weekend, so no real tree this year. First time ever in our 38 years of marraige we don't have a real tree. So now the big question: does anyone in TV get a real tree at Christmas? Looks from these posts that everyone has gone the pre-lit route. Are real trees expensive in FL? We assume no one is cutting their own down there. :-) Being optimists at heart, we have every expectation of being in TV next year for ChHristmas, so we are thinking of buying a pre-lit when they go on sale right after 12/25!

Bill and Sue

This year we bought a little Norfolk Island Pine and decorated it with lights and red bows. (I can't seem to find the box with all the tree decorations in it) I hesitated to post this 'foreign tree' admission after I googled Norfolk Island... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_Island
I always thought Norfolk Island was off the coast of Virginia. :laugh:

Happy Holidays Bill and Sue! Where in VA are you? We are in Chesapeake...next month The Villages!

OK, Christmas tree de ja vue. Got the first one down and now up with the new one. Twice is nice.

Great idea!

Hi! We are in Providence Forge, halfway between Richmond and Williamsburg. We will be visiting TV from 1/18 - 1/20. Are you snowbirds, or will you also be visiting?

B&S

Hahaha! "Got the first one down..." Does this mean you just took down last year's tree so you could put up this year's tree? :laugh:

We are moving to TV PERMANENTLY in January. Can't wait!

Congrats! We'll see you there someday!

LOL, no we had put up a new artificial tree just after Thanksgving (this year :laugh:) but decided this weekend to go cut a fresh tree and buy a stand Made in the USA.

I have a question...
 

...or several questions actually. We've been trying to decide whether to have a fresh tree or a fake prelit one next year (confident that we will be there in 2012 :icon_wink:). Just wondering if there is pick-up service to dispose of Christmas trees in TV....we love having a real tree every year, but have had fake prelit ones before, too.....we've been wondering if storage of the pre-lit trees is an issue...do they get too hot when stored in the attic or is mildew an issue....where do you store your tree?...just trying to prepare for when we're there for good!