Your christmas decorations.

Nothing at all...

8 acres! That's a country estate over her ya know.

a living tree ... pot grown with fuchsia cherry lights and silver trimming stuff that looks like razor wire and a few silver baubles ... on the front door: a small thing made of twigs and fake holly with three pine cones stuck in the middle that was 2.49 from wilkos and which dan knocked off several times and so now has one pine cone and another one held on with blu tack ...

A too-tall dead tree that looked great in Homebase's back yard but was a right sod getting in the tree holder and now lists at an alarming angle. The fancy tree lights bought last year were supposed to last 100,000 hours but don't if you stand on the buggers, so the 'rippling' effect is impaired somewhat by the fact that only 1 in 3 bulbs still light up. Still the pressies beneath look nice, if you ignore the water-stains where chooselife jnr mis-poured a bottle full water trying to keep the trunk moist so that at least a few needles remain on the thing till 12 night. Next year I'm buying a fake one.

Nothing, nada, zilch. I can't face the 1950's tinsel tree again and buying a fake one is too expensive until after Xmas. I do have some old Christmas cards stacked under a wine bottle, however.

Got some cards on the telly.

I am typing from the undergrowth of a blue spruce, pot grown, that will no doubt pilfer a little more light from my garden in my dotage. But it beats severing another one of of mother natures children. Frankly the sparkly lights are yet another waste of resource, yet, a somewhat reasoned compromise as i would far rather waste my electic, lighting up the nether regions of a local politician who's glows every shade but green. But as santa comes but once a year the least I can do is be here to light my chimney with coppiced wood [%sig%]

a big tree in the garden that we are wondering how on earth to fit into the house... it was on special offer but only the biggest ones were and we couldn't resist a bargain... mmmm.

I cant see my tree from here... *cranes neck*

come back here this minute!!!!

we haven't got as tree, but mrs_t got some holly and vines from the garden, deaped them over the fireplace, and weaved some fairy lights through them looks proper crimbo *drinks a glass of festive mead* *realises he's still at work UNTIL TOMORROW....*

Oh poor you Marty... I broke up on the 16th and dont go back til the 3rd of Feb.... might even fit in another hol before then... *smirk*

One of our family rituals at Christmas is to go down to Chesham Christmas Tree Farm and pick out a nice, full non-drop variety. We prefer those ones that smell orangy whenever you walk past but they haven't been in season for a couple of years. Once chosen, we get the guys there to cut it to our specifications and wrap it for us while we watch on. It's a magical start to our Christmas. My wife does a marvelous job of decorating the tree and the house, although I agree with Chooselife that the Christmas tree lights never seem to make two years. Every year we have to buy more. The tree has a gold theme to it, but this year we've opted for red cherry lights to compliment the other decorations. We have various Santas scattered all over the place who sing little daft songs and dance when a switch is clicked on. We have lantern-type lights around the kitchen and window between the lounge and kitchen. A big old Santa outside our little boy's room, and he's got a little fake tree on his desk. Coloured lights up the bannister with some green stuff wrapped around them. A piece of mistletoe above the kitchen door and a decent-sized wreath hanging from the front door. I've hung clear icicle (how do you spell that?) lights outside and tommorrow I'm going to go up on the roof with a toboggan wrapped in clear lights. Merry Christmas everyone.

ive bought a beautiful big fresh tree this year, and a screw-in stand which made it much simpler to erect. apart from that not much decoration, just 2 boxesworth of purple balls spread around so it looks like a ribena tree, and there's a marge simpson doll in a white bikini dangling near the top. I still prefer my little fibroptic tree though which I've had for years, and which is glowering and grinding in the kitchen. Next year its back to artificial probably. I've got 4 or 5 sets of fairylights around the place, sort of unceremoniously placed. One lot draped round the gas meter, another just lit in a heap on the floor. I love fairy lights, they are often cheaper than scented candles, so I dont stint on them.

ah yes, the screw in stand. discovered them last year freda. briliant, apart from the tree not fitting into it. a year wiser, today bought a slimline spruce. it sits behind me as i type, minimally decked out in gold and silver baubles, a few strands of tinsel and plain white bulbs. the hole where the fireplace is supposed to go is still (six years after i knocked thru') covered in plasterboard. it now features a tinsel suround, again in good taste. cards are pinned to the plasterboard. 'Couldn't do that if we'd installed a fireplace,' i reminded mrs. s. She wasn't impressed.

I think it's scary trying to arrange a long string of fairy lights around a tree. There's just too much choice, too much impact. I think less is more, but too late now as I've already made a mess. Now I'm trying to think up a good use for the stand when christree period is over. Apart from the obvious candlestick or tomcat holder

Some people arrange their lights and then at the end because they've stretched them too far it goes from loads of lights per square foot to about 4 lights in the top two foot. Thats's one to be avoided. Some houses round about here have got enough lights and santas and reindeers and sleighs lit up on their houses that it must strain the national grid when they switch on. I've heard some chap in Norwich has got a logically sustainable christmas display. It says in blue and green fairylights 'A or B, not A therefore B' with a big waving snowman lit up on the end. Sounds great. I wish you a (happy christmas or unhappy christmas) not (unhappy christmas) therefore (happy christmas).

I've printed out your bit about the fireplace Colin and pinned it to the bathroom wall. It's to keep the old bag of rags off my back as it's been only six months since I started to refit the room. The plumbing is all working but the cable for the light over the mirror is still hanging out of the wall, the mirror is propped up on the vanitory unit, the woodwork is not finished, no shower screen as yet and I don't give a dogs dick.

Nothing in the house except Christmas cards on the lamp shades. The grandchildren aren't coming this year, why bother. But I did have my uncle put up the nativity scene with Mary and Joseph and the babe. It has an angle on top. The 3 wise men got ruined in the shed last year by water, but, and we think it is because of the lighting, Harley our 3800 lb longhorn steer, 2 cows, a goat and a llama stand around looking at it. The neighbors drive to see it because of the live animals. It must be the lights because they only go there at night when the spotlights are on and the music is playing. HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND BLESSINGS OF THE SEASON TO YOU ALL. Rita

I wondered where the three whys men wintered. Doesn't sound much like a Texan ranch to me Rita, did you forget to mention the 3000 head of hamsters.