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Post by racingteatray on Dec 1, 2020 14:03:34 GMT
Completely unrelated to cars...but I saw today a piece on the Beeb saying that Britons had gone into an early Christmas tree buying frenzy.
So have you got a tree yet?
Normally my wife starts angling for a tree from about mid-November and, being British, I resist until at least early December, but on this occasion, we were in agreement that we needed cheering up and, having spotted that a pop-up Christmas tree sales operation had just opened on the corner of the common nearest our house (barely 150yds away), we toddled down last Saturday and obviously, having agreed in advance that a small one would do rather than our usual 8ft job, I still then ended up hefting a 6ft job home on my shoulder after my wife decided that anything smaller was "sad".
I must admit it was an absolutely excellent idea. My wife has decorated it extensively and it looks I have to say very nice and puts us just both in a cheerier mood for dealing with the otherwise unremitting gloom and doom.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2020 14:13:48 GMT
Not sure I will have a tree as such, not enough space but a 'light' tree perhaps.
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Post by PetrolEd on Dec 1, 2020 14:19:07 GMT
No tree as yet but that's a job for the weekend. We're also for the first time having a full Christmas lights switch on in our street at 6 on Saturday which will bring loads of competition amongst the neighbors. I can see this getting out of control.
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Post by Martin on Dec 1, 2020 14:28:09 GMT
We normally wait until the first weekend in December, but we're away this coming weekend so collected our tree from the local garden centre on Sunday and Lindsay decorated it yesterday. She's currently outside putting some lights on the bushes at the front of the house, but that will be it, our outdoor decorations are very low key/subtle.
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Post by michael on Dec 1, 2020 14:41:14 GMT
Not put one up yet. We have a 6ft artificial thing in the loft that I'll need to get down but I'll do it nearer Christmas.
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Post by racingteatray on Dec 1, 2020 14:57:18 GMT
We normally wait until the first weekend in December, but we're away this coming weekend so collected our tree from the local garden centre on Sunday and Lindsay decorated it yesterday. She's currently outside putting some lights on the bushes at the front of the house, but that will be it, our outdoor decorations are very low key/subtle. We don't do anything external other than a Christmas wreath on the front door, which my wife likes to have. For that we have an artificial one that needs retrieving from the loft. |
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Post by Martin on Dec 1, 2020 15:23:29 GMT
We normally wait until the first weekend in December, but we're away this coming weekend so collected our tree from the local garden centre on Sunday and Lindsay decorated it yesterday. She's currently outside putting some lights on the bushes at the front of the house, but that will be it, our outdoor decorations are very low key/subtle. We don't do anything external other than a Christmas wreath on the front door, which my wife likes to have. For that we have an artificial one that needs retrieving from the loft. When I worked for Homebase, the word the buyers used for all the plastic/artificial/fake trees and wreaths was 'Faux'.... We used to have an artificial/faux wreath, but we've got a nice new front door being fitted in a couple of weeks so that won't be happening again, hence the concession to some small white lights on the bushes. |
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Post by Tim on Dec 1, 2020 15:46:20 GMT
Tree usually not allowed until 8th December at the earliest.
I relented this year but now Mrs Tim appears not to be bothered, possibly due to being stressed out at work!
External decorations are normally limited to a fibre optic projector thing that goes on a spike into the grass and if I can actually find it I might stick it outside although now we live on a very quiet backroad hardly anyone will see it.
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Post by Roadrunner on Dec 1, 2020 16:01:09 GMT
Our tree and decorations normally go up a couple of weeks before Christmas, but we shall go earlier this year. Our road also has a first-time Christmas lights switch on tonight, so I was outside at lunchtime with our usual white lights on the front bay window and porch.
We always have a real tree which I shall buy from a farm in the next village at the weekend, but it will stand in a bucket of water for a week before coming in.
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Post by Eff One on Dec 1, 2020 16:11:15 GMT
We've never had external decorations before but Mrs Eff has ordered some lights to drape across the bushes in our front garden. That will probably happen next weekend.
When I was growing up the decorations usually went up either on the weekend before Christmas or on Christmas Eve; Mrs Eff and I continued that tradition until parenthood, which seems to inexorably extend Christmas. For the last couple of years we've decorated two weekends before Christmas which will mean the 12th this year.
We used to have real trees but they're silly money now. We have a 4 foot fake tree which we stand on the TV cabinet so that it reaches up over my head. I was sceptical when we first used it, but it actually looks brilliant when fully festooned with lights, tinsel and baubles.
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Post by ChrisM on Dec 1, 2020 16:25:41 GMT
We have a 3ft artificial fibre-optic tree in the loft somewhere. Usually the decorations go up during the first week-end of December so if I feel inclined I'll fish it out next Saturday or Sunday. As I've said elsewhere it's been such a bad year that I really don't feel like putting any decorations up this time.... however as younger daughter is due to stay over Christmas, I suppose I had better find some enthusiasm. I must try to write some Christmas cards too... got plenty left over from the past few years so at least I won't have to go out and buy any. I may have enough stamps left over from last year too......
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Post by Blarno on Dec 1, 2020 17:08:09 GMT
We bought our tree on Sunday as the next few weekends are going to be hectic. I leave it all to the wife - as time goes on I become less and less interested in Christmas and anything surrounding it. As long as my family are happy, that's all I care for.
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Post by LandieMark on Dec 1, 2020 17:57:03 GMT
I'll drag our decorations out of the loft in the next week. Not really in the Christmas spirit at all. It's all about socialising for me, which we aren't allowed to do as of yet.
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Post by Big Blue on Dec 1, 2020 22:09:40 GMT
Daughter’s birthday on 15th. Normally no Christmas decorations until then. My mum’s 80th on 17th. I’m off to represent the family at her closest cousin’s (they came over to England together in ‘62) funeral next Friday.
Could do with cheering up so may just buy a tree from the local greengrocer this weekend as well as the “faux” one that we normally have.
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Post by PetrolEd on Dec 1, 2020 22:27:55 GMT
Im struggling with this lockdown situation so think I might turn my house into Santa’s grotto just to cheer myself up a bit.
I used to be a bit bah humbug where outdoor decorations were concerned but in the more the merrier camp now
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Post by Alex on Dec 1, 2020 22:33:59 GMT
Makes a difference now you have a kid Ed. Is this his first Christmas.
We've got all the decorations up and I had a days holiday to use up yesterday so I baked the Christmas cake and made the first batch of mince pies (tried adding a bit of icing sugar to my pastry and it came out quite nice). I think after this skip fire of a year Christmas is allowed to start a little early!
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Post by racingteatray on Dec 1, 2020 22:45:57 GMT
I think after this skip fire of a year Christmas is allowed to start a little early! That's exactly how my wife and I felt. We just decided some additional festive cheer wouldn't go amiss, and indeed it hasn't. I have never had a plastic or "faux" tree. We didn't have them growing up and I'm not about to start now! Had to persuade my wife when we first started living together, but now she is a convert to the joys of a real tree although I suspect she wouldn't take much persuading to have a plastic one instead. I mainly get away with having a real one as we have no space to store a fake one during the rest of the year. |
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Post by rodge on Dec 2, 2020 6:21:39 GMT
We’ve had a reusable one for a few years now.
We used to get real ones but it was easier when the kids came along to have a fake one.
Got a new one this year- we were given it by a friend who moved away.
It was up on Friday last.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2020 10:07:06 GMT
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Post by PG on Dec 2, 2020 10:17:46 GMT
We'll get our real tree later this week or early next week. There's a big farm that grows the trees about 15 minutes away. Like everyone else, I think this year we all need cheering up. Last year our cat was still young so she was not much interested in the tree. I hope that continues this year. We have a very heavy metal holder so we should be OK.
I also put lights on some bushes at the front of the house and will do that at the weekend too.
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Post by Martin on Dec 2, 2020 10:18:26 GMT
I used to have an artificial tree, but Lindsay wanted a real tree when we moved in together and I'm fully converted. This years smells particularly 'Christmassy' and we found one over 6' that wasn't too huge in diameter, so it fits nicely in the corner without having to move the chair or have branches up against the TV unit.
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Post by PG on Dec 2, 2020 10:23:51 GMT
As a child my sisters and I always wanted a real tree but my parents were totally against it and we had a rather awful silver fake one and were never even allowed lights on it. Then when I was an early teenager it was the first Christmas after we moved into a new house and my father was away on a long business trip. In early December we badgered my mother again and she went out with us and we got a real tree, lights, baubles, the whole lot. Woohoo! So, it was my father who was the roadblock. After he came home he calmed down eventually.
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Post by ChrisM on Dec 2, 2020 10:57:47 GMT
(snip) Last year our cat was still young so she was not much interested in the tree. I hope that continues this year. We have a very heavy metal holder so we should be OK. Holder for the cat or for the tree?? |
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Post by Big Blue on Dec 2, 2020 12:16:51 GMT
......,,so it fits nicely in the corner without having to move the chair or have branches up against the TV unit. I always cut the bits off that foul furniture or prevent the tree getting deeper into a corner/ against the wall. |
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Post by racingteatray on Dec 2, 2020 12:42:54 GMT
it fits nicely in the corner without having to move the chair or have branches up against the TV unit. Our tree goes in a corner of the living room by the dining table but in order to accommodate it, we have to move the drinks cabinet from its usual place between the piano and the sofa to the other side of the room (which requires taking all the bottles out otherwise it's too heavy to lift) and then shift the piano sideways into the gap left by the drinks cabinet. Otherwise there's a risk of the tree dropping sap on the piano which wouldn't be a good idea. That takes a while, particularly as my wife doesn't miss the opportunity to clean the floor, wall and skirting board behind the bits of furniture that we are moving. |
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Post by Martin on Dec 2, 2020 13:24:38 GMT
......,,so it fits nicely in the corner without having to move the chair or have branches up against the TV unit. I always cut the bits off that foul furniture or prevent the tree getting deeper into a corner/ against the wall. Yes, we've trimmed 2 branches that stuck out a bit too far, but I know if I went any further it wouldn't look quite so good! |
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Post by Martin on Dec 2, 2020 13:28:45 GMT
it fits nicely in the corner without having to move the chair or have branches up against the TV unit. Our tree goes in a corner of the living room by the dining table but in order to accommodate it, we have to move the drinks cabinet from its usual place between the piano and the sofa to the other side of the room (which requires taking all the bottles out otherwise it's too heavy to lift) and then shift the piano sideways into the gap left by the drinks cabinet. Otherwise there's a risk of the tree dropping sap on the piano which wouldn't be a good idea. That takes a while, particularly as my wife doesn't miss the opportunity to clean the floor, wall and skirting board behind the bits of furniture that we are moving. Drinks cabinet and piano.....surely that's a drawing room rather than a living room? We have a wine rack in the Dining room, other bottles are in the sideboards (we have one the dining room and another in the kitchen dining area), beer is in the 2nd fridge in the utility room and I've an old electronic keyboard under the guest bed!  |
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Post by LandieMark on Dec 2, 2020 14:33:14 GMT
We have two artificial trees. We have tried real ones, but the dogs brush past them and they end up bald far too soon.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 2, 2020 14:44:18 GMT
I once helped a friend and his dad pick up a large 8' tree from a forest in Northumberland and it wouldn't go in his Cortina. The roads were snowy and icy so he just lashed it to the tow bar and dragged it home. This meant it lost most of the branches and needles on one side but the plus was it then went up against the living room wall very neatly without sticking too far out.
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Post by racingteatray on Dec 2, 2020 15:38:25 GMT
Our tree goes in a corner of the living room by the dining table but in order to accommodate it, we have to move the drinks cabinet from its usual place between the piano and the sofa to the other side of the room (which requires taking all the bottles out otherwise it's too heavy to lift) and then shift the piano sideways into the gap left by the drinks cabinet. Otherwise there's a risk of the tree dropping sap on the piano which wouldn't be a good idea. That takes a while, particularly as my wife doesn't miss the opportunity to clean the floor, wall and skirting board behind the bits of furniture that we are moving. Drinks cabinet and piano.....surely that's a drawing room rather than a living room? We have a wine rack in the Dining room, other bottles are in the sideboards (we have one the dining room and another in the kitchen dining area), beer is in the 2nd fridge in the utility room and I've an old electronic keyboard under the guest bed! Our house is modern and small (only 1100ft2), plus the ground floor is all open plan, so we don't have a separate dining room or sitting/drawing room - the sofas and dining table are just at opposite end of the same space, with the dining table being at the end which opens through to the kitchen. Hence I call it a "living room". There is also a separate smaller sitting room up on the mezzanine but that's been re-purposed this year to act as my wife's study. |
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