Well have you put your tree up yet? and will it be a real one or not? and do you colour co ordinate or just bung the baubles on..........Lol

No our tree isn't yet as ours will be real so i need it to last .
I like a traditionally decorated tree and put decorations on that were on my tree when i was a child .
I let the kids do the decorations , then re-arrange them how i like them when they have gone to bed !

Yep, tree & decs are up!! We put them up today.

We used to put all decs up on Christmas eve, but found it took way to long so reverted to the day before Chrismas eve. However, this year we have allready finished buying all pressies (usually done in the last week before xmas ) and felt we just had to get all the decs up too!

Our tree is a 6ft fake. When I was living with my dad we always had a real tree, but without fail, one of the cats would poop in the tinsel that covered the top of the pot it was planted in, only to be found when taking the decs down So since moving in with hubby (waaaaaaaay back when I was 18) we have always had a fake tree to avoid the cat leaving us xmas parcels!!

Up untill this year we have always thrown anything we could get our hands on at the tree and all over the cielings LOL, but this year we have tried to colour-coordinte and aim for a more sophisticated finish. We have gone with red, gold & silver on the tree and cut down to only 4 sets of lights on the tree and none on the ceiling (usually 8 sets on the tree and several nets of lights over the ceiling).

Allthough we have been much more controlled, we are pleased and it still looks very festive :) just a liitle more grown up that past Christmases.

Ohhhhh it's getting exciting now :-D

How about you - fake or real tree? is it up yet?

Our tree goes up on Christmas Eve, but I bought it today. It's always a real tree (so much nicer and infinitely more environmentally friendly than a plastic one). I've sawn an inch off the trunk and stood it outside in a bucket of water to keep it fresh.

The decorations are traditional family ones - an additional one bought every year - so they're a complete mismatch but incredibly personal. :-)

>and do you colour co ordinate or just bung the baubles on...

bung ????? each colour co-ordinated bauble is placed with precision on my tree, and im making the most of it before Elsie starts making wonderful things that I feel I have to put on the tree .... wonder if I could persuade her that nanny would like them more !!!!  This year as we have little one now ive bought a few kiddy bits for the house as previously it was all very grown up.  I bought some excellent boingy (not sure thats a word !) things that are dangling over the fireplace, a santa a snowman and a reindeer but Fagan has managed to knock every one of them with his tail and they are all facing the wall now!! we have a lovely old fasioned santa on top of the tv and Elsie's stocking hanging in the fireplace (which is blocked up so santa will have to come through the catflap !!)  Havent managed to get the tree up yet, meant to do it today but didnt get back from shopping in Kingston until 7.30 !!!!!! (ok so we may have stopped for tea before coming home ;)  )

> and im making the most of it before Elsie starts making wonderful things that I feel I have to put on the tree

Ahhh, you'll be so proud of her little decorations, you really will want to put them on the tree.

I still have little bits & bobs that my boys made when they were younger, they no longer go on the tree (the boys would die of shame now), but they are kept with all the decs and it's makes me smile to see them each year :)

tree is up, not real one, and i bung the balls on! Moan every year as my tree is individual colour coded branches that i have to put together! Lights all up outside too! Oh and all though my bernese is a very clean boy never messes in the house, he has peed up me christmas tree 2nd year running!

TREE UP??

No :(.

I am getting key to new house tomorrow so I will be busy moving, sigh...

> Moan every year as my tree is individual colour coded branches that i have to put together

It sounds like mine. The top section of the tree just needs the branches folding back into shape, but the lower sections (6 rungs around the tree) have increasingly bigger branches. We have to sort out all the colours to identify which branches go where, but as the tree is getting old now a lot of the coloured tags have come off, so it's a process of elimination, it took nearly an hour to get the tree assembled today :(

> Lights all up outside too!

Yay, same here, we put up our out door lights a week ago (only time we could borrow a ladder). We have new outdoor lights this year, a lovely bright blue. I love coming back from walking the dog, as the reflective stips on his high-viz vest look great with the blue Christams lights shining on it, LOL

> I will be busy moving, sigh...

Same here Otterhound! Blessing for me as every year we have the great Tree Disaster! Every year Storm eventually manages to drag the Tree through the house and one memorable year up the stairs!! Baubles and all....
Despite stern warning from me that 'The Baby Cheeses' will not come if he is naughty!! (*_*)

No Christmas decorations this year as we are too busy moving and won't be spending Christmas here anyway :) We have our own supply of Christmas trees at the bottom of the garden, although they are getting too big to bring into the house. We may just manage the next year or two, although a friend who lives in a barn is having one of the bigger trees :) We normally don't put our tree up until a few days before Christmas. Our two 'angels' never disturb the tree and have never 'stolen' the chocolate decorations, although we don't put any around the very bottom so they aren't at 'nose' level :)

Daisy

Yes my tree and decorations are up. It is a 6ft artificial tree. I could never leave it till the last minute as it takes me a whole day to put everything on the tree and all my christmas stuff around the house. I have lots of baubles bought for me or by me from around the world or given to me by friends as they all know how much I love Christmas. I have baubles from Hungary, South America, Spain, Florida to name a few. Decorating my tree is a trip down memory lane. Some of the baubles belonged to my OH grandma and are quite delicate, a small baby bauble was given to me by my aunty and sits in the branches and a soft toy pig wearing a santa hat is on my tree in memory of my friend who loved pigs who died of breast cancer a few years ago. For all these reasons my tree has such great sentimental value that I love having it up for as long as possible.
Happy Christmas to everyone.
jane

dont know if we have room for a tree this year :O((  the space it useally goes has a huge dog cage in it, Then of course we have the added addition of a loopy pup who steals anything not bolted down, and at 9 months still hasnt learnt to walk properly. She runs full speed everywere

Really not happy as i chucked out all the old decs last year and brought all new matching ones  so was looking forward to a nice tree. sometimes 3 dogs and a cat isnt practical lol.

i am also very anal about the tree, the kids decorate it but i spend a couple of hours after casualy moving things till its as i like. im the same with the cards

> No Christmas decorations this year as we are too busy moving and won't be spending Christmas here anyway :-) We have our own supply of Christmas trees at the bottom of the garden, although they are getting too big to bring into the house. We may just manage the next year or two, although a friend who lives in a barn is having one of the bigger trees :-) We normally don't put our tree up until a few days before Christmas. Our two 'angels' never disturb the tree and have never 'stolen' the chocolate decorations, although we don't put any around the very bottom so they aren't at 'nose' level :-)
>

That was us last year ..this year we will carry on our usual tradition of putting them up 11th December (this tradition started the year I went into labour on 11th December & decorated the house to keep my mind off the Other Thing ! :D) .  However, I have to find the box that was carefully packed away (somewhere!!!) and labelled Christmas deccies - it could be in one of two lofts or it could be one of the 20 (unopened since August 2008 ) boxes still the garage ......I'd better start looking !!

All up, lovingly prepared, symetrical and colour co-ordinated. :-D Well mine is.

We always have two in our house, the real tree is the boys pride and joy they always dress it however they like and have done from childhood, when we used to have just the one tree I used to try to be good, kind mum and be like in the films where dressing the tree is a family affair and joy, I used to bite my tongue and praise them for their good work, but oh boy I am such a perfectionist, (I even get on my own nevers :-D ) that I used to have to undress the tree and re-dress it again when the boys were in bed.

So mine is the meet and greet tree in the reception/hall a huge fake one which actually looks real and I find easier to work with you can bend the branch ends etc, (I'd never want a real on again) it even has acorns, and is decorated to the hilt with birds and angels precisely positioned and all girly, pretty sparkly baubles, and then we have the 'man' tree with flashing lights and baubles which I have to sit on my hands not to touch. :-) I've learnt to be good. ;-)

So all happy and Christmasy here. :-) Phew!

I spent half of yesterday putting up the tree and our few decorations.
Our tree is artificial and is co-ordinated in cream, gold and glass, there are five decorations that are not, but these are proud works of craft which my two girls made in nursery or reception class (they are 16 and 15 now).
We always have the same "how come Raven has four dec's and I have only one?" My eldest daughter says every year that the cracker is Raven's, so I have to unwrap it take out the loo roll :-D and show her "Chelsea W" then she is satisfied well at least for another year. Lol 
We don't have tinsel but have wired ribbon and three sets of white lights.
I have up a swag which I made with same colour baubles as on the tree, this hangs on the chimney breast, our flashing "Merry Christmas" in gold, the girls' stockings and my pride and joy the nativity which I have to do and love doing every year.
The lights are not up outside yet. I hope to twist OH arm to get a small real tree for out in the front garden.

>it could be in one of two lofts or it could be one of the 20 (unopened since August 2008 ) boxes still the garage ......I'd better start looking

LOL, Margot :) That will be us next year :) :) Fortunately, I am definitely NOT a perfectionist and have happily left the decorating of the Christmas tree to the children for the last 20 odd years :) I'm not sure what I will do next year - maybe I will let the dogs decorate it :) :)

Daisy

My tree went up yesterday . Its artificial decorated in red and gold. Had purple and silver one year but it looked cold and not in the least Chrissie. Was expecting to be chasing westie puppy all over for the bobbles but shes not looked near them. Early days me thinks
Jean

Still debating in our house about how we do it, we have two 4 month old kittens that will try and climb up anything they can get their claws into (and a few things they can't).  So the chances are a Christmas tree would be pulled down as soon as we got it up!, any suggestions as to how we can get round this greatfully received.

:( Well I'm gutted!

Last Christmas I was in the process of splitting up with my husband and closing down our pub business. Everything was such a mess and christmas day was horrible - tho we did try to keep it 'normal' for the kids.

Anyway said ex husband 'helpfully' moved my stuff into my new place and seems to have 'lost' all of my christmas decs. There were things my Nannie gave me from her tree, things from my mum and stuff the kids had made me. None of it made it to my house :( so I'm starting again from scratch.

Think I'll treat myself to some nice glass baubles now the kids are that bit older and I don't have to worry about them breaking. Wonder if Zaska will pull it down???

> Still debating in our house about how we do it, we have two 4 month old kittens that will try and climb up anything they can get their claws into (and a few things they can't).  So the chances are a Christmas tree would be pulled down as soon as we got it up!, any suggestions as to how we can get round this greatfully received.

My cat has never grown our of climbing up the tree, She's 4 yrs old now and as soon as the last decoration was put on the tree, she climbed up it. She gets as high as she can without tipping it over (learnt from experience form tipping it over many times ), wraps herself around the trunk and lays in it, every now and then a little paw shoots out and whacks a bauball flying. We can't take her out of it as she defends it with her life

So I have no tips as to how to stop a cat or kitten form ruining the tree :( All I can say is remeber to NOT put any chocolates on the tree in case the cat bats them off for the dog to get  & make sure the kittens don't chew the tree-lights. So safety only, you'll just have to grin & bear the mess, LOL

Bless, it's going to be great fun watching your kittens enjoy all the decorations :)

Tree is not up yet, not sure if I will have a big one this year.  Last year was a tree disaster.  Bought an artificial one and had to return it to the shop after spending hours setting it up, only to find that the transformer for the lights was missing.  Shop was completely sold out, so left without a replacement.   Next, bought a small live tree.  Had to hunt around to find a shop that still had tree stands.  A few days later tried to set the tree up and found the stand would not hold the tree.  The live tree stayed outside and I bought two very small artificial trees instead - more decorations than real Christmas trees they are so small.

I am going to decorate the house though and you've all made me think it's not too early to get started!  I love garlands on the staircase with ribbons and baubles.  Sparkling lights on the fireplace mantel.  A beautiful wreath that I decorate myself on the front door.  Snow globes and lots of other small items to place in various spots around the house. 

Wow what brilliant responses....Thanks all and Merry Christmas.

Mine is not up yet when it is it will be artificial, but I like them I love seeing real ones but maybe not for me not enough room for the size I'd like...well there would be but no one would then get in unless I moved all thefurniture around. I need a house with a "CHRISTMAS TREE WINDOW" as my Mom calls them a walk in bay square or round...anyhow....back to reality.

I just put on the decs that are in the box brought over ther years...and made over the years I try to tie it together with red bows...but I like it and Christmas is a time for guady....and smile.

Merry Christmas all.

I'd never dream of putting it up before the 23rd. It should always be the day before Christmas. :)

No next weekend its artificial HUGE and I do coordinate between red and gold, only the tree this year as we have to pack and leave the house at the begining of January. But it will be up and the house ones next weekend.

Up on Saturday - red/gold theme with white lights - real tree this year and I love it beautiful shape.  We haven't had the space for a few years so I am so happy :)

We also have an artificial in the hall area - currently with just lights!

Put our tree up yesterday also red/gold, still have lights to put up outside yet. ;)

My cat has never grown our of climbing up the tree,

Snap!  We had a beautiful white long hair so no chance of camoflauge there, :-) every Christmas he also would climb up to about half way and sit in the tree, he never knocked any decorations off, he once absolutely scared to death a visitor as he stretched his claw out and grabbed his shoulder when he stood next to the tree the guy jumped out of his skin! I always lifted him down, but I guess if he had jumped off the tree may well have gone over, he looked so cute, think that is why he did it so that we all went ahhhhhhhhhhhhh................ :-)

i have just this minute finished putting mine up..its a huge white bushy tree with a pink and purple and silver theme!
i left it late a couple of years ago and my fella and kids did it while i was at work...all i can say is it had a leg missing so was propped against the wall and had my daughters red fluffy lights from around her bed on it along with a mishmash of colours...it was truely awful
so i got up at 3am and sorted it out...never again will i allow dave near the tree..so i have done it while he is at work!!

> he once absolutely scared to death a visitor as he stretched his claw out and grabbed his shoulder when he stood next to the tree

LOL, I bet that was a shock for the visitor :-D

no treee....too dangerous with 15 canines and a cat!!! wouldnt last 2 mins. I usually make a natural drape from spruce, holly, ivy etc to go over our bread oven fireplace, and that the limit of my christmas spirit. Bah humbug!

I'm not having one! We have got a poinsetta (sp!) instead!

I know I'm going to get a lot of b'ah humbugs here but I don't really like them! :-)

Had a real one last year and the dogs were brilliant but now we have Geoff the seven month old who is a complete whirlwind of a hooligan I am not sure it would last until next week never mind Christmas!

Nicki xx

Got to do ours this week.
Off to Wakefield Place i think to pick one, going smaller this year so i can place it on a table, also bonus of less needles..
They also have the largest tree in England(CountryFile said so)
Might even pop up there tomorrow to have a look. - feel like a new theme of silver and blue this year.

I suppose we'll have a real one as usual and it'll go up the weekend before Christmas.  I would prefer not to have one at all but OH insists on dragging me out every year to choose the real one...why, I have no idea as he ignores my opinion totally and always chooses one that's impractically large.  No matter how often I protest that that 10ft monstrosity won't fit in our 8.5ft high living room; we always end up with something that wouldn't look out of place in Trafalgar Square....and then I get left to untangle the lights and decorate the bloomin' thing as 'his work is done'...*sigh* 

So, having spent the best part of a day decorating the thing, I spend the next 2 weeks picking up baubles that waggy tails send shooting off in all directions...it's like living in a pinball machine.  Not to mention the endless festive games of fetch as I try, fruitlessly, to teach Newfie that baubles belong on the tree and not in her gob.  Never mind festive greetings, our house positively rings with festive voices repeating 'Lola, GIVE!' endlessly for what feels like a LOT more than 12 days...

No decorations anywhere else in the house because I'm usually too pi$$ed, having sunk a bottle of Baileys to get over the stress of the whole tree thing...

Humbug. 

Yay my tree is up! It's a real tree and my OH is grumpy because its huge :) I caught him trimming branches off it earlier because it was blocking the tv,he's the King Humbug! It's looking a bit bare because last years tree was half the size but this year do have some lovely hand made christmas decs that used to be my Grans. I've bought icicle lights to hang off the gutter as well but I have to wait to get them up, our ladder isn't long enough :(

> Had a real one last year and the dogs were brilliant but now we have Geoff the seven month old who is a complete whirlwind of a hooligan I am not sure it would last until next week never mind Christmas!

I'm looking at the mini real trees that are only 1' high that can sit on the table or beside the tv and hopefully keep growing for next year - unless oberon takes ownership of it as a peeing post.  Theres no way I could have a bigger freestanding one as Oberon would go through it!  He has already had the xmas reindeer off the top of the tv 3 times tonight. grrrr!  I keep catching him skulking off to the kitchen with rudolph in his gob.

oh heck NO!!!  Is It That Time Already lol, gotta say i wont be doing it till the 20th but my 11 year old is happy with that so i am pleased, the less time its up for me the better lol.

Oh and for all you xmas ppl on here xxx im posting on new Thread a Great message you will will love lol .

**************WAIT FOR IT *************************
XXX

> Off to Wakefield Place

Doh, Its Wakehurst Place.. Was so asleep when i typed that

Ha Ha - funny enough I did know what you meant though :)

oh chealzea girl I am with you the later the better. Haven't done anything to speak of yet daughter says I am mrs Bah humbug !
Will have to rush around next week I suppose.
Glad to here that santa comes through the cat flap in other people's houses just wish he wouldn't leave all that snow all through the house though  its a devil to clear up in the morning.!!

> just wish he wouldn't leave all that snow all through the house though 

did that once at ours..........but it melted by morning and the dog got the blame :-D

!lol @ tatty ead! :) :)

Well the outside lights are now up...moving forward.