***It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like CHRISTMAS THREAD***

[GuinnessStout]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Betty, I like that tradition of your dd's. I would love a tradition of something that is lit and decorated for Valentine's and Easter and FOJ. An appropriately colored tree that looked different from the Christmas type tree but was still something to decorate with lights. Maybe a flower tree for Easter that was pink or yellow or orchid colored? And a red heart tree for Valentine's. I just love the lighted Christmas tree so much I might get a decorative ficus for white lights or something. Still, that seems so plain.

Ficus are moody plants and it might throw a tantrum and shed all its leaves it you put stuff on and take it off monthly.
Trying to think of a puppy safe plant... Hmm maybe even a topiary??
You could do Valentines, St Patty's, Easter, then you have Labor Day, armed forces day and memorial in May flag day in June Independence Day in July so you can stick with red, white, blue and stars for that period then by Sept you jump into autumn colors then halloween, thanksgiving and christmas..... You could just stick with white lights to keep it simple and do bows and like eggs for Easter, rainbows, gold coins and shamrocks for st Patty's and flags for the American pride times.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout

Ficus are moody plants and it might throw a tantrum and shed all its leaves it you put stuff on and take it off monthly.
Trying to think of a puppy safe plant... Hmm maybe even a topiary??
You could do Valentines, St Patty's, Easter, then you have Labor Day, armed forces day and memorial in May flag day in June Independence Day in July so you can stick with red, white, blue and stars for that period then by Sept you jump into autumn colors then halloween, thanksgiving and christmas..... You could just stick with white lights to keep it simple and do bows and like eggs for Easter, rainbows, gold coins and shamrocks for st Patty's and flags for the American pride times.

Oh, good idea! I love topiaries!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout

Ficus are moody plants and it might throw a tantrum and shed all its leaves it you put stuff on and take it off monthly.
Trying to think of a puppy safe plant... Hmm maybe even a topiary??
You could do Valentines, St Patty's, Easter, then you have Labor Day, armed forces day and memorial in May flag day in June Independence Day in July so you can stick with red, white, blue and stars for that period then by Sept you jump into autumn colors then halloween, thanksgiving and christmas..... You could just stick with white lights to keep it simple and do bows and like eggs for Easter, rainbows, gold coins and shamrocks for st Patty's and flags for the American pride times.

For some reason I missed that first sentence about the hopeless ficus. At least hopeless living long in my home. I put up with those leaves and mess for way too long when I bought 3 at once. I wanted to take an ax to them after only a few months but kept them around for a year or almost a year and finally just sat them out front for any unwitting fool to take or for the environmental crew to pick up, whichever came first!

I should have said a fake ficus, one of those well-done faux ficus trees you can get nowadays and not those crummy ones that had about 10 - 12 years ago. That is what I maybe want to get to decorate with lights. But the topiary is higher on my want list probably right now.

I'm really going to miss this Christmas tree festive atmosphere once it finally has to go to storage. It is truly beautiful to see little tiny lights winking in the evening, reflecting off the flooring or things that pass and glitter. You can turn down the lights in the room and the glow is so pretty. So I think I'll get some white lights, pink ones and a couple strings of RW&B ones for FOJ once I find the right topiary or ficus and get it here.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Well, all my Christmas decorations are now put away except the tree. Santa Claus and I had a steelcage match-to-the-death wrestling match a while ago and he's dusted, beard/wig shaken out, head packed to protect the face, sacked up in plastic over his base up to his waist and one meeting and overlapping it over his shoulders and down to below the knees, taped closed and wheeled on the little dolly back to the hobby room. His sack and fake presents that go in it are packaged away.

All that is left standing in the den is the Christmas tree with its white "snow" skirt and the 35" Shirley Temple in the pink party dress standing beside it.

Whew, now, later today or tomorrow, out come the top hats, black walking sticks, white globes and white evening scarves, champagne bottles and glasses, old-fashioned brass, twin-bell ticking clock counting down to midnight, streamers, noisemakers, NYE party hats and more streamers. I usually use my large 25" and 27" Kewpies for my NY decorations and one of them is always dressed in the New Year's big white baby diaper with huge pin in the front, a tophat, and Happy 2013 banner across it's chest. Sometimes I just use a lifesize baby doll or a huge Teddy Bear for the New Year's Baby, though. Right now, it's all I can do to drink my Diet Coke, let alone think about decorating more right now.

I may just drape a champagne bottle in a streamer and be done with New Year's Eve decorating the way I feel right now!!! Santa nearly did me in!

[JMuedog]

I was wondering how long everyone leave their decorations up. I usually leave them up until New Years. The last day I have my lights illuminated is New Years Day- night. Do you all take them down on a certain day each year? Its just so depressing to take everything down. My day to day decor just seems so boring after having all the Christmas stuff up.

[GuinnessStout]

Welllllllll my christmas tree is still up lol and my new dripping icicle lights, I just can not bring myself to take them down yet but I figure Sunday I will break down and do it. Heck I still have presents under my tree even.

[brezofleur]

I typically take mine down around Jan 10-12ish. I always have a white elephant party the Sunday after New Years so it's an excuse to keep everything up until then

[celstu1]

I asked Hubby if he could bring up the big bins that all the Christmas decorations go in today, that way when I get home I can put it all away. It actually does not take me too long. I used to try to decorate all the house, but now I just decorate the kitchen/living room area. Makes decorating and undecorating a bit easier! I so will miss the tree, maybe I'll keep that up until the weekend. Everything else will go away tonight though.

[yorkietalkjilly]

All I've still got out is the Christmas Tree with its white "snow" skirt and I can't let it go!!! Maybe this weekend. Besides, des, I have to get a plastic container to store it in. It will NEVER go back in that box it came in unless I mash the devil out of it and I just can't mash it all down again. Took me too long to go over it 360 degrees from top to bottom every limb and bend each separate branch out the way I wanted it. Besides, I'm still feeling holiday-ish. Most of the neighbors don't take their lights down the first week after Christmas I guess in case we have snow or ice later in January, they all turn them on at night. But usually you don't see Christmas lights or trees in the windows here after 1-1. But my tree is in the den so I can light it nights and no one but me knows!

One Christmas my back was out and the tree was still up on Valentine's Day! I had moved it into the front spare bedroom and kept the door to the room closed as I was so embarrassed for anyone to see it, even if I was moaning and groaning.

My next door neighbor had her beautiful blue ?spruce? or ?fir? out on the curbside 12-26-12! It looked perfectly healthy, wasn't dry and it hurt to see that big, tall, gorgeous tree still so full lying there as Tibbe and I walked by. And on the underside of the upsweep, the blue was so definite and so pretty. She almost always has her tree on her parkway and all decorations down the day after Christmas but this year, her huge wreaths are still on the front door and the garage door.

[celstu1]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

All I've still got out is the Christmas Tree with its white "snow" skirt and I can't let it go!!! Maybe this weekend. Besides, des, I have to get a plastic container to store it in. It will NEVER go back in that box it came in unless I mash the devil out of it and I just can't mash it all down again. Took me too long to go over it 360 degrees from top to bottom every limb and bend each separate branch out the way I wanted it. Besides, I'm still feeling holiday-ish. Most of the neighbors don't take their lights down the first week after Christmas I guess in case we have snow or ice later in January, they all turn them on at night. But usually you don't see Christmas lights or trees in the windows here after 1-1. But my tree is in the den so I can light it nights and no one but me knows!

One Christmas my back was out and the tree was still up on Valentine's Day! I had moved it into the front spare bedroom and kept the door to the room closed as I was so embarrassed for anyone to see it, even if I was moaning and groaning.

My next door neighbor had her beautiful blue ?spruce? or ?fir? out on the curbside 12-26-12! It looked perfectly healthy, wasn't dry and it hurt to see that big, tall, gorgeous tree still so full lying there as Tibbe and I walked by. And on the underside of the upsweep, the blue was so definite and so pretty. She almost always has her tree on her parkway and all decorations down the day after Christmas but this year, her huge wreaths are still on the front door and the garage door.

I LOVE blue spruce! Oh my gosh. Many years ago (another lifetime ago it feels now) my ex fiance and I bought an old house that was completely redone, it was GORGEOUS! It had 9 foot ceilings and for our first Christmas we got an 8ft blue spruce real tree. It was STUNNING! I really wish I took pics more, I have just my memory, which is getting foggy now since this was I believe 10 years ago now. Anyways, it smelled so wonderful and the whole house smelled like it. It was tall and just beautiful! I would LOVE to have a house with high ceilings again someday so I can get another gorgeous blue spruce tree!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by celstu1

I LOVE blue spruce! Oh my gosh. Many years ago (another lifetime ago it feels now) my ex fiance and I bought an old house that was completely redone, it was GORGEOUS! It had 9 foot ceilings and for our first Christmas we got an 8ft blue spruce real tree. It was STUNNING! I really wish I took pics more, I have just my memory, which is getting foggy now since this was I believe 10 years ago now. Anyways, it smelled so wonderful and the whole house smelled like it. It was tall and just beautiful! I would LOVE to have a house with high ceilings again someday so I can get another gorgeous blue spruce tree!

Well, I thought this tree was false at first, it was that perfect and pretty in shape. But it was real - poor thing. It was so fat and its needles still almost rubbery! I feel stupid feeling bad for a used dead Christmas tree but usually they look so old and dry and tired that you are sort of glad they are going to be recycled! But this pretty big thing looked brand new, as if it had just been very recently cut and bought a day or two before and was so pretty and huge. I would have still had it up if it had been mine - just enjoying the beauty of it. But my neighbor is like that, she always takes her tree down the day after Christmas.

I'll bet you are going to have another of those blue spruce's again if you have memories that vivid still of that one you did have. If this one was a blue spruce, they sure are pretty!

[GuinnessStout]

See if mine was dead looking I would have no problem saying goodbye and I have even stoped feeding it... but yet mine still lives on all pretty hmm wonder if somebody is feeding it yellow water hmmmm

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by GuinnessStout

See if mine was dead looking I would have no problem saying goodbye and I have even stoped feeding it... but yet mine still lives on all pretty hmm wonder if somebody is feeding it yellow water hmmmm

If it's still healthy-looking, maybe so!!!!!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Bumping this thread for Julianne/Jellybaby from Ireland to see the 35" Ideal Shirley Temple doll produced in this country years ago.

Julianne, I'll try to find the Shirley Temple doll's post # on here and tell you which page she is on. Hugs! Jeanie

(Sorry all who are not ready at all to see ANYTHING even mentioning Christmas in the dead of summer! Please just pretend you didn't see it!)

[Rhetts_mama]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Bumping this thread for Julianne/Jellybaby from Ireland to see the 35" Ideal Shirley Temple doll produced in this country years ago.

Julianne, I'll try to find the Shirley Temple doll's post # on here and tell you which page she is on. Hugs! Jeanie

(Sorry all who are not ready at all to see ANYTHING even mentioning Christmas in the dead of summer! Please just pretend you didn't see it!)

Oh thank goodness! I was going to grumble about people being just way too organized!