I’m not into Christmas either…no children, my niece is all grown up, etc….I do love spending the time with my family though.

Other than that, I try not to be a grinch about it. My Mom likes me to decorate so she comes over and helps me and promises to help me take down the decorations when it’s done…but I usually start sooner than she can get over. I have to say though, I love the way my home looks when I decorate it, just hate the decorating part. And honestly, if I didn’t already have so many decorations, then I wouldn’t bother with it.

I don’t buy into the commercial stuff. Family and friends are getting knitted gifts or homemade jewelry for Christmas : D

I can’t afford to be commercial, lol

I also love the way Christmas trees smell! That scent makes me so happy.

Oh, I love Christmas! I love the decorations, the music, the “holiday cheer”…and, to an extent, the commercial part.

Unfortunately, none of my family members really like Christmas. For them, it’s about getting as many gifts for family as possible, so it’s one of the most stressful times of year for them. They’re not back to normal until January.

I truly hope that I don’t get gifts from people who feel obligated to get me gifts. Every time I say I don’t want gifts, people take it to mean the opposite because I’m young, so I get even more gifts (usually things I truly don’t need or want) than I would otherwise. And then I’m obligated to thank them and feel good about it. >.<

Does anyone else here like miniature Christmas trees? I have two false ones; one green one and one extra-sparkly purple one. I’m hoping to get either a red one or an extra-sparkly silver one in the near future. I wish my family wanted to just use the mini trees as the main Christmas tree – it would make things so much easier!

I dont really have anything to do for Christmas as I have no family at all but I do have a very very good friend whose family I share at Christmas so I’m not totally alone! Anyway I’ve got Babs this Christmas lol anyone any idea for bunnie presents? And don’t say stuff from the shop we can’t get it here

I love holidays where I go home to my parents’ house. My sister and Dad and I cook up enormous feasts. Mom is banished from the kitchen since she can’t cook It’s an excuse to pig out and drink tons of wine. My Dad always just asks me point-blank what I want because he’s terrible at buying gifts. Last year I got a food processor but I don’t know what to ask for this year yet. We do tend to get too many presents for one another since our family is small, but nothing too extravagant. It just occurred to me that Mr. Bun-Bun is going to go absolutely berserk seeing the presents and will probably start shredding the paper… We may have to keep them out of reach until the last minute LOL!

This is also a tricky time of year because my worst allergy is pine… I can’t go to someone’s Christmas party if they have a real tree, I can only pop by for a little bit. Good thing that fake trees have become much more popular (and you don’t have to murder a tree to celebrate!)

Xmas is really stressful for me right now. My job had cut my hours from 27 to 9.5 without asking me.. so it is really hard for me to think about Xmas. When it wasn’t like this, I would usually laugh at how the mall puts up decorations in early November.

Last year, I went to my Uncle’s place in Olympia with my dad and boyfriend. I couldn’t eat much without getting bloated I was having a bout of gastritis due to stress from losing my mom and having to move so fast. My aunt makes a great Filipino dish called LUMPIA it is the Philippines version of an eggroll. It has meat and veggies in it and deep fried. Oh, fatty food I love thee

My dad suggested that I apply for a credit card – strictly for Xmas stuff and pay a little off at a time. Not a bad idea.

I am planning to do my shopping online and get the best deal. I will be getting my boyfriend a San Francisco Giants snuggie, my dad wants some protein powder (he is a fitness fanatic lol), and I am getting Chacha a small bale of Mature Oat hay. Since I will be low on funds, I need to invest in a bale… I think it will last a while.

Ooo I love cinnamon during X-mas! I have a candle I put on that smells like it, reminds me of x-mas when I light it.
I used to remember when I enjoyed x-mas but now it just seems so stressful. My family is really small, pretty much just my parents, g-ma (that lives with them) and my brother (who also lives there) and we would get to stay at home and play with our new toys for x-mas since we didn’t go to anyone else’s home. But now that I’m married we go to my husband’s aunt’s home for x-mas eve and his brother’s home for x-mas day. I hate traveling everywhere, I just don’t feel like you get to enjoy x-mas then, you’re to busy rushing around. We weren’t going to do his aunt’s home this year but his dad insisted…last year we agreed. They do a secret santa there, which at first was fun but now we just get stuff we don’t want and we spend money for it…it’s not fun when you could have kept that $40 to yourself. Well now his brother and their family wanted to do it for x-mas. We shall try it this year but there’s only 6 of us and technically just 3 families so it’s not going to be that much fun. At least we agreed we’d attach a gift receipt so we can take it back. I don’t see why we couldn’t have done the regular gift exchange, at least I would have gotten something I wanted/needed. Sorry, ranting a bit here. I just don’t like wasting money that we don’t have. I’m so glad I got a job and we can have extra cash, I’ve been so stressed about money. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Christmas, but I just hate all the stress that comes with it….man to be a kid again!

We usually put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving but we’re going to buy lights on sale for Black Friday (yeah, I know, there must be something wrong with us to go out on that day!) and we might celebrate my mom’s b-day then. I can’t wait to put up our tree, we got a new one last year after x-mas (our prelite tree was 1/2 out by x-mas and I don’t care for those kind, at least the tree without lights I can buy lights if one string goes out).

Heather, you can get card board boxes for them or cut up pieces of cardboard and put a hole in the middle of them and string them through with hemp rope and tie them to the cage. That’s to bad you can’t get anything from the shop, maybe there’s another site with some similar products closer to you that’s online.

When I was a little kid, my parents would get me a lot of presents.. I miss getting toys lol. Kids nowdays gets awesome stuff.

 Thats an idea she LOVES destroying cardboard boxes shes got a few rabbit toys but give her a carboard box and she’s happy for ages! Her new favourite trick is to fling things!  It’s hysterical to see this little ball of fluff fling a box that’s bigger than she is halfway across the room!!!!!

I just got another idea for you Heather. After you use up x-mas wrapping paper and you have the big cardboard roll, cut it in half and give one her; after she destroys it, give her the other 1/2. I just finished wrapping a birthday present and did this right now and they played with it! Well Sandy and Archie did, Gracie just watched Archie like “What are you doing??”

Bobby Bunny loves wrapping paper – I was wrapping some gifts (not Christmas) and he was out and about and decided to help me with the wrapping. He thought it was the best thing ever. Little pest! I gave him the bits that I couldn’t use to destroy…he did get bored with the whole thing after awhile but for awhile he thought it was great fun.

I was worried about the tape and scissors though and put those on the coffee table immediately after I used them during the wrapping. Not that I needed scissors since he thought grabbing the wrapping paper and shredding it was great fun!

I bought a santa costume after last christmas for like $10. Not sure what I plan on doing with it this year though…

I’m not really a big Christmas person either. We have a fake tree that we bought a few years ago, but we haven’t put it up since the year we bought it. This year though, my parents and DH’s mom and sister will be visiting (they usually come to our place for Thanksgiving and we go to one of their houses for Christmas) so I feel like I need to step it up. We’ll put the tree up, and I’m trying to come up with some ways to decorate. I’m really not into the whole commercial Christmas thing either, but I think I have some ideas to add a little Christmas cheer around the house without spending much money.

We also have a $30-50 gift average – each person buys everyone a gift for around $30 and that’s it. I love it! When I was a kid I loved getting toys, but now there just isn’t anything I need and I hate going from store to store trying to figure out what everyone else might want. We’re big on giving each other lists too so that at least we get things we really want – I guess it takes some of the romance out of Christmas, but I’d rather get people what they want than what I want to get them. ya know?

Fluffybunny, my parents are all about the mini Christmas tree! They have a full sized fake one, but to put it up they had to rearrange the furniture. The past couple years they just took the top part of it and used that as the tree, so it was only 1/3 the height or so, and could sit on a coffee table in the den (we never really used that room, so it was good to pile up presents in and then they didn’t take up the main living room). It worked great.

I loooove Christmas. Was always a big thing in my family growing up. Probably because the rest of the year mom couldn’t do much for us kids, so she made sure we had an awesome day at Christmas.

Even though I am now down in the states, I still love decorating Must have a real tree, they smell so nice. Me and hubby don’t buy much for gifts, as he usually just buys what he wants when he wants it anyway But we usually drive down to Salem to spend the day with his mom and grandma

Here are my current decorating ideas. I think I’m going to get the little reindeer from Pottery Barn, but I’ll find the other things somewhere cheaper – I just love the Pottery Barn style Other than this, I’m kind of stumped. I’d like to get some stocking hooks, but I haven’t found any I love yet. DH also says we have stockings that his mom gave us - I don’t remember ever seeing them, so I’m worried they’re hideous. Lol. Maybe next year I can talk him into some new ones.

Twig Reindeer: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/twig-reindeer/

Berry Twigs in a Vase: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/faux-red-berry-branch/

Bowl of Ornaments – I want to get a bowl like this, and fill it with an assortment of ball ornaments that we have and can’t fit on the tree: http://www.target.com/Elegance-Trifle-Dish…detaillink

I like the Twig Reindeer – the berry twigs you can probably find cheaper elsewhere (like outside on someone’s nandina bush). I like the bowl idea too (but unless you use this for other things, could be not so much fun to store).

I already found the twig things at Michaels for $1 or 2, so that’s set, and I have some vases I can use (or I could buy another if I find one really different from the 2 I have). The bowl at Target is cute and I really only have one good sized serving bowl, so I don’t mind getting it and using it as a serving dish for parties and dinners in the future. I might look for one without the pedestal base though so I could store it in our kitchen cabinets with the other dishes – with that base it would have to go in the basement until we get a house I think. I found a beautiful one without a base at PB, but it was $40 (which isn’t outrageous, but I’d hoped to find it cheaper) and I haven’t found anything else I like as much.

Here’s the bowl I liked. I get emails from them, so maybe I’ll get a coupon: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/pinch-large-serve-bowl/

eta: I should mention that the bowl of ornaments idea was DH’s! I was proud of him! Haha. We have a million ornaments that were given to us (instead of a wedding shower my mom threw an ornament shower – there were only 5 guests, but they went a little overboard) and it would be a creative way to use what we already have.

Awww…LPT, what cute images! Would you mind if I use the bunny in the Santa hat for my avvy?
My favorite scent of the season that always reminds me of childhood Xmas is…sandalwood! Mostly because my mum was a Fuller Brush Man client and she’d always get that spray to freshen our place with. To this day, the scent of pine and sandalwood will always take me back to that time. Live tree or no, it was always there.
Sadly, although we do cut the top from a local tree here (on the edge of a national forest, everyone does it…especially with imported trees being upwards of $80-$100+ which is ridiculous!) it doesn’t have the piney smell. I think it’s because our foliage gets so little water up here…we’re technically a desert in climate.
Another sad thing is, although most everyone in the DH’s family agrees that presents are too much to think of this year (and several past years) we know darn well that if we only send a card, there’s going to be shunning going on. So there’s never a year we can relax without having to shop for something. Homemade items are not appreciated by most in our family. It’s a real shame.

My daughter was actually looking through online Xmas-y stuff and found a card that said, “Christmas is canceled because Santa heard that you’d been good this year and he died laughing.”
My favorite festive poem goes:
(along with a bag of cocoa and mini marshmallows)
Santa heard that you’ve been naughty,
Now listen, here’s the scoop,
He’s running low on coal this year,
So you get SNOWMAN POOP!

lol….

I hope to make this year more like what LPT has in mind for my immediate family. And to remember the reason for the season. This is not everyone’s path, I know, but it has always been very important to me, and will always be.

I’m going to say Merry Christmas to everyone here…too early or not, it is a feeling that I hope spreads warmth to your hearts and joy that transcends the material world.

I Love Christmas but totally get the way too early thing. I think etiquette is after Nov 11, but that to me is still too early. We have a small family so I love Christmas for seeing everybody. We’re not doing a real tree this year-was too much trouble last year but I really wanted to do a real one once.
Same-no children-but my pets deserve a Christmas morning so we do a tree

Totally totally lost on what to get Dave for Christmas though…he makes way more then me and if he wants something he gets it. So …like….lost? He’s a DIY nerdy guy…gosh glad I’m thinking early. Last year I got him a deep fryer (BAHAHAHA) sweatpants and something else…took all my good ideas

My mom in law bought my hubby a kaleidoscope one year because she had no idea what to get him He loves it rofl

We love Christmas at my house, prezzies, church, food . . . we put the tree up day after Thanksgiving and it stays up till New Years ^_^

K&K, have you heard of Groupon? It’s a group buying site that offers one voucher a day at a discounted price, starting at 50% off. I’ve only purchased one thing so far – signed myself up for a 6-week fitness bootcamp in January. Regular price something like $200, Groupon voucher was $30. Usually most of the coupons are for restaurants but there are occasionally some for retail and services, something might come up there that would make a good gift for him. http://www.groupon.com/edmonton/deals should show the recent deals for Edmonton. If you give them your email address they’ll send you an email each day with whatever the deal of the day is.
– Annette

For the first time ever, I given my boyfriend “permission” to decorate our place for Christmas. I usually hate the decorations because they look tacky and just sits there and draw dust to them. Aaargh, I hate dust.

AND, also, I am planning to get him calendar gifts, so he gets a little gift every day until the 24th. Another thing, I have never done, although my boyfriend has done it for me every year. Man, I am a mean Christmas girlfriend

Best part for me is though, that I am celebrating Christmas all by myself this year. I am spending it all alone by myself with the bunnies and the tv. I always end up fighting with my parents on the day, and since my brother is coming home for Christmas this year, it is my turn to take a break from it all and just celebrate Christmas the way I want it. Everybody thinks it sounds so extremely sad, but then they should see how our Christmases have been the past few years and I am sure they think it will be a nice Christmas break for me

I am no decorator. I love winter; don’t care for xmas. But when you mention those Advent calendars… I folded! I think they are the sweetest thing: a daily gift all the way till the 24th. Might be a European tradition, my mother always made one for me.
Karla, I will put in with Santa to bring you a bunny trio for xmas!

Which do you think would be cuter: A red mini-tree decorated with chili pepper lights, or a silver mini-tree decorated with mini bows and ribbons?

Posted By FluffyBunny on 11/15/2010 02:28 PM
Which do you think would be cuter: A red mini-tree decorated with chili pepper lights, or a silver mini-tree decorated with mini bows and ribbons?

I saw the cutest mini tree at Walmart, in something they called cashmere purple.   I almost bought it!

– Annette

i love xmas!  i basically ignore the commercial stuff and just pay attention to making my home twinkle and sparkle.  being single and not having kids makes it really easy to do this.  my extended family does a gift draw and stockings amoung the adults so i only have to buy a gift for one person plus a $5 stocking stuffer for 10 people.  and i get a gift for my niece & nephew.  pretty simple.

last year i went out with my gf and my bro and we cut down our xmas tree from a local tree farm.  it was so much fun!  looking forward to doing again this year.  i haven’t gone full steam ahead with decos yet but i did set out some pine branches with lights on my kitchen window sill.  pretty

Posted By Petzy on 11/15/2010 12:46 PM

I am no decorator. I love winter; don’t care for xmas. But when you mention those Advent calendars… I folded! I think they are the sweetest thing: a daily gift all the way till the 24th. Might be a European tradition, my mother always made one for me.
Karla, I will put in with Santa to bring you a bunny trio for xmas!

Thank you! That is all I ask for this Christmas!  I really hope Santa listens to you…

Haha! I’m picturing you, Karl, Molly and Freddie all sitting on the couch watching “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

Now, just visualise that for 10 minutes everyday from now to Christmas.

OH, that little purple tree is so cute Annette!

FluffyBunny, I like the red tree with chili pepper lights idea.

Posted By LittlePuffyTail on 11/17/2010 09:29 AM

lol, the Pink Nightmare! That’s one of my fave holiday movies (A Christmas Story) as well as Bad Santa. I have to watch those 2 every year or it’s just not Christmas. I really miss having cable at Christmas because I used to love watching all my childhood favorites even though I’m 28. I’m young at heart!

What are your fave movies/holiday TV Specials???

Uh, I can answer this: every year on the 26th, “Ivanhoe” is shown. I remember having watched it since I was 10 or 11 (20 years ago!). I always get so upset if i miss it – and Sam Neil is so good-looking in that film! Does that count as a holiday tv special? And on the 24th at 4 pm, there is Disney Christmas Show. I’ve seen it since I was born. No Christmas without that show. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t watch it.

A Charlie Brown Christmas of course. Although my daughter did buy me the DVD, so I don’t HAVE to wait for it, but still….
The Original Grinch Who Stole Christmas (had the album) and the Jim Carey one is fun too.
And I’ll get all emotional about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer…I still wish Santa would bring me the polka dotted elephant, I loved him as a kid.

I miss The Night the Animals Talked and the Little Drummer Boy. They are not PC enough for today’s television though. They stopped showing them some years ago.

I had to watch Christmas Story too many times while the kids were growing up…although my daughter and I will still quote lines from the movie:
“You’ll shoot yer eye out kid…HO…HO…HO!”

I want Halloween back.

 My nickname at Xmas is the Grinch!!! Hmmmmmm……… wonder why??!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elf!! I love Elf. Hands down my fav Christmas movie.

DH and I always have to watch Love Actually during the holiday season. We love that movie and it puts me in the mood for Christmas.

I’d add something, but it would be almost identical to Elrohwen’s post.

::agree::

I have the big Rudolph from Hallmark. I don’t think the nose makes noise, it just lights up. But he’s stored somewhere and I can’t find him.
Oh, you gotta LOVE the Bumble! lol….and Yukon Cornelius. He often reminds me of the hubby…at least as far as the gold fever is concerned… and the accident-prone-ness….0_o
I can see some Bumble in Bindi….yeah…. *giggle* ^_^ (But Bindi still has all his choppers, right?)

I think you and I could spend a whole day comparing plushies, LPT. I think my love of them began as a kid, just wishing that I could have this or that animal as a pet…well if I can’t domesticate a red panda, then… (off to Ebay!)….lol!

Really though…the house is just one big plushie zoo! >.<

LPT, Rudolph is my favorite christmas movie! I have the figurines too! I got a Bumble stuffie thing from Blockbuster last year that makes the growling noise when you squeeze it. Rudolph makes me happy!

I have a collection of little stuffies growing here… not counting the sock bunnies Most of them are little, beanie baby size. <3 stuffies