Christmas poll:

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2000
Christmas poll:
16
Thu, 12-11-2003 - 10:32am
Live tree or artificial?

Colored lights or white lights?

Tinsel or garland, or neither?

Wrapped packages or bags?

Creatively decorated gifts or stick-on bows?

Home baked goodies or candy?

Stay home or go visit? Friends or family?

Do you decorate outdoors, aside from a wreath?

How do you display cards received?

Do you have stockings?

Any special decorations (snow village, special ornament, mantle piece)?

Do you have a nativity?

Do you have an advent wreath or calendar?

Any other Christmas tradition you'd like to share?





Cussette, CL for Family Finances
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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2000
In reply to: cussette
Thu, 12-11-2003 - 10:41am
Live tree or artificial? Artificial tree.

Colored lights or white lights? White

Tinsel or garland, or neither? Tinsel

Wrapped packages or bags? Mostly wrapped.

Creatively decorated gifts or stick-on bows? Stick-ons!

Home baked goodies or candy? Some home-baked, mostly candy.

Stay home or go visit? Friends or family? We alternate home/visit. When we visit, it's usually MIL.

Do you decorate outdoors, aside from a wreath? Oh yeah, lots of white lights.

How do you display cards received? We've got two strings stretched between the entrance between the dining room and family room, and we hang them from there.

Do you have stockings? Yep!

Any special decorations (snow village, special ornament, mantle piece)? I put out my Dickens Village. Also have the fake mistletoe over the entrance to the family room from the front door.

Do you have a nativity? Yes, Allison loves playing with it. It's one that my mom had for years.

Do you have an advent wreath or calendar? Yes on both, but we don't do the wreath - not enough table space.

Any other Christmas tradition you'd like to share? Since I put this together, the questions are drawn from from what we do, and I'm curious as to what traditions ya'll might have. One thing we do that I couldn't work into a question is read aloud the story of Jesus birth before we open any gifts.





Cussette, CL for Family Finances
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: cussette
Thu, 12-11-2003 - 10:46am

Live tree or artificial?


***artificial


Colored lights or white lights?

***colored inside, white outside

Tinsel or garland, or neither?

***neither if you mean on the tree...garland on fireplace mantel

Wrapped packages or bags?

***both

Creatively decorated gifts or stick-on bows?

***stick on and curly ribbon

Home baked goodies or candy?

***both

Stay home or go visit? Friends or family?

***stay at home.

Live With Passion!

Phyllis

Avatar for eclectic5777
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: cussette
Thu, 12-11-2003 - 11:46am
Live tree or artificial? Artificial...I want to save the live trees

Colored lights or white lights?

You Were Born An Original...   Don't Die A Copy

Avatar for ive_got_five
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-2001
In reply to: cussette
Thu, 12-11-2003 - 1:19pm
Live tree or artificial? Live, I love the smell. I don't think I'll ever be able to do an artificial one.

Colored lights or white lights? White miniature lights on the tree. Coloured lights outside. I want to get the new LED ones next year.

Tinsel or garland, or neither? No tinsel. Our garland is strings of small gold beads.

Wrapped packages or bags? Mostly wrapped packages, but we do get some bags from other people.

Creatively decorated gifts or stick-on bows? I'd have to say creatively decorated, but we do have some stick on bows also.

Home baked goodies or candy? Lots of both! Shortbread dough is chillin' as we speak and I'm just waiting for my mixer to come back to I can make and bake.

Stay home or go visit? Friends or family? We usually stay home on Christmas day. Dh's family does not handle change well.

Do you decorate outdoors, aside from a wreath? Yes, coloured lights.

How do you display cards received? On a big red velvet garland across the front window valance.

Do you have stockings? My children and dh have giant felt stocking with fur trim that I made. Each has a figure representative of the person on it. i.e. My oldest ds had a brown leather coat with a shearling collar and some Kodiak snowboots, so the felt figure on his stocking is wearing that. My oldest dd had a fur muff and hat, so that is what is on hers. Dh is wearing his kung fu outfit! LOL I myself, have a lowly little red and green quilted floral one that everyone complains about! I originally made them for my two oldest and then had to continue when everyone else came along!

Any special decorations (snow village, special ornament, mantle piece)? We have a red berry wreath over the mantle, a reinder wreath thingy made from a worksock (very cute) and an old straw wreath that I made when I first got married. I can't believe it is still looking good! I also decorate my bathroom every year! Okay, I know that's sick. I put out snowflake soaps and change the pictures and have red and burgundy towels and shower curtain and pinecones around!

Do you have a nativity? No

Do you have an advent wreath or calendar? A large (2 1/2 x 4') felt one that hangs on the kitchen wall. It has a big Christmas tree with 25 buttons on it. Across the bottom are 4 rows of 6 pockets. Each contain a miniature ornament and a candy for each of the boys. The ornament gets hung on the buttons on the tree. The kids just love it and I can reuse it every year! Plus it makes the kitchen look very festive.

Any other Christmas tradition you'd like to share? On Christmas Eve we have a big buffet of appetizers and invite people over. We light the fire and put on It's A Wonderful Life! When that is over, we may watch another movie. Lately, we have left the "Santa Tracker" up on the computer screen so the kids can see where he is. My older children had to watch the movie before they could open a package on Christmas eve, and that package was of course always pj's so that they looked good for pictures in the morning! After everyone leaves, dh and I stuff the stockings and put out the cookies and milk, then crawl into bed for a couple of hours sleep before the bedlam starts!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: cussette
Thu, 12-11-2003 - 1:28pm
Live tree or artificial? LIVE

Colored lights or white lights? COLORED

Tinsel or garland, or neither? NEITHER

Wrapped packages or bags? WRAPPED

Creatively decorated gifts or stick-on bows? NONE, last year our cat ate a very long piece of ribbon and was quite ill. Safety first!

Home baked goodies or candy? HOME MADE COOKIES

Stay home or go visit? Friends or family? BOTH, FAMILY

Do you decorate outdoors, aside from a wreath? 2 BEAUTIFUL WHITE LIGHT REINDEER

How do you display cards received? HANG THEM AROUND THE THRESH-HOLD FROM LIVING ROOM TO KITCHEN

Do you have stockings? YES, HOME MADE ONES, THEY ARE SOOOO BEAUTIFUL

Any special decorations (snow village, special ornament, mantle piece)? THE NICEST ADVENT CALENDAR EVER, MY AUNT MADE IT FOR ME WHEN I WAS ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD, NOW MY DD ENJOYS IT

Do you have a nativity? YES, 2 OF THEM

Do you have an advent wreath or calendar? BOTH, AND WE DO OUR WREATH EVERY NIGHT AT DINNER

Any other Christmas tradition you'd like to share? ON CHRISTMAS MORNING I HAVE TO MAKE MY SELF STAY IN BED UNTIL DD COMES BOUNDING IN. I LOOK FORWARD TO IT EACH YEAR

Avatar for imthebigsister
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: cussette
Thu, 12-11-2003 - 2:10pm
Artificial tree

White lights

Neither - strings of gold beads

Wrapped packages and bags

Both - I do the kids' packages up with the fun stuff.

Home baked goodies or candy? Yes

Visit family

This is the first year we put some lights outdoors. Were going to do more, then it snowed and blocked our access to the multi-outlet timer.

We hang the cards from the door between the living room and hallway.

Stocking - yes

I go crazy lighting and decorating the mantle - garland (sometimes fresh white pine boughs, but this year I used artificial garland), lights, strings of gold stars and red beads, Byers Choice figurines, candles, a copper pot of cinammon-scented potpouri that I douse with refresher essential oil almost daily.

Yes - a small iron one that's a silhouette cutout mounted on a piece of wood.

Advent calendar

Other Christmas tradition - a large ceramic lighted tree that my sister made for me in a ceramics class as a young teen has an honored spot on the server in the dining room.

Avatar for dmm11730
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-06-2003
In reply to: cussette
Thu, 12-11-2003 - 8:22pm
Live tree or artificial? Artificial

Colored lights or white lights? White

Tinsel or garland, or neither? Beads

Wrapped packages or bags? Both

Creatively decorated gifts or stick-on bows? Both

Home baked goodies or candy? Both

Stay home or go visit? Friends or family? Stay home and they all come here for both Christmas eve and day. Family

Do you decorate outdoors, aside from a wreath? Icicle lights, and red bows on each of the polls on the front porch.

How do you display cards received? Hang them all on the inside of the front door.

Do you have stockings? Thigh hi's or tummy control.............Being silly, yes we do.

Any special decorations (snow village, special ornament, mantle piece)? Dept 56 Snow Village spread out between the livingroom hutch, the fireplace mantle, and the back bay window.

Do you have a nativity? I used to until Robbie decided to play with them, I think Joseph was the blue Power Ranger, and Mary beat him up.

Do you have an advent wreath or calendar? We have an advent calendar.

Any other Christmas tradition you'd like to share? Christmas eve my inlaws treat to this fancy fish dinner and we gather around our home and Bill reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to everyone.


Deb

Debbie

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: cussette
Fri, 12-12-2003 - 7:24am
Why do you want to save the live trees? Growers are begging people to buy live, and it's a whole industry that provides many thousands of jobs, as well as producing trees that wouldn't be planted

       ~~Rhonda~~


<

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: cussette
Fri, 12-12-2003 - 7:37am

Live tree or artificial?

       ~~Rhonda~~


<

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2000
In reply to: cussette
Fri, 12-12-2003 - 8:51am
Mmmm, yes, I remember those German advent calendars with the chocolates in them! My Oma used to send me one yearly. When I first moved out on my own, I got a simple advent calendar from Avon, where you move a mouse-shaped marker to the pocket corresponding with the day. In recalling the German calendars... I now put chocolate mini bars, Doves, or Reese's cups in each pocket, and as the mouse gets moved, Allison can have a chocolate.

The mouse keeps complaining that he needs some fiber in his diet. I can't figure it!





Cussette, CL for Family Finances
Visit the Family Finances Website

for links, tips, reading, tools and answers to your financial questions

C

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