This is the time of year when I start glancing at the calendar almost obsessively. After spending so many years visiting family on the holidays, I’ve practically forgotten all of the tasks involved with celebrating them at home. Like getting a turkey, which I really must do today or the stores will run out. (The last time that happened, my son was young enough that we just enjoyed a Thanksgiving Meatloaf. He’s old enough to know better now.)
I’ve already got a head start on Christmas, thanks to a friend who sent me a lovely red winter berry wreath for my front door after I’d mentioned that vandals made off with the silk autumn leaf wreath I’d had up. The new one is gorgeous and festive, and just seeing it has me rather eager to start decorating for the holidays.
Unfortunately, VH isn’t nearly as excited as I am. To him falls the task of handling the outdoor lighting, which for years has meant merely those pre-lit webs over the shrubs and plugging them in. Last winter, though, he left them out during a particularly brutal cold spell that ruined most of them.
This year, he’s not getting off nearly as easy. Sick of the multi-colored shrub look, I picked up some new Christmas lights and I’m looking forward to seeing them up. These are LED Christmas lights, which means that instead of bulbs affixed to plastic wires, the lights are actually encased in epoxy plastic. They’re more durable, and they use 99% less electricity than our old incandescent ones.
Unfortunately, he’s balking at getting them up. See, his birthday is December 12, and he’s of the opinion that all Christmas decorating should wait until after that date. Last year we did things his way, and it really put a damper on things. I just never got into the holiday spirit, and by the time we’d finally managed to decorate for Christmas it was practically time to take everything down again.
This year, I want to get decorated much earlier, but I suspect six weeks out might be a little too soon. How about you? When do you decorate?
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007, 12:48 pm | 
My Venomous Life | 
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November 13, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Not to sound confusing but you were quoted on a comment on someone else’s site. Loved the comment and came to see what it was all about.
November 13, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Great minds think alike, EV – just last night I was telling my husband that if we put up our Christmas decorations this weekend I’d be perfectly content. I’m TOTALLy in the Christmas spirit already. We usually put up our decorations the Friday and Saturday after T’giving.
November 13, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Growing up in New England, we didn’t decorate until Christmas Eve and we took them down on January 6th (the 13th day of Christmas). Here in Texas most people decorate the day after Thanksgiving and take them down the day after Christmas. It feels weird to me to not have Christmas decorations up on New Year’s Eve.
November 13, 2007 at 1:32 pm
I’m not in the spirit yet, Jaynee, but I’m ready to be there. I just spent the past half-hour dragging all of our decorations out of the storage room. Now I just need to find the energy to get them up two flights of stairs. Ugh.
November 13, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I went to put them up yesterday with the weather at 60°F but the lights were ruined by flooding this summer, so I went to WalMart and bought a couple strings today. Kim’s Christmas Lights Post and Shameless Self Promotion and Linkage with a trackback to come
November 13, 2007 at 8:42 pm
We are moving next month so no decorations are up and none will be.
I’m seriously bummed! I’m a decorate the day after Thanksgiving kind of girl.
November 14, 2007 at 4:09 am
Hmm does setting up my shrine to the Grinch count as a Christmas decoration?
November 14, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Of course, it’s only the outside lights that are up. Inside gets decorated piecemeal until right before Christmas when the tree goes up. Our male cat, Duncan, loves to climb it so it’s up for a very short period of time. No ornaments either. Just bows and lights.
November 17, 2007 at 12:01 am
Well, I am in (sort of) the same situation you are, with a child whose birthday is the 11th. My sister’s is the 9th, and growing up she always hated having her birthday so close to Christmas. My stepkids are even better, one’s birthday is 11/21 and the other is 12/16 ! So, my husband doesn’t care about putting Christmas stuff up til after the 16th, and then I am the one who usually does it. Oh well. We have fun with it anyway.
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November 13, 2007 at 7:29 pm