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Post by groo on Nov 7, 2023 2:37:42 GMT -5
I'm the Christmas grinch so no tree now, although if I go north to Great Barrier Island it's my job to limit granddaughters expectations that dad can cut down a 40 foot tree with a pocket knife, carry it home and make it fit into a tiny beach house. I prefer going at new year..and for those confused.. no its not Great Barrier Reef in Aust, its an island off Auckland NZ I've had Christmas up there... four kids and two adults on a yacht... parentals slept on the yacht and worked hard to make us excited about camping ashore... dropping us off and rowing back to the yacht. It was only years later that I realised they'd probably just had enough of us! Christmas that year was a scrubby bit of manuka with shells sellotaped to it. We thought it was marvelous. (Until we had to untape the shells so the tree could continue its happy life ) I, too, have been similarly cast ashore, but suspect that the motivation was more sexual than for reasons of noctural independence.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Nov 7, 2023 2:52:53 GMT -5
Actually, the weather could be better at Easter! I feel your pain, Groo. My decluttering delay was due to guests - I can’t get to the places that most need decluttering, and the uncluttered areas are cluttered by things that had to be moved to accommodate the guests.
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Post by romily on Nov 7, 2023 6:49:18 GMT -5
Traditionally in my family the tree doesn't get put up until the day before Christmas eve - my sister still does it that way. Real tree, real candles, and ornaments that have been in the family for there generations now.
No Christmas tree for me - I can't face a fake one, it just feels so wrong for me - no judgement, it's just the way I was brought up. I'll be on my own for Christmas (and that's totally fine!), have two cats, one of whom is young and hyper - so the idea of putting any decoration up that might get shredded by cat just for me feels way too much of a hassle. Will have some pine branches with some decoration against the window, that's it.
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Post by Queen on Nov 7, 2023 9:37:16 GMT -5
No Christmas tree for me - I can't face a fake one, I get it, that's partly why I have a not very festive tree, I have space for a large real one, and I'd love choosing the decorations - but then what? so I could sit on my tot and look at it? then clean it all up again and put it away again? that sounds grim. Not to mention defending it from the resident feline. So I have this, and I add a few lights and a few very pretty decorations, and that works for me.
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Post by Phar Lap on Nov 7, 2023 11:24:11 GMT -5
We always had a “fresh” Christmas tree, the fruit shop sold them and the mothers would be eyeing them to see which was the plumpest, best foliaged tree and at the right time when they’d been reduced in price, snap up the one they thought best. I don’t remember how those trees made it into our lounge room, but it was stood in a bucket filled with dirt and watered to keep it “alive” and not dry up too much. The smell of pine needles was wonderful and filled the house with delicious smells. By the time Twelfth Night came, the tree was a sad and sorry looking site, a little bit worse for wear, its head drooping like a young bride who’d seen too much excitement. This was my last Christmas tree bar one, I have none now. And one year, the jolly man in the red suit paid us a visit! Great excitement all around from the under tens. Attachment Deleted Attachment Deleted
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Post by sprite on Nov 7, 2023 12:40:16 GMT -5
Christmas pissup Chez Groo! 🍻🥂 It's a lovely idea, but you have no idea of the mess my place is in - I have all the detritus from chezgroosurmer, which clogs the house. Sorting it out, putting things away, discarding some things etc was going to be my winter project, but then various bodily functions began calling it quits and I have had a rather unproductive 6 months. My health is, however, now on the improve. And then there's the acres of weeds and feral herbage. Easter? You've just turned down a free cleaning crew!
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Post by lisamnz on Nov 7, 2023 14:33:51 GMT -5
It's a lovely idea, but you have no idea of the mess my place is in - I have all the detritus from chezgroosurmer, which clogs the house. Sorting it out, putting things away, discarding some things etc was going to be my winter project, but then various bodily functions began calling it quits and I have had a rather unproductive 6 months. My health is, however, now on the improve. And then there's the acres of weeds and feral herbage. Easter? You've just turned down a free cleaning crew! I reckon! Groo, we are extremely familiar with acres of weeds and feral herbage. We would be very happy to come and deal with yours ;-)
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Post by Webs on Nov 7, 2023 19:55:07 GMT -5
Fuck christmas trees before thanksgiving.
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Post by lisamnz on Nov 7, 2023 21:10:32 GMT -5
So for anyone not in north america, it's open season :-)
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Post by whothingie on Nov 7, 2023 21:48:37 GMT -5
Christmas pissup Chez Groo! 🍻🥂 It's a lovely idea, but you have no idea of the mess my place is in - I have all the detritus from chezgroosurmer, which clogs the house. Sorting it out, putting things away, discarding some things etc was going to be my winter project, but then various bodily functions began calling it quits and I have had a rather unproductive 6 months. My health is, however, now on the improve. And then there's the acres of weeds and feral herbage. Easter? Nothing like putting a team to work. I'm sure we can talk and work at the same time. Pleased to hear you are on the mend.
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Post by sprite on Nov 8, 2023 9:04:21 GMT -5
We have a fake, but I like not having to worry about watering and dropping needles. We might get holly from a neighbour this year. One year I made a fabulous Ivy and Holly wreath on my gate, spent over an hour on it. Within days, it was dry and sad-looking, but I didn't have time to take it down again--it was really woven in.
I'd like to have it up December 1st and partner likes to take it down on 12th night, which is just about the only Christmas tradition he really cares about--he doesn't like taking it down earlier. I'm away for nearly 3 weeks over Christmas this year, and he'll go to his folks, so we may not put it up at all this year, just some lights in the window.
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Post by Webs on Nov 8, 2023 19:03:41 GMT -5
So for anyone not in north america, it's open season :-) Sure. That would hold for anyone outside the US.
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Post by wombatrois on Nov 8, 2023 21:39:27 GMT -5
Grinch here too - no tree, although I used to place a few door decorations, but not even that now - I think it's something to do with commuting between places.
Sister has a purple theme (for her life, not just Christmas) so she has a silver tree with purple decorations, which gives me a taste of Christmas-tree-flavour.
We had a real pine tree growing up - now there is something about the smell on a hot summer's day that evokes Christmases past.
I think our decorating was reasonably harmonious, although it was probably a parental who placed the star at the top to avoid any arguments. My favourite decorations were the swirled candles. The decorations were mostly made of glass, with some concertinaed paper ones that folded out. The pear was my favourite of those ones.
It was always a disaster when one of them broke, we learned to place the paper and unbreakable ones at the bottom of the tree so the cat wouldn't break them when playing with them, which invariably happened - they were there for her pleasure weren't they?
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Post by Liiisa on Nov 8, 2023 21:57:49 GMT -5
"We had a real pine tree growing up - now there is something about the smell on a hot summer's day that evokes Christmases past."
Yes, except: cold winter's day
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Post by sprite on Nov 9, 2023 8:36:52 GMT -5
So for anyone not in north america, it's open season :-) Sure. That would hold for anyone outside the US. There's a special place in hell for Canadians who go Christmassy before our Thanksgiving...
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Post by Queen on Nov 9, 2023 10:26:45 GMT -5
I don't know why Webs gets to set the rules around Christmas.
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Post by Liiisa on Nov 9, 2023 10:38:31 GMT -5
She’s not setting the rules, just giving ideas for what to do with indoor trees for the next 2 weeks. Sounds very uncomfortable to me, but I’m not gonna kink-shame anyone
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Post by Webs on Nov 9, 2023 13:32:38 GMT -5
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Post by Liiisa on Nov 9, 2023 13:33:16 GMT -5
Fucking all of Christmas would be even more uncomfortable
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Post by lisamnz on Nov 9, 2023 14:38:44 GMT -5
So for anyone not in north america, it's open season :-) Sure. That would hold for anyone outside the US. I thought Canada had thanksgiving too. but it's ok to have christmas trees before then? or no?
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Post by Liiisa on Nov 9, 2023 15:45:09 GMT -5
Noooooo that's not even Halloween. Canadian Txgvg is practically still in the SUMMER ffs.
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Post by Webs on Nov 9, 2023 17:57:51 GMT -5
Sure. That would hold for anyone outside the US. I thought Canada had thanksgiving too. but it's ok to have christmas trees before then? or no? Canadians can put up their trees whenever. They're loony anyhow (heheheehehe)
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Post by sophie on Nov 9, 2023 20:33:49 GMT -5
Hey, wait a minute!!! We’re not completely loony.. just once in a while..
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Post by wombatrois on Nov 9, 2023 21:37:24 GMT -5
Back to Christmas trees (rather than loonies), I just read you can rent a tree in London, you can rent it each year until it gets too big, then it gets planted back in the wild*.
This seems like a perfect solution. If you're in London.
* by wild, I think that just means somewhere on someone's land, but poetic licence and all that.
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Post by Webs on Nov 9, 2023 22:06:28 GMT -5
My BIL would get christmas trees in pots just so he could plant them They'd decorate it with lights and after everything was over he'd plant it along their driveway until my brother told him he's be the next thing to get planted in the yard.
Yeah, I know, we're jewish.
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Post by Phar Lap on Nov 12, 2023 2:01:40 GMT -5
I have just bought me a new tree. Seeing how Imam now living in a unit and not a big 4 br house, I chose a small, narrow tree but…wait! It is pre lit! Yess - no more having to fiddle about with cords, lights and placements. Plus …… I also bought an Advent calendar. I am not a chocolate person Advent calendar and found one while nothing like the one I made many years go, at least goes on the wall and you add the Advent things. This was my Advent calendar I made must have been about thirty years ago now, but Junior who wasn’t even born when I made it nicked it when I moved won’t give it back, so I bought it’s poor country cousin! Although I am disappointed, he must like it to want to keep it and whenever he sees it he will think of me!
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Post by Phar Lap on Nov 12, 2023 2:08:32 GMT -5
This is the Advent Calendar I made compared to the one I have just purchased. Attachment Deleted
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Post by riverhorse on Nov 12, 2023 2:25:12 GMT -5
My BIL would get christmas trees in pots just so he could plant them They'd decorate it with lights and after everything was over he'd plant it along their driveway until my brother told him he's be the next thing to get planted in the yard. Yeah, I know, we're jewish. For years, our Christmas tree was a big Norfolk Island pine tree in a huge planter that my dad would drag on every year and the rest of the year it would live outside in the garden. Towards the end of its service, dad would have to lop the top off it so that it would fit in the house!
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Post by sprite on Nov 13, 2023 8:49:54 GMT -5
For years, we had an annual tradition of hiking out in the woods with my mom and cutting a tree for the house. Quite possibly illegal. It was purely to save money, and the trees were frequently very Charlie Brown.
Now, without any sense of hunting ritual, I don't care what sort of tree I have.
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Post by Phar Lap on Nov 13, 2023 19:58:36 GMT -5
The tree arrived today, as did the Advent calendar. The calendar will hang on the door, and the tree will go near the crystal cabinet. Considering the price, they’re alright and they’ll do the job.
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