Countdown To Christmas!!

[AtomicEraTom]

I'm officially in the Christmas decor, here. I have my tree and decorations up, as of Friday.

 

[Edward]

I think I've found the spirit of Christmas in the midst of studying. The times when I take a break, wander the Internet, and try to get back to work... well, they do no good.

But, when I draw pine trees and stars on my dorm door white board with a message "Among all the stress... never forget that old-fashioned joy!"... or I ring my one window in lights so all the campus quad can see... then I go back to work happy and feeling productive! Plus, only allowing myself to add one ornament to my tree per assignment completed (or essay paragraph written,) it keeps the motivation flowing.


-Steven

Interesting approach! I used to hate Christmas when I was still studying; from 1990 until, I think, about 1998 I didn't have a single Christmas where I didn't spend most of the holidays writing coursework or preparing for exams the following January. Took a long time to get past that. These days I appreciate the break and the spiritual side of it more, even if it has become a time of year where I feel various absences more keenly than the fluffy positives. Mixed feeling about New Year too - I've never spent enough time outside of academia to ever get away from thinking in years that run from September to September, so Calendar years don't quite resonate with me. After years of hating NYE, though, I've come to find it a cathartic way of flicking vees at an old year of which I am very glad to see the back, and living for just a few hours in the (often vain) hope the next one will be better. lol

 

[rue]

I'm officially in the Christmas decor, here. I have my tree and decorations up, as of Friday.

Great Vintagey tree Tommy!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Thank you! It's actually my first year putting one up. Last year around this time, let's just say I had no Christmas spirit.

Great Vintagey tree Tommy!

 

[Retro_GI_Jane]

Lovely tree, Tom! We put ours up this weekend too, though I have millions of ornaments yet to sift through but I do have all the vintage ones up on the choicest of branches. My only fear is we have four cats, all rambunctious and I race home after work this time of year to make sure the tree is still standing and nothing broken.

 

[Swing Motorman]

Love the tree, Tom! I'd post a picture of mine, but, there's only three ornaments on it... oh wait, I get to put another one up, I just finished an assignment!:high5: *goes and excitedly hangs another decoration* OK, 4 and counting. I promise I'll share pics sometime... that'll probably be in the '40s at this rate... I mean the 2040's!

Edward, I hear you on this season being an "up n' downer." For me, I used to spend New Year's Eve with a friend outside Philadelphia. Well, said friend pulled a nasty betrayal on me about a month back, so that idea is out the window. But hey, make lemonade from lemons, and move up from bad friends to better ones! I'll hopefully be joining my streetcar/light rail friends on a charter trip around Philly's trolley lines. Zipping around town in a decoratively-lit streetcar sounds like a much better way to bring in the new year (compared to a party of games I don't know and alcohol I don't drink.)

fftopicAnd I agree about academia messing life up too... but that's what breaks are for, to remind us that we actually have a life? Wait, do I have a life...? Gah, I need another break!)


-Steven

 

[Cricket]

I love the tree Tom! Glad to hear you were in the Christmas spirit this year.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Thank you all for the compliments on the tree! It means a lot!!

As soon as the tree was going up, one of my cats was all over it! I swear Christmas trees are magnets to felines!

Lovely tree, Tom! We put ours up this weekend too, though I have millions of ornaments yet to sift through but I do have all the vintage ones up on the choicest of branches. My only fear is we have four cats, all rambunctious and I race home after work this time of year to make sure the tree is still standing and nothing broken.

 

[Edward]

I can imagine. I've not put a tree, or any other decorations for that matter, up at mine for years, but I'm pretty sure if ever I do it'll last five minutes before it's down. Probably not Greta, she'd prefer to sit under it, but Marlene is one hell of a climber....

 

[Retro_GI_Jane]

Heheh, it's the wild instinct I'm sure, Edward! Day one and tree still standing with no ornaments broken. I always put ornaments I have more than one of or plastic/felt ornaments on the bottom branches so if the glitter catches their eye, it won't be so bad if I find it on the floor later. However, sometimes one of them will get a wild hair and will make a leap for the middle of the tree...I recall finding a huge hole a few years ago where our long haired cat decided she must sprawl herself out and nap there. And the other likes to chew...so no garland anymore unless it's up high in a door or archway.

 

[Formeruser012523]

Aw...my 18 y/o Siamese doesn't have any interest in trying to climb the tree anymore. He sits under it & enjoys the warmth. That is, if he's up to making the long journey from the bedroom to the living room. lol

 

[Cricket]

Our feline, when I was a child, had a thing about eating the silver string we put on the Christmas tree. And she always proved her guilt when "proof" was left behind.

 

[Edward]

Heheh, it's the wild instinct I'm sure, Edward! Day one and tree still standing with no ornaments broken. I always put ornaments I have more than one of or plastic/felt ornaments on the bottom branches so if the glitter catches their eye, it won't be so bad if I find it on the floor later. However, sometimes one of them will get a wild hair and will make a leap for the middle of the tree...I recall finding a huge hole a few years ago where our long haired cat decided she must sprawl herself out and nap there. And the other likes to chew...so no garland anymore unless it's up high in a door or archway.

Sounds just like my girls. They're only three and a half, so hopefully I will have many, many more years of these "issues".

 

[Miss sofia]

It's our first christmas with our new kitten, so i'm going to have to bite the bullet and see how we go with the christmas tree. I have learned not to put the lights on the flicker setting, learned from bitter experience i might add, re-read that as being woken up from a delightful post-dinner power-nap, by the sound of the tree hitting the floor and our little Miss howling all the way to the catflap!

My neighbour next door who has four babies, keeps a spritzer bottle of water near the tree and 'lightly mists', if one of the little darlings goes near it. It works a treat apparently, although i'm not sure if i could cope with the sulking from Daphne if i tried that myself.

 

[LocktownDog]

My dog is scared to death of christmas trees. Especially twinkling lights.

 

[Gregg Axley]

I have to spend a few days with the inlaws around Thanksgiving, then I get to start Christmas.
This year I plan to put up the Aluminum Christmas tree, along with the regular one we have.
Maybe some sugar free dessert recipes.
No lights on the outside though, too much work.

 

[Wally_Hood]

Growing up, my dad and mom set the first Saturday in December as the day for going out and getting the tree. I tried to follow that tradition and was successful for a few years into marriage. Then Mrs. Hood kept surreptitiously moving it up a day or two until this year we put the (artificial) tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I intend to exercise restraint and not listen to Christmas music or Christmas old time radio shows until December 1st. Then, I load up the mp3 player with about forty-plus hours of music and radio.

 

[AmateisGal]

I'm officially in the Christmas decor, here. I have my tree and decorations up, as of Friday.

Love it, Tom! We need to resurrect the Christmas Tree thread!

 

[AmateisGal]

It's our first christmas with our new kitten, so i'm going to have to bite the bullet and see how we go with the christmas tree. I have learned not to put the lights on the flicker setting, learned from bitter experience i might add, re-read that as being woken up from a delightful post-dinner power-nap, by the sound of the tree hitting the floor and our little Miss howling all the way to the catflap!

My neighbour next door who has four babies, keeps a spritzer bottle of water near the tree and 'lightly mists', if one of the little darlings goes near it. It works a treat apparently, although i'm not sure if i could cope with the sulking from Daphne if i tried that myself.

I'm a little nervous about our new kitty this year with the tree, too. He LOVES to climb things and play with anything and everything. Unfortunately, I don't think the water is going to work - he LOVES water. He'll get in the shower with you, lay in the sink, knock over any glasses that have water, and actually play in it.

 

[AmateisGal]

Being a "heathen" doesn't mean you can't enjoy Christmas. I don't know anyone who actually goes to church and they enjoy Christmas. I even know some Jews and Wiccans who enjoy Christmas. As for the staying home, how did you actually accomplish that?!?!? I recently asked my kids what their favorite holiday was and the answer was July 4, because they get to eat all day long and play video games with their friends (we host an all-day BBQ every year). When I asked about Christmas, they both said they hated it because they had to spend all day long in the car. Both sets of grandparents are divorced and remarried, so the holiday gets split between the 4 sets of grandparents and our own home. I don't want my kids growing, hating Christmas.

Same with us - both sets of parents are divorced and we're always traveling. This year, my daughter requested we stay home and that's exactly what we're going to do. We went home for Thanksgiving, so we just saw our family and made the most of it. I am SO looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the season, and so is my daughter!