When will you start your winter/christmas decorating???

[AuntJamelle]

I have sooo much decor that I put out and up, that I am seriously considered starting earlier than normal for me this year.

I typically start Thanksgiving night - pulling out totes and putting up the dining room tree after we get home from DMIL's.

I think I may have had one tree up with lights - no ornaments - a couple of days before Thanksgiving last year.

This year my goal is to have the 3 big trees up, fluffed, with lights (not turned on yet) before Thanksgiving arrives. So I'll start the weekend before, which means Nov 22nd this year.

And I will need every minute of that head start - the way the days fall in December this year I will be cramming ALOT of stuff into the first 2 weeks. If I don't have the decor up and done by Dec 1st, it probably wouldn't get done this year! And I can't have that! :-D

The most time consuming thing for me is my trees, if I can get a head start on them, I'll be able to finish everything else up during my 4 day Thanksgiving weekend.

And still find time for Black Friday shopping!!! ackage:

Outside lights I'll start working on after Halloween, getting them up as I have time for it. I don't do alot, but I want to actuall do it this year, last year I kind of fizzled...

 

[peppermint pattie]

I like to put the tree up on THanksgiving day if I hav e time. It usually takes the weekend to get everything out. On good years I'm through with my shopping by then and get everything wrapped. That way I can enjoy the season without being stressed. I still enjoy shopping but I'm not under pressure.

 

[Little Elf]

Putting our decorations out after Thanksgiving is too early for us Canadians. My dh loves Christmas so I had to pull the reins a little on him. LOL! I told him he can decorate anytime after Rememberance Day. (Nov. 11) My family has had many in the military and have had those even die. So Rememberance Day is a big deal for me and I don't want it to be overshadowed by Christmas. So usually the weekend after the 11th when dh has a day off, he goes crazy. LOL! I don't mind cuz I love Christmas too. ackage:

 

[chilli]

I always start my winter decoration in November, after putting down the Halloween stuff. The closer we come to christmas, the more decoration I have.
After christmas I change it to winter decoration (snowmen, snowflakes, etc)

Chilli

 

[holidaymama]

Well for the last six years, we have always been gone for Thanksgiving, my mother and I had the tradition of having Thanksgiving, and then Black Friday, we would go to this little German town that has the neatest downtown filled with Christmas stores and one really nice department store...it is always cold in MN by Thanksgiving and it was fun to move from one store to the next! Then we would spend Saturday up in Minneapolis at a couple of malls and Target and Kohls! We did that for about 12 years straight! Last year was our first year here in Texas. We did go to MN for Thanksgiving, but we had to leave that Saturday so no shopping :-( it was really sad! This year I am hoping we actually stay here for the holidays as everything is so expensive and I really don't want to spend $2K to fly us all home (hubby and two boys)....so with all that said, I would put it up the week before Thanksgiving so that when we got home that Sunday, it was all up!

If we stay here this Thanksgiving, I will wait until after Thanksgiving dinner!

I really like the idea of snowflakes and snowmen after the holidays! I never know what to put out then!

 

[aggy]

I will decorate my balcony early in November before the cold sets in but everything else will start going up the day after Thanksgiving.

 

[Eaglesax]

I normally start the day after Thanksgiving, but since TG is at in-laws and no one is coming to our house before that weekend (to think I'm crazy) I hope to get a little earlier start this year. Working full time, it normally takes me a week or so doing it in the evenings. I thought I would start the weekend BEFORE TG. I mentioned the plan to my husband the other night and his only response is that we might as well with all the Christmas packages in the spare room. I take that as approval!

 

[nursemomtothree]

We start the Friday after Thanksgiving. I've never been a Black Friday shopper, so I don't mind missing it, and it's a day off for DH.

 

[iluv2scrap]

When i was little i always begged my mom and we put the tree up on Thanksgiving Day after dinner was all over. Now, i usually have to split Thanksgiving between my moms and my in laws so no time for the tree, but depending on if i shop that Friday or what is going on it usually Thanksgiving weekend sometime. We have an artificial due to allergies, but i do love and miss a real tree. (even though i've only had a real tree a few times, i said heck with the allergies, hehe)

 

[Sleighlady]

I am always so excited to get started, but never mix Christmas and Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving night, my son will usually help hubby bring all the stuff down from the attic.

I like to start the next day. The family, son, dil, and grandsons help us decorate the living room tree. I do the rest myself with help from hubby where I need it. I put another tree in the den and a small one in the dining room. I cover every horizontal surface with decorations of some sort, mantles, shelves, tables, buffet, counters, if it sits still, I'll decorate it :haha: ~~ Gail

 

[Cinnamonstix]

As Little Elf stated, Thanksgiving is to early for us Canadians. I put out the outdoor lights in November but they don't get lit until the middle of December. I start decorating inside the first week of December but our tree only goes up two weeks before Christmas(real tree).

 

[Ms_Speedy_Elf]

We decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.

 

[liltattoo]

We just moved into a new community and the management said that we couldn't put our holiday related stuff any earlier than two weeks before the event. :rotflol: Yeah, like that's going to happen!

 

[housewife2]

i start my christmas decorating the day after thanksgiving. i leave my winter snowmen up till the end of feb.

 

[wantabe]

I will put my Christmas tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving, unless I have the weekend free before Thanksgiving! I put mine up the weekend before Thanksgiving last year and really enjoyed the extra time with the decorations!

 

[rachelw713]

Rule in my house: Tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving.

Everything else inside goes up the rest of that weekend, and the outside lights go up whenever I can harass DH enough to go do it.
:skate:

 

[leslie03]

I have to bug my hubby too! I try to get it done the weekend after Thanksgiving.

The people that live down the street where my son goes to daycare, decorate in October! I've already seen the deer laying up against their house. They fill the entire front yard with blow up decorations. I think October is a bit early...but I kind of enjoying seeing all the stuff and my son LOVES it!

 

[alisonmcg]

I get my tree up on the 30th November but that's because it takes so long to put together! Then on the 1st December I start to decorate the inside of the house. We have a tree in the living room,one in the porch and one in the kitchen. Then my DH puts up our outdoor lights the first weekend of December. Also my Advent trees and Calanders are put out on the 30th November ready for the next morning. There are a few houses in my town that have their decorations up by mid October but I like to decorate for Halloween and I think it's only right to respect Rememberance Day as well. :grin:

 

[sweetpumkinpye]

We decorate 1st weekend in December. I'm sure that if we had thanksgiving that we would probably decorate the day after that

 

[Winged One]

We decorate the second or third weekend in December usually. Between work and everything else, we usually only get around to it then (and I like a real tree if we are staying put). But it is mainly only a tree, a nativity and a few extra candles, while DH puts lights over 1 small tree in the garden.

THe years that I have been super organised and everything bought/made, wrapped and stashed by October (in my dreams), then I will ttake more time to decorate more inside. But outside decorations are not nearly as important in Ireland as the States. (It's too wet and green for them I think!!).