I think we've gone mad!  Here it is more than a week before Thanksgiving, and I am sitting in my living room surrounded by all our festive christmas decorations.  We just couldn't wait to put them up!  When is everyone else going to decorate?  I think one of my favorite new things we did this year was using cinnamon scented pinecones on the tree.  I found bags of them when I went in the Home Depot last week, so I picked up a bag.  We set them all around in the tree once we had it decorated.  It looks so pretty, and smells even better!

I start decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, and usually take things down on New Year's Day, but I like the idea of leaving things up until Epiphany (the old "12th Night", right?), so that is what I think I'm going to do this year.  I like to buy those Xman "picks"…artificial holly, pinecones, etc…and tuck them into nooks and crannies around the house, especially in the bookcases.  They're cheap (around $1.00 each) and pretty.  This year, I'm going to use the glittery red ones they have at Walmart.  My house is already full of natural decorations (pine cones, teasel, sea shells, quartz crystals, dried pomogranets, etc), and the glittery red picks ought to make a nice counterpoint.

In my first apartment, I had to screw the Xmas tree stand to the floor because the kitten I had at the time would get inside the tree and climb it all the way to the top.  She never bothered any of the ornaments, but she used to climb up the trunk and peek out of the top.

When I was growing up, we decorated the day after Thanksgiving.  I am such a Christmas nut, though, that it was never early enough for me.  Once I moved out and got married, my hubby and I decided that the decorating needed to be done before Christmas.  Fortunately he like it almost as much as I do!

I think I would freak out if I had a pet that knocked the tree over!  Haha  It would be disaster!

We haven't decorated outside yet.  The bushes need to be trimmed before we can put lights on them, and the electrical outlet out front isn't working.  Hopefully we will be able to get those things taken care of in the next couple of weeks and make it as festive outside as it is inside.

That sounds really pretty Helen. I will have to try this.

CindyP said:Oh, that does sound pretty!!!!  I have quite a few 1/2 gallon pickle jars, I could put a smaller round candle in them………then I'd have to build my own wreath to fit around the smaller jar………

That would be really nice, too, especially with the homemade wreaths!

And thankyou to both of you…I'm glad you liked my idea .