Christmas is around the corner

Merry Christmas, from the (BOLer) Family:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P37xPiRz1sg

Put up the lights outside yesterday. No gloves, nice 55 degrees. Much better than fighting the wind and snow.

Tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving. Lights go up on Saturday. Been that way for years, can't imagine it will change this year.

getting my picture with Santa at the mall this weekend!

2 houses in my neighborhood put on their Christmas lights Nov 1st.

That being said, I am almost done shopping.

I'm almost done also. We have a performing arts center here - SkyPAC - and I bought tickets today to see Celtic Woman in March. That's my husband's present. Tickets went on sale this morning and are selling quickly.

Don't put up much of a tree here - the dog would eat it. We do put a miniature tree above the fireplace and will probably do that in early December.

Like burkemi, tree goes up on Thanksgiving weekend.
Thankfully, no one does a lot of lights in our neighborhood.

Re: shopping
For Christmas Eve with all the relatives, family settled on one gift per person this year.
Kids will each get one mega gift that relatives will pitch in for.
Spoiling will happen on Christmas morning in each family's house.
Adults will do an 'as seen on tv' white elephant exchange.
Hard to believe Christmas shopping will be that easy for a change!!!

You'll shoot your eye out!

Lights are up, but won't be turned on till thanksgiving.... one of the little people was so excited they were kissing the pink flamingo and saying how much they loved it. Almost made me want to turn them on, but patience is a virtue.

Still have not put away my Nightmare Before Christmas figurines but I think they work for Christmas also.

I won't decorate until after Thanksgiving, but I've been watching Hallmark Christmas movies like there's no tomorrow! Everyone is just about the same...bad acting, predictable story line, overly cheesy...but there's something so simple about them that I can't help myself!

Uh oh. I hadn't even thought about how the dog (new to us) will react to the tree. This may be interesting.

Can you keep him/her away, EGB? What kind of dog did you get (I know - totally off-topic from the thread)?

I have a picture sitting on my desk from Christmas 18 years ago. My cat, Skittles, was about 9 months old at the time and totally destroyed the tree - climbed in it - chewed the lights, etc. The picture is of the green tree with a partial face and two green eyes peering out.

My dogs have never bothered the tree other than bumping it as they ran past. Do not put edible ornaments on the tree.

Last year my dog, a boxer, felt that any ornament on the tree was an edible ornament! I really think he is part goat. He eats everything he can get his mouth on!

She is a German Shepherd / Border Collie cross. She is a 2 year old rescue. I have no idea how she will react to a tree in her house. And no, keeping her out of that area isn't going to be a possibility. Fortunately we do have quite a few non-breakable ornaments from when the kids were little and from kitties who would take things down to play with.

I may wait until December 5 to do the lights unless my wife decides we're doing them the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Outside lights are wholly dependent on the weather. If it's cold, we'll just go without lights. But the tree will probably go up Thanksgiving weekend. I like to get the tree on Saturday and then decorate it on Sunday when it's had time to absorb some water and shed whatever dead needles it's going to shed.

"He threw the breaker and the lights came on, and we sang "Silent Night" o' "Silent Night"."

If you can't do a table-top tree you might be able to build a baby-gate barrier around it. I've been known to do both...and probably will be reinstating at least one of those measures in defending the tree from the toddler. (The current dogs ignore it and we no longer have an indoor cat.)

Oh, and by the way - there are only 12 days of Christmas, and none of them are in November. No decorating until after Thanksgiving!

No lights, no tree, no x-mas music, no decorations, and gift cards all around.

ba-humbug

I think the Saturday after Turkeyday will be the decorating day, after all. Kids will be home, and they enjoy the decorations. I don't know yet if they'll both be home for Christmas, so we better let them have a glimpse of it. The tree is the best part. We've bought ornaments over the years on vacations, and have a bunch of others with baby pictures of the kids. The tree tells our family story.

That sounds very nice, MBH.

So am I the only one that leaves their lights up all year? just kidding

Hey I must be in your neck of the woods #ONENANA sounds like something I would do... lol

Christmas lurks around the corner every year, and leaps out and mugs me and takes my wallet every time!

We got our tree on Sunday and got it all decorated. I went to water it Monday morning and the bucket had a crack and leaked water! I was able to transfer the whole decorated tree into a new stand without dropping any ornaments or messing anything up. My wife was quite impressed!

I'm impressed, too ahk.

Not sure how I managed it but I did

My wife has had a bad cold since last Wednesday, so she's had no interest in decorating. I put up all the outdoor stuff Saturday, and then I set the tree up, but I'm waiting for her to feel better to join in on decorating. So we have had a big 9-foot naked tree in the corner for the last few days.

"I present to you, the Griswold family Christmas tree!"

Probably no Christmas tree this year.

Tree is not up. Hubby says no tree until the house is clean. Guess Christmas is over for us. He can't find the advent calendar either. I tried not to look disappointed, but don't think I did very well. The only sign of Christmas at our house right now is a collection of empty tape dispensers on my desk. I hope the kids don't think ALL of the trash should go there now.

Oh DANGIT. I knew I was forgetting something - the Advent Calendars are still in their package. Thanks for the reminder!!

I've got some decorations up but the tree got put on hold by our ice storm. Hoping to get one on Saturday. But the advent calendar is up and we're all anxiously awaiting the return of our elf on the shelf. He might show up tonight if I don't fall asleep too early!

"Clark, did you bring a saw?"

It's not going in our yard, Russ

"watch out though, he's got a little bit of Mississippi leg hound in him"

"if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now "

Is your house on fire, Clark?

jafo2 - one of my all time favorite quotes from that movie!

Just wondering if your tree is up yet, and how your new dog has reacted to it?

Mine too Skittles, time to watch it again, that or Bad Santa

I feel a new thread coming on....

"time to burn some dust

eat my rubber!"

No, we don't put up our tree until Christmas Eve, normally. It's going to be interesting!

tree is assembled. Our cat has always loved the tree, she lays under it.

I barely had the first row up and she was under it. After I had it all together the cat was under it and the dogs were around it. I should have take picture.

Will put the lights on today.

Question for all White or Color lights? For those who know how to do a poll, please feel free to add one.

Live or Artificial tree
White or color lights
Solid or Blinking
one or multiple trees

Here - one tree - artificial - colored lights - no blinking.

House in TN - one tree - artificial - colored lights - blinking. We're having Christmas down there with my step-daughter and her fiancé in a couple of weeks so we'll go down early to put the tree up.

Live or Artificial tree - Live
White or color lights - Colored
Solid or Blinking - Blinking
one or multiple trees - One

We put our tree last weekend. 4 strands of colored lights + white light star. My daughter plugged it in yesterday morning and the 2 strands of lights on the top half of the tree won't light up, but the star still lights up (which is connected to one of the top 2 strands.)

Live or Artificial tree - Live
White or color lights - White
Solid or Blinking - Solid
one or multiple trees - One

In our old house, we used to put a few miniature trees going up the stair case but no stairs at our new house.

Live or Artificial tree - Artificial
White or color lights - Color this year (We alternate each year)
Solid or Blinking - Solid
One or multiple trees - Multiple

Live or Artificial tree - Artificial
White or color lights - White
Solid or Blinking - Solid
one or multiple trees - One

We bought a pre-lit 9 foot tree in 2009. Last year, a bunch of lights went out in the middle. It was a pain in the fingers getting the dead lights out as they were attached with little plastic washers. I'm expecting the rest to go out one of these years.

Live or Artificial tree - Live
White or color lights - White
Solid or Blinking - Solid
one or multiple trees - One big tree in the living room and 2 small trees in the bedrooms.

I need to dig the lights out this evening and make sure they all still work!

"the little lights aren't twinkling"

"I know Art, and thanks for noticing"

Just wondering how a tree can be live when it is hacked away from its roots. Should it not be previously live?

Long as you have it in water, it still lives for a while.

Why is the carpet wet, TODD?

I don't KNOW, Margo!

Live or Artificial tree - Artificial
White or color lights - color
Solid or Blinking - both (2 strands blink, 2 strands solid)
one or multiple trees - One

"can I get you something to eat, fill your eggnog, take you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?"

Live or Artificial tree - Prefer live but it's artificial, darn animals!
White or color lights - White
Solid or Blinking - Solid
one or multiple trees - Currently three (Well, if I ever get the house clean enough! See prior post)

Just laughed right out loud.....please keep these coming.

Live or Artificial tree - Live (previously!)
White or color lights - Red, white, & green (no blue for me at Christmas)
Solid or Blinking - Solid
one or multiple trees - One

"merry Christmas, merry Christmas, merry Christmas, kiss my @$s, kiss his @$s, kiss your @$s, happy Hannakah"

Definitely going to have to watch this movie this weekend! Then it will REALLY start to feel like Christmas is just around the corner!

That's the gift that keeps on givin' the whole year.

"look Russ, you can't see the lines"

"save the neck for me Clark"

I don't know what to say except, it's Christmas, we're all miserable.

Ellen, are you smoking again?

"Say the BLESSING!"

I don't think I need to watch the movie now - I've seen almost all of my favorite quotes in the last two days.

"we're going to have the hap hap happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny [censored] Kaye!"

'my cousin in law whose heart is bigger than his brain"

"I appreciate that Clark"

"Rocky bit my thumb, him's nervous because Christmas is almost here"

"nervous or excited?"

"[censored] bricks"

"you shouldn't use that word"

"sorry, [censored] rocks"

It wouldn't be the Christmas season if the stores were any less hooter hotter than they are.

"Tis the season to be Merry!

That's my name.

That's a LONG name!

Todd: Hey Griswald! Where do you think you're gonna put a tree that big?

Clark: Bend Over and I'll show you.

Todd: You've got a lot of nerve talking to me like that Griswald!

Clark: I wasn't talking to you.

If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised!

Am I the only one who hasn't seen that movie?

If I were your ornabuddy, TMatt, I'd have to get it for you.

The other staple in our house is Trading Places..."It was the Dukes; It was the Dukes!"

Hubby and I watch it on Thanksgiving and then again on NYE.

Haven't seen that one either. I'm not well versed in classic movies.

It sounds like Matt will be adding to his movie queue this weekend.

Just a minute - just a minute. Now, hold on, Mr. Potter. You're right when you say my father was no businessman. I know that. Why he ever started this cheap, penny-ante Building and Loan, I'll never know. But neither you nor anyone else can say anything against his character, because his whole life was - why, in the twenty-five years since he and Uncle Billy started this thing, he never once thought of himself. Isn't that right, Uncle Billy? He didn't save enough money to send Harry to school, let alone me. But he did help a few people get out of your slums, Mr. Potter, and what's wrong with that? Why - here, you're all businessmen here. Doesn't it make them better citizens? Doesn't it make them better customers? You - you said - what'd you say a minute ago? They had to wait and save their money before they even ought to think of a decent home. Wait? Wait for what? Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they're so old and broken down that they... Do you know how long it takes a working man to save five thousand dollars? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle. Well, in my book he died a much richer man than you'll ever be."

"lot of sap in here

pretty full, lot of sap"

"Bingo!"

"I don't know if I should go sailing down no hill with nothing between the ground and my brain except a piece of government plastic.

they had to replace the metal one because every time Katherine revved up the microwave I would pee my pants and forget who I was for a half hour"

"You couldn't hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant."

I think I am done shopping! With the exception of a few more stocking stuffers for Mr EGB, but those should be fairly easy to fill in.

Now I have to start the wrapping process, which is not nearly as much fun.

is this code?

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Beer.

-Bob & Doug MacKenzie

..... in a tree!!

what are you looking at?

oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn......the clean, cool chill of the holiday air..........and an [censored] in his bathrobe emptying a chemical toilet into the sewer

&*@tter was full!

hey honey, you checked our &*@tters?

My sister-in-law uses this quote as her ring tone on her cell phone every Christmas. Cracks me up every time she gets a call!

They'll never make another this good.

you do have your coat on

oh I do? well it is a bit nipply out, I mean nippy. what did I say, nipple?