Christmas — Page 64

Decorating: Broken Ornaments and Coffee Cups

December 9, 2011 at 10:52 am by Claudia

Yes, the decorating has begun. In fact, I’m almost done. On a whim, husband and I got our Christmas Tree on Wednesday, a few days earlier than usual. Yesterday, the tree was decorated. Not without mishaps: one of my favorite vintage ornaments fell and shattered into tiny shards; Don decided to have some coffee and while pouring it into a mug that had a tiny hairline crack, watched in horror as the mug exploded into pieces and coffee spilled onto everything – including Riley.

Now Riley smells like coffee.

Outside lights are up.
Trees are decorated.
Wreaths are hung.
House is a mess.

After I finish up today, the big bins will be carted back to their home in the shed.

I might even store all the summery porch paraphernalia. This is the longest I have ever let that particular chore go.

The dollhouse has been moved to the living room to make room for the Christmas tree. The decorating elves worked a little magic here, as well.

Don’t forget – next Tuesday’s Holiday edition of Defending the Small House will include a Linky Party. Take some pictures of your holiday home and share them with us!

When Do You Do Your Christmas Decorating?

December 7, 2011 at 6:00 am by Claudia

Let me say, straight off, this is a photo from last year’s tree. I do not decorate until the second week of December.

Christmas is wonderful, magical, full of meaning. To my mind, the season does not start the day after Thanksgiving. I need a little breathing space. I need to take in the end of November, the early days of December, the fading away of Autumn, before I start decorating. For me, the holiday season loses its magic if decorations have been up for weeks by the time Christmas day rolls around.

I also have a major issue with the way merchandisers and advertisers push the season on us earlier and earlier every year. So, as is often the case with me, I dig in my heels and do the opposite of what they want me to do.

I have a feeling many of us base the starting date of Christmas decorating on what our families did when we were young. My parents didn’t decorate until about mid-December. We kept the decorations up through New Year’s Day. As a kid, I really loved the anticipation, the looking forward to that special day when we decorated our home, because it meant that Christmas was about 2 weeks away.

I do the same. We also buy a real tree every year and I want it to last through the holidays. So, we’ll go out this Friday and get our tree. We’ll let it sit for day, give the branches a chance to settle. then we’ll put on our favorite Christmas music and decorate. I may hang the outdoor lights earlier in the week. Maybe.

When my dad was a kid, his family didn’t decorate their tree until Christmas Eve. I know others who decorate right after Thanksgiving. Some choose not to decorate. Variety is the spice of life!

What do you do? Tell me. Have you already decorated? Do you count the days in November until it’s time to decorate for the holidays? Or do you wait? What is your family tradition?

Playing With Camera Settings

December 29, 2010 at 1:00 am by Claudia

Achy muscles today from the shoveling extravaganza on Monday. The snow is beautiful but I would prefer a gentle dusting of snow in the future. Just enough to be pretty, but not so much that I must take a day to recover after shoveling it. Please take note, Mother Nature.

I’m playing with the manual settings on my camera – tiptoeing into apertures, shutter speeds and ISO. Though I know the basics, more often than not I rely on the auto setting. If I want a camera upgrade, I figure I should expand my knowledge and capabilities as much as I can with this camera first.