GTKY - What's Your Holiday Style?

kbeach82

So I am curious...

If you celebrate Christmas, do you have a real tree or an artificial one?

If you celebrate Hannukah, do you have an electric menorah? Or a good old fashioned model with candles?

What are some of your favorite holiday decorations (ornaments, knickknacks, family heirlooms, lights, etc.)?

 

kbeach82

If you celebrate Christmas, do you have a real tree or an artificial one? We always had a real tree growing up, and I thought it was the best thing ever. We even went to cut down our own sometimes. I love the smell! DH is against real trees, but I always resisted getting an artificial one. I just broke down and bought an artificial one today! I just decided I have too much going on to deal with the mess, the constant watering, etc. I will miss having a real tree, but I managed to find one that is pre-lit, and really nice looking. It should save us some time and effort and still help make our home look nice for the holidays.

If you celebrate Hannukah, do you have an electric menorah? Or a good old fashioned model with candles? DH celebrated Hannukah growing up, and his parents had an electric menorah. I hadn't been able to find one that I didn't think was too tacky previously, but my in-laws actually got a new electric model this year that looks really nice. I think I'm going to purchase the same to start using next year.

What are some of your favorite holiday decorations (ornaments, knickknacks, family heirlooms, lights, etc.)? I have boxes and boxes of ornaments that I can't wait to dig out every year. When I was little, my grandparents brought my cousins and me to a local nursery every year to pick out our own ornament. Going through them brings back so many good memories. I am also in love with our Christmas stockings. DH, DS1, and I have monogrammed red and white velvet stockings from PB that I adore. I couldn't quite justify the cost of buying two more this year, so I found some really similar stockings on sale at JCP for S&B. I can't wait to start decorating this weekend!

JBDamonM

1.) A real tree. DH and I always go cut it down and it's my favorite part of the holidays. Although this year was FREEZING, very poor planning on our end.

2.) N/A

3.) We don't have a ton of decor in our house - but we do have an ornament of an engagement ring.... I LOVE IT. It has or names and the date we got engaged. It actually broke last year - but I repaired it with some superglue. When I put it on the tree this year I noticed a piece was missing Try as I might I could not find it - I need to make a note to re-order it.... preferibley in the middle of the year, when they aren't sold our with the Christmas rush

fabulouspinkmady

We have an artificial tree... When the boys get older I'll push for a real tree. It's pre lit with white lights because DH (who doesn't even like decorating for Christmas) hates colored lights because he's a Grinch

My MIL has a real candle menorah she uses; we don't have one ourselves as of right now, that's up to DH

I just made DH get the Christmas stuff from storage last night! My dad bought me and H a Christmas sign with our names on it a few years ago, and this year he got us a new one with the boys' names on there too (it's a snowman family) so I can't wait to hang it I also ordered the boys' baby's first Christmas ornaments from a Christmas store in Michigan that we always go to when we visit family there. It's where my first Christmas ornament came from.

Cwhitaker27

We always buy a real tree from a local nursery the day after Thanksgiving. It's been tradition since I was a kid and now I have continued it with my family.

Our Christmas ornaments all have a special meaning. Growing up, my mom would go shop for Christmas ornaments with her mom as a yearly event. When my sister and I were old enough we started joining them and now that my grandma has passed away we continue the tradition with my mom. I love it! I collect all kinds of glass ornaments and each year I pick one or two that have a special significance for that year.

queenbone

We celebrate Christmas and since we're in the PNW we get a real tree. (It seems sacrilegious to use a fake one here!) I'm thinking of getting a second smaller tabletop tree to decorate this year too. So excited!

My favorite ornaments are Portland themed ones, the artist is my high school Spanish teacher's mother. I have been collecting them since the very beginning in the 90s. Every year I can't wait to see which landmark she has picked for the ornament. (Super nerd!)

I do use a fake Victorian style feather tree in the nursery. I decorate it with glass ornaments from the 50s which my grandma gave me since she doesn't decorate a tree anymore. They have nursery rhymes on them. I also use some felt mickey mouse ornaments my mom made when I was a kid and some crocheted Sesame Street ones my MIL had made for the tree when DH was a kid. I learned how to needlepoint this year and I plan to make some ornaments for my children to add to the nursery tree.

ETA: And yes, that makes a total of three Christmas trees if you are keeping track. Oops! tee hee!

Ruthie04

1. We have an artificial tree. I am SCARY allergic to pine/cedar trees and can't even walk into a Lowe's (or any other tree selling store during the holidays. My eyes start swelling and ill break out in horrible hives if I even brush against one! DH always requests a tree smelling candle to make up for the artificial tree.

3. I am a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to decor. I only like white lights and am so picky about any decor. DH always tries to encourage me to decorate more, but I'm too lazy to put tons of stuff out and take it down a month later. Our big tree has silver, blue, purple tones to it. But, as the boys get older and start making ornaments, I think we will get a smaller tree to keep in the living area. DH nixed stockings this year since the boys can reach up and pull them down. We have a nativity up, and besides the Christmas tree and lights/wreath outside- that's it!

*I feel like I should put a disclaimer here: I worked at PB one holiday season and got so Chrismas-ed out. Plus, my miscarriage and the canceled and failed IVF cycles were around this time and I sort of hate the holidays now. AHHHH! It's so horrible!!

Mrs.AmyDylan

We have a fake tree. It is hard to justify a real tree here since they get so dried out. I also confess that I love leaving the tree up an abnormally long time (longest was mid-march). I usually buy a real wreath at Costco for the smell!

 DH and I have our childhood ornaments. We make an evening of hanging ornaments and drinking cocktails. 

I love, love, love Christmas!

luvboston

We rock only real menorahs here. And if I celebrates Xmas it would be a real tree with ornaments from all my travels. I love Xmas lights also. Clearly the stork dropped me at the wrong house:)

MoFree

I don't really have a holiday style per se. We celebrate Hanukah and light real menorahs with multicolored candles. One menorah is a blue and white Spode porcelain that was a wedding present. The other menorah is silver plated and used by DH's great grandparents in pre WWII Vienna and taken with them when they escaped the Nazis. They are both meaningful to me.
I was raised Catholic and we always had a fake tree decorated with a variety of ornaments.

ccam

We have a fake tree.  We both grew up with fake trees so I guess it was sort of assumed.  It's just so easy, especially since it's pre-lit!  Eventually, I would like to do the whole cutting down our own tree thing, but right now, this works!

I started out with zero ornaments, no family heirlooms or anything.  But we've actually started a pretty nice collection of our own!  DH and I give each other an ornament every year, plus we started that with DS.  Once you add those and all of our first married Christmas, first baby Christmas ornaments, etc. we have a ton and they each have meaning, so it's special. 

mcgeeva

Fake tree here! Highly allergic to the needles on the trees so my poor dh never gets a real tree. Christmas is my holiday! I love all the decorating. Already hoped on a ladder and works outside this weekend and still slowly working on the tree. Ladies any suggestions for decorating the tree with a toddler that wants throw all the balls?!!

We have tons of special family ornaments. Right now only things are half up the tree so they don't get broke

phishgirl29

Real tree here. We donate to the local rotary club and get our tree there every year. As for ornaments we need to have a sit down with my SIL who needs to take responsibly for half of DH's Christmas box and get some of them off our hands. I only put up lights last year being pregnant and lazy, but this year I might do lights an a few ornaments of mine from my childhood and 3 of O's my first Christmas ones. I also put up stockings but we never fill them. My favorite is my nativity set that my mom got in Spain in the 70's. It's all clay and perfect. I decorate on Saturday and I'm excited!

Robeano

We celebrate Christmas, we have a fake pre-lit tree. We did a real tree the first few years of marriage, but it got expensive and we got a fantastic deal on the fake tree.

Picking a favourite Christmas decoration/ornament. That's almost impossible! But I have a Willow Tree nativity set that I just love. I have a willow tree angel ornament, and a whole bunch of old ornaments from when I was growing up. AND I bought a first year marriage ornament that means a lot to me. It broke a little a few years ago but DH fixed it What a great guy!

imoverit

Id love to get a real tree but its very impractical at this point especially with a 2 year old. Maybe when he and this other lo get older we may rethink that.

My favorite decor are the ones passed down from my grandmothers. So very special to me.