My mum just got the wreath up outdoors, and we’ll have the tree (maybe the lights outside?) ready by Christmas eve.
What about you lot?
(Mods, could you edit the first part to read: “Deck the halls with boughs of holly”?
Thanks… :o )
I helped my mom with the tree every year growing up but since moving across the country two years ago, I’ve not put up anything for any of the holidays.
I’m having trouble getting really into the decorating thing this year. I’ve planned all sorts of cleaning, re-organizing and rearranging to happen prior to putting the tree up, and haven’t had time yet to get it all done.
However, we now have two red and two green bulbs in our ceiling fan light, not the only light source in the living room, and my boy is working on painting the picture window with Very Festive Artwork, so that’s something!
We’ll have a wreath on the door (we had to look a while to find one that would fit between door and storm door.) In the next couple of days, we’ll assemble the reasonable-facsimile tree in the front room, so we’ll look sufficiently Christmasy from the street.
Three years ago, Mrs. Nott bought some outdoor lights for the shrubs. So far, she hasn’t put them out, and I’m hoping the icy wind will dissuade her again this year.
Some of my neighbors actually hire people to put up lights to outline the house and stake down wire frame deer and angels with moving parts that creak all night in the cold. The thought makes me sore afraid.
I’ve actually been thinking about starting a “show us pictures of your decorations” thread, but haven’t taken pictures of my own yet. 
I’ve had the wreath on the front door since Thanksgiving: no one ever sees my place at Christmas, but my mom and brother come for Thanksgiving dinner so I put the wreath out for that.
Today, I put up my new fake tree! Pre-lit, 7.5’ tall. I think it looks pretty damn nice. The lights at the very top don’t work (grr), but I have a lit 5-pointed start on top so the gap in lighting isn’t very noticeable. So far I only have the star on top and silver garland on it; I still have to hang my decorations.
I also put some pre-lit green garland on the fireplace mantel. I did that last year and really like the way it looked, and it looks very nice again this year. I can’t remember how I got my stocking hangers and candle holders to sit on the mantel with all of the garland in the way, but I’ll figure something out for this year.
In my house there is a step down between the dining room and living room, with a wood railing separating the two. Last year I wrapped garland around the top of the railing, and it looked nice, but this year I think I’m going to use the railing as the place to display my Christmas cards.
My only disappointment has been with trying to put lights out front: there is no outlet outside, and every year I try to figure out how to put some kind of lights out there. I thought I had it figured out this year: I’d put the now-unneeded Christmas tree lights around the front door, and just run the strand under the door and around the corner to the nearest kitchen outlet. I put the lights up, got everything taped into place, flipped the switch, and said, “Cool!” … and then the damn door wouldn’t close over the light strand. 
There was enough clearance on the bottom, but not at the sides – in fact I wound up accidentally crushing one of the bulbs. So that was pretty frustrating. I might try to put the lights up in the kitchen windows, if I can get some suction cup hooks – I’ve tried it before, but I don’t remember why it didn’t work.
Ok, now I’m motivated to go finish decorating the tree!
I don’t bother decorating my apartment, because I really don’t care and don’t feel like spending money on it. However, ever single person who’s been in my apartment in the last week has commented on it, in “Why do you hate freedom?!” type tones. Luckily, however, there is a holly tree growing right next to my house, so I opened the window, snipped off some branches, and “festively” tossed them on my mantle and window sills. Voila!
Inside isn’t done yet. That wats until close to Chrsitmas.
Outside is done. I have a lot o’ crap. Lots and lots o’ cap.
http://www.caughtatwork.net/personal/2005christmaslights/index.php
Sorry about the photography, it’s a crappy digitcal camera and just won’t let in enought ilght, but it gives you the idea.
Yes, it’s gauche and tacky and everyone that comes past just loves it.
Homer and Bart ‘talk’. In that I loko out of the computer room window and when people come past I have random Simpsons phrases on the PC which are piped down to the speakers outside and downstairs.
Scares the bejesus out of people who haven’t been past before.
What I find very funny about my display is that I have everything ‘winter’ out there. Snowmen, reindeer, santa, sleigh etc and during summer it’s probably 35C (around 90F) every day, so if this was real, they’d all be melted piles of slush by now.
Our decor is lower key this year than in times past. When the littlest of our troop came along, I went minimalist on the tree. I bought a set of the three alpine trees , so I could put them on top of a table to keep curious little hands off my ornaments. Mom confiscated the medium-sized one last year. I’ve got the smallest on top of the dvd cabinet with all the rustic and homemade ornaments on it, and I’ve got the large on on a little stand in front of the livingroom window with all my blown glass ornaments on it.
We threw out a few colored twinkle lights on the largest trees in the front yard, hung a evergreen wreath with big red ribbons by the door, and called it a day on out-door decor.
My only purchase for holiday decking this year has been some new stocking hangers from Target, and stockings from Cracker Barrell. All five of us have nice new stockings ready for Santa!
My Christmas decorations are very much like what you might expect if you put a 6 year old and 4 year old in charge with only a 7 mos. pregnant woman to supervise them. A woman who can’t pursue any task for more than 20 minutes without having to take a break.
The tree is up, but ornaments cluster heavily on the bottom two thirds. The traditional ornaments have been heavily supplemented with contruction paper versions bearing such Christmas themed pictures as gameboys and Pokemon.
Three pieces of the Mexican nativity cluster on the bookshelf. Quite a few more (including baby Jesus!) of the olivewood set are on the covered keyboard of the piano.
The nutcracker musicians from the nutcracker music box have all been removed from their little pegs and are participating in some arcane, possibly pagan, ritual with the Thomas Tank Engines underneath the dining room table.
One string of icicle lights managed to get strung from the eaves today before the sun went down. Since this covers only about a sixth of the eaves, they are not turned on, so our shame will only be apparent during the day.
My real fear is when the Christmas decorations will ever come down, since baby’s due date is Feb 9, meaning the take down will all have to occur during my 8th and 9th months.