Are You A Grinch Or A Griswold?

[Bir48die]

Didn't know whether to do this as a poll but just curious what some of you do for Christmas decorations? We are not the Griswolds but I do have an array of lights in the front while my DW makes the inside of our house "magical". It's to the point where one walk in closet is a barely get the door open closet full of just XMas decorations. If I put categories to it I would have some of the following:

1) Bah Humbug! We don't put anything up.
2) We travel during the holidays so it's difficult for us to decorate.
3) We have a fake tree.
4) We actually go a lot or cut down our own tree and decorate.
5) We put up a few lights here or there and have a few decorations in the house.
6) We go to some effort both in an out to make this a special time, in some cases at the possible peril of falling off the roof.
7) We've had to add two generators full time to power our extravaganza.

Anyway, curious to hear what you have to say.

thanks

 

[Big_Hitter]

if this is a pole I vote 3

 

[Walt34]

3. We have a small fake tree.

I don't do much for decorations mostly because I hate cold weather and it's always cold in January when they should come down. If I did put up outside decorations I'd be one of those people who leave them up until June or July. And if it gets that late in the year, why bother to take them down? I'd just have to put them up in December again. So it's either that or no decorations, and the latter is what we do.

 

[DrRoy]

Used to be 6- but now 5.

 

[braumeister]

We exemplify both ends of the spectrum.

DW loves to decorate and the place has looked like a department store display for the last couple of weeks. She loves it, so she does it all.

I, conversely, see no need for any of it, and I ignore it. When I was single, I used to get grief from friends and cow-*rkers about it, so I compromised with one special decoration that I still put up every year.

For those who might wonder, yes it actually is a cartridge in a bare tree.

Primer and powder removed, of course.

 

[LauAnn]

A 5. Was going to be a 1 this year until I found out Thanksgiving and Christmas is at my house this year. So I put a few things out including my Mom's "Scrooge" collection. Instead of saving Santas or Snowmen, she collected figurines/books/canisters that had to do with Scrooge. Thus the collection was much more manageable since other than books Scrooge memorabilia is not as prevalent. I ended up with the collection as she no longer decorates.

 

[LRDave]

Grinch. Get off my lawn........


(Nah, just kidding...... We celebrate Christmas at the cabin and we aren't there all the time so we prudently have an artificial tree.)

 

[Moemg]

We seem to do less each year . We still have a real tree and a few decorations here and there but the days of extensive decorating are gone .

 

[2017ish]

used to be 6 (even ran electrical circuits to outlets in the overhang). Went to 1 some 10-13 years ago when the (then) young teen boys said that they'd rather not go to the trouble of taking decorations down.

Just us at home, no relatives closer than 5 hour drive, so we'll likely stay at 1.

 

[Lakedog]

Guess I am a Grinch (1) - when I sold my lake house a few years ago, I downsized to what would fit in my SUV (after the pup claimed his space). I do not plan to accumulate a bunch of "stuff" again so no decorations in my future.

 

[RunningBum]

A big 6. Lots of lights. I went all LED, so no need for an extra generator but I've got them around the garage frame, on the front porch and front door frame, net lights on 2 shrubs in front, and more lights on 2 dwarf alberta spruces. I don't have to get on the roof, but I do climb on the porch half wall and reach up to the gutters to hang the porch lights, so a bit of peril involved.


Inside I have lights in 5 front windows, hanging from the loft railing, and around the fireplace. I also have one of those artificial trees with the fiberoptic lighting that twinkles. Other than that just a dozen or two ornaments on the tree and a few knick knacks on the mantle. Mostly I just like the lights. Oh, I also have a string of lights mixed in with the bottles in my bar that is my dining room buffet/hutch, but I keep that year around.

 

[Katsmeow]

None of the selections seemed to quite fit. Maybe a 5 1/2 if just going by numbers and not so much the descriptions.

Inside the house we have a fake tree -- I'm allergic to the real ones. I enjoy decorating it. We did move down to a 6' this year from our old 9' that was very worn looking. (And, the cat insisting on sitting in the branches (see my avatar).

Our house inside as 4 sets of columns and we put tinsel garland on each column and have a few other Christmas type decorations on mantles and such.

Outside, we have a service that comes and puts lights on our house and our trees in the front yard. We own the lights, but the service stores them during the year and puts them up and takes them down for us.

Oh, and, stockings on the mantle.

 

[Car-Guy]

If were up to me (it's not) it would be a 0 or 1. In reality it's both 4 and 5.

 

[braumeister]

my Mom's "Scrooge" collection. Instead of saving Santas or Snowmen, she collected figurines/books/canisters that had to do with Scrooge.

I believe I would really like your Mom!

 

[LauAnn]

The Scrooge collection.

 

[CRLLS]

Both 6 and 3 here, I don't think they are exclusive of each other. Inside we do have a fake tree but have many items decorating the fireplace and walls. We stopped going up in the roof to string lights along the eves 11 years ago. We do string outside lights along the fence line (160 ft or so) and on some bushes, the deck and have a few display items in the front yard.

 

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

1 plus. I put out 2 items in the house, outside, a cardboard box with Bah Humbug written on it.

 

[Maenad]

5 and 3. I'd like to be a 6, but it'll have to wait until we retire in ~3 years. DH wants to go crazy for Halloween and I'll get Xmas.

 

[Taxman59]

We were a 4, but this year with our house being an orthopedic rehab center, we got a fake tree (and then for a real one as well!).

 

[rdy2go]

Lights inside and out, garland, real tree, decorated with old ornaments with family memories. Very traditional here. My wife makes a chicken log to eat on Ritz crackers while we watch football games, bakes Christmas cookies and a big turkey in the oven for Christmas. I used to do a lot more in the outdoor lighting department, but the uneven ground just made using a ladder too dangerous. I don't like ostentatious displays, but do enjoy some restrained outdoor lighting.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

It varies by year.
This year we got lazy and put up zero decorations but did send out Christmas cards. I know xmas cards are kind of going the way of the dodo but we kind of find it a fun once a year thing to use the postal service.
Last year we were travelling a bit and only had time to get a tree. Still sent out cards though.
The year before that, we put up lights on the house, got a tree, sent out cards, etc.

 

[Alan]

DW and DS usually put up a fake 7' tree with built in lights plus some decorations scattered around in the living room, so I guess I vote 3).

This year we are clearing the place ready to move in January so we donated the tree to Goodwill before Thanksgiving so that someone could have the benefit. ( voltage is wrong for the U.K.)

 

[aja8888]

Poll says we are a "hard 3".

No more outside lights. A wreath on the door. Three fake trees (7', 5' & 3') all with LEDs and a few ornaments and ribbons.

If it snows before Xmas, I'll build a 10' snowman in the front yard!

 

[jazz4cash]

6 (except the roof part). We have two live trees. DW loves Xmas. Her decorations fill an 8x10 room. She has a half dozen themes that she selects from each year. Not sure where this came from except maybe trying to dazzle the kids that are now grown.

 

[Major Tom]

A couple of strings of LED lights around one of the window frames in my 285 sq ft studio. That's it. I used to have an artificial tree and quite a few decorations, but got rid of them when I downsized a few years ago.

This year, for the first time ever, I won't be cooking at home on the 25th, or going to anyone else's house for a spread. SIL called and suggested that we do what the family in A Christmas Story did, and go out for Chinese. I jumped at the idea, as it was already in my head, and seems like a fun alternate way to celebrate.

So, on the 25th SIL and her BF, and me and my SO, are meeting up in SF's Chinatown, for a fun meal with no clean-up afterwards!