My mom goes a little nuts at Christmas...

[matt_mcl]

A few years ago, I counted no fewer than 125 Santa Clauses of every description at my aunt’s house. We then went for a Christmas buffet chez her daughter, who had a similar number of snowmen. I’m worried.

[clayton_e]

Not decorative related, but one of my coworkers told me the other day she gets out the Christmas music CDs at the beginning of October and listens to them until probably mid February.

I’m worried for her… She’s older (probably mid 60s) and I’m pretty sure, along with her other odd behavior (not small stuff… Things like "Did my husband drop me off at work today or did I drive in… hrm… I have my keys… but then again my house key is on it so I would have it anyway…)

I’m pretty sure its a sign of mental illness.

[dangermom]

Some people just like Christmas music. I had a college friend who listened to it all year. (He’s an accountant.) I remember once driving to LA in July, and when he was driving, it was Christmas music.

[bouv]

@dangermom

Some people just like Christmas music.

I find this baffling…

Ok, I admit, I like Christmas music, but only if it’s “a little different.” For instance, I have three “albums” (not real albums, just downloaded (legally, they were released for free)) of Christmas music that’s all made to sound like it’s from an old 8-bit Nintendo. Everything is bleeps and bloops and sounds cool. They are called, appropriately, “A Very 8-Bit Christmas” (1, 2, and 3)

I also can enjoy more rock/punk covers as well, but not every Christmas song is good just because it’s done by a rock artist, only some of them.

But I will admit that I am a sucker for The Muppets and John Denver Christmas. Best. Christmas. Album. Ever.

[masterofnone]

@bouv

Ok, since two people have asked me if I’m their sister, I really do feel the need to clear things up.

I’m a dude!! Got a big ol’ penis, and everything.

My apologies - no offense intended.

[bouv]

Several more pictures, this time of the kitchen:

One cabinet of dishes. All of the large plates on the left and small plates on the right are Christmas themed, as are several mugs. But not all the same set, no, there are like five sets scattered throughout a couple cabinets.
These.
These.
These.
These smaller ones.
Square ones from another cabinet.
Mug! (You can also see a Christmas hand towel in the background there.)

But the dishes aren’t the stopping point, no, just the start…

Salt and pepper shakers.
Not one, not two, but THREE Christmas dish towels on this dish rack. (There are probably a dozen more Christmas dish and hand towels in a drawer.)
Snowman cookie jar and bonus random plate!
Candy jar. (I don’t know why there is a lightbulb and other assorted crap on the counter there.)
A box that covers up her tissue dispenser. I didn’t even know they had these at all let alone ones that are themed!
Soap dispenser. (it should be noted that these nice-looking one works for shit. The pump thingy is kinda broken so you have to pump it about two dozen times to barely get any soap at all.)
Even MORE holiday dishes in the dishwasher, which can’t be put away because there is no cabinet space for them.!
Holiday flatware.
Some sort of amalgamation of dead twigs with some snowmen.
A couple things on a small table in the entryway.
A whole mess of holiday-themed birdhouses. (She normally just has a shit-ton of regular birdhouses on that little shelf thingy.)

Now, it should be noted that all of these things are replacing their normal, non-Christmas, counterpart. So she spends untold hours packing away the regular dishes, bringing out the holiday ones, etc… And at this point none of the things in the kitchen were in those boxes or totes I brought up from the basement.

Bonus picture, Dog with a bow!

[Yllaria]

@dangermom

On another message board there was a post from a woman whose mom had made her help with the decorating after Thanksgiving. Every room in the house had a Christmas tree and themed ornaments. The kicker was the garage–the garage tree had tool ornaments and a duct tape garland. :eek:

OK. Now I want a duct tape garland. That sounds like a family heirloom to me.

I’ve got instructions for making duct tape roses, too, so maybe I could do the whole tree. The only question is, should one stick with classic silver, or bring in colored duct tape.

The live-in DIL has put up most of the decorations. The only thing that bugs me a little are the stickers she put in the corners of the windows of my van. My objection there isn’t the Christmas theme, it’s the Winnie-the-Poohness of the Christmas theme. I’m starting to feel a little too old for the Poohbear.

[Rebo]

@bouv

I’m a dude!! Got a big ol’ penis, and everything.

Cite?

I had a friend who collected snow village stuff. Too much work, if you ask me! I just set a few things around, like bowls of ornaments and candles and stuff. My tree is sitting here naked, waiting for me to decorate it. We just got it yesterday. I’m really all about the food, as someone else mentioned upthread. You should see my lists!

Your mom may be a little cuckoo about Christmas, but this time of year I miss my crazy mama. So count your blessings and go haul some more crap up from the basement!

[tygre]

Oh man, a few years ago I worked for a department store in the xmas ornaments department. :eek:

We sold craptons of Dept. 56 and people got MAD if the school or the restaurant or what have you was sold out. I think we should have carried the “pool hall” and “dive bar” and “strip club” ones though.

The day after was the worst though. People poring over the half-off ornaments and …yikes.

I need to go lay down. Memories…

[Snickers]

@bouv

But I will admit that I am a sucker for The Muppets and John Denver Christmas. Best. Christmas. Album. Ever.

Preach it. This one’s my favorite, and it’s just not Christmas without giving it a spin repeatedly. Sadly, I only have it on vinyl, and my record’s pretty beaten up. I’ve asked for it in CD form this year; here’s hoping I get it.

“Piggy pudding?!”
“No, no - figgy pudding. It’s made with figs.”
“Oh.”
“And bacon.”
“What?!”

Love it!

[overlyverbose]

My mom’s the same way only she hires someone to set it all up for her once she’s gotten it out of storage. It’s funny, though - she hires someone to do it for her so she won’t stress out, but she still finds something to stress about, namely the food. Which my sister and I inevitably cook for her - all of it - and she takes full credit for to the rest of the family with an offhand, “Oh, the girls helped, too.” Then we also clean the dishes. But she’s still stressed. I think it has something to do with not being used to having so many people around for so long.

[schnuckiputzi]

Thirding the John Denver/Muppet love. I play that thing at full blast here at my junior high and EVERYONE joins in.
I’m too chemoed out to do much Christmassy decorating, but I put up my tree and put 3 ornaments on it, knowing that when my OCD daughter came home from college she would decorate everything, and clean the bathroom, shampoo the rug, mop the floors.

[The_Scrivener]

@wolfman

Hehe reminds me of one of my friends. His mom is probably 85-90 now. This was about 10 years ago. She has been collecting ornaments off all types for 75 years. Every year she puts up 10-15 trees, and decorates them with some of her thousands of ornaments in various caches.

They looked all fancy and antique and stuff. I made some off-hand comment about wondering how much they were worth, thinking she may have thousands or( tens of thousands of dollars) of crap. He got to thinking about it, and asked her and she said she had no idea what they were worth.

He didn’t know where to start but someones wife was kind of into ornaments and said she’ll ask around to get suggestions on an expert to appraise them. She came back smiling of success with a couple names, and said everybody she asked told her to talk to this one woman who knew more about ornaments than anybody in 500 miles, and went to every show(I had no idea there were trade shows for that) in the country.

There on the top of the list was his Mom’s name. :smack:

Aparently since his dad died she had been sneaking off around the country to buy more, but hadn’t told him because she didn’t want him to worry about spending all of his inheritance.

Maybe I’m biased because I love the antique Czech and German stuff, but right now, investing in collectable ornaments sounds like a smarter strategy than stocks, bonds, hedge funds, or T-bills. At least Christmas tree ornaments are tangible, so they’re not likely to plummet to zero, unless there’s a house fire or a really bad earthquake or something. Tell your friend to ask his mother if the collection is fully insured… and enjoy it for its intrinsic beauty.

[postcards]

@Katriona

My mom’s the same with her nativities. She’s got 280-some. It’s sometimes fun to find unusual versions for her, but then I feel like an enabler!

Your mom has a ways to go…

@The New York Times

Ms. Davis, 70, who has a collection of 497 Nativity scenes, has visited 101 countries and bought crèches in nearly half of them. (She has received plenty of gifts, too; it’s never hard to shop for a collector who isn’t too picky.) The pieces fill her two-story Mediterranean-style home and garage in El Cerrito, Calif., where she has lived since 1972. Her 84-year-old husband, Bob, is a sometime accomplice, having made bookshelves to display the assemblage. “Call him patient,” she said.

Full Story (Mostly about creches in general, not this particular woman.)