How early do you Christmas?
4I’m curious, are you the type to start blasting Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé starting November 1st? Or, do you Grinch it out and wait until 1 week before Christmas to start throwing up the tree and Christmas shop? Maybe you’re something in between?
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I’ll get out the Grinch in the fridge on Black Friday.
We have the tree up with some gifts already wrapped. Living room is decorated with xmas stuff. Might as well get a couple months worth out of the effort of transitioning from fall decor to winter.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do this year about getting ready/celebrating. I thought Christmas would get easier as time passed, but it hasn’t. I volunteer each Christmas day, but it’s still so hard.
@Barney Aww, I’m sorry. Would a Grinch in the fridge help? I have an extra.
@sammydog01 Thanks, but it’s not that I’m in a Grinch mood – I’m just not merry during this time of the year.
Another question where the OP does not say what they are doing or feeling about a situation. Due to the lopsidedness of the question, I refuse to answer.
@therealjrn Sometimes I leave input, sometimes I like to float the questions and see what people say.
Since you were curious the line for me is after Thanksgiving I put up my tree and decos. I’m usually Christmas shopping before that and buy a Christmas concert/performance if I can during this time for December. However, I’ll be drinking peppermint mochas all the way until Christmas from the moment they are available or I can buy the flavoring.
@Targaryen If only meh would put in a poll option for each day…
Thank you for your input into the discussion.
@Targaryen @therealjrn I think Meh should consider making peppermint mochas and other flavorings available after Christmas when they are clearanced. Brighten up someones’ grey january/february days…
Apparently we now decorate basically Nov 1st weekend. But only inside. I refuse to allow exterior decoration until Thanksgiving.
We get the tree and put up some decorations two weeks before Christmas. All taken down and packed away by New Year’s Day.
Autumn decor late september, inside and outside. Halloween supplements autumn a week or so before October 31st and comes down on November 1st.
Autumn stays up through Thanksgiving, then it comes down and Christmas starts going up. Black Friday is online for us; we don’t delve into the mobs, so we’re home to get things started. That is also when we stop buying from any stores that steal Thanksgiving from their employees with this early black friday shit, and don’t go back until the new year.
Outside Christmas comes down the first possible weekend (weather) after January 6th. Twelfth day of Christmas… Indoor stuff we take a few weeks to trickle away because work usually explodes again after the new year.
Goes up the weekend after Thanksgiving and comes down on January 6.
@zachdecker same here
@zachdecker
Why Jan 6?
@star2236 January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany, and the 12th day of Christmas.
No Christmas till advent starts
@CaptAmehrican Do you have an Aldi store near you? Next week they are selling 2 (adult) advent calendars… one with wine each day and one with beer!
@chienfou love aldi. However, in my state grocery stores can not sell alcohol.
But dang their chocolate and cheddar are delicious
@CaptAmehrican they just opened 3 stores in a 45 mile radius so they are now a ‘go to’ stop whenever we are in those 3 towns. I too love Aldi. Their produce prices rock!
@CaptAmehrican @chienfou Had to put in a time off request for Wednesday morning to be there when they open. Last two years all of the Aldi stores for miles around were sold out by afternoon of the first day on the wine, cheese, beer, and premium chocolate advent calendars; only the basic ones (still good chocolate!) were still available.
This year I will not lose out…
@CaptAmehrican @chienfou @duodec
@CaptAmehrican @chienfou
What day does aldi sale start? I’m getting some of those.
@CaptAmehrican @chienfou
Never mind it’s today
@CaptAmehrican @duodec Well, any luck with the ALDI advent calendars? Locally they were out of beer ones and down to handful of wine ones when I went by there at about 1330 today.
@CaptAmehrican @chienfou @duodec Meijer here is offering a cheese advent calendar starting Nov 10.
If only I had that one along with a beer one!
Edit: Oops, I see Aldi has one too, although theirs is very expensive!
@CaptAmehrican @duodec @zachdecker
Beer $50
Wine $70
Cheese $15…
@CaptAmehrican @chienfou @duodec @zachdecker I scored several from Aldi today. Three of the chocolate ones (gifts, not all for me), a cheese one (for me), and the Barbie and Disney one for my niece. I did not get the wine/beer ones.
@CaptAmehrican @duodec @tinamarie1974 @zachdecker Looked hard at the wine one, but decided to skip it. Would have probably gone for it if I was sure they were corked (not screw-top) bottles as I could have re-used them for some of the limoncello/liqueur gifts I make and give. 24 187ml bottles would have been most handy.
@CaptAmehrican @chienfou @duodec @zachdecker I would have purchased the beer one but when I arrived ~at 10am they were already sold out. Not a wine drinker, so I passed.
You make limoncello? That is cool
@tinamarie1974, not only that but I do it with lemons I grow myself (potted Meyer lemon tree…)
@chienfou you sir, are awesome!
VAN GOGH! MANGO! TANGO! AWESOME!
@tinamarie1974 just took that pic today, before my wife and I went to an extension agency lunch talk on citrus growing locally. And, I just realized my “baby” lemon tree is in the foreground to the left of the big blue pot behind the Tradescantia spathacea (moses in the cradle… the purple and green one in the front right). I started that lemon from seed and am contemplating trying to grow it outside since it was ‘free’… I have more projects than time currently!
purple loves @barney.
@CaptAmehrican @chienfou I stood in line before the store opened. By the time it opened there were easily 50-60 people waiting. I could have picked up two wine and two beer calendars (store and ad limit) but I only needed and got the one wine and several cheese calendars. Also picked up five of the cheap chocolate ones (< $2), two of the truffle ones, five of the dog treat, and three of the premium chocolate ones. They’re all going out to family except for one truffle calendar for us.
I stopped at the same store at EOD on the way home; the people said wine sold out by 10:30, beer was gone by 10AM, cheese lasted until early afternoon. The truffle calendars were gone, but they still has some of the toy, premium chocolate, and cheap chocolate ones in stock.
They received 2-3 times what they had last year for beer and wine calendars per the manager.
I wonder how many sold at that store are now on Ebay for 2x or more the purchase price…
@CaptAmehrican @duodec
yeah, it sux that’s you even have to consider that! (though I am not sure that they can do alcohol on eBay…)
@CaptAmehrican @chienfou It is what it is. I might get grumbly about missing out due to people who do that, but in principle I have no real objection as long as they didn’t do insider things with Aldi employees to get the stuff. Capitalism on small scale. Works for me. But not worth the extra effort for me to do the same.
They (like I) made the effort to be there early. I took scheduled PTO time off then worked through lunch to cover the 45 minutes. Its no different than when people seek/find walmart clearances using one of the tracking apps, then flip them for more money. Or haunt the resale/Goodwill stores looking for hidden gems to flip.
At least they’re doing something, making the calendars available to people who don’t have an Aldi store or could not go (at a price!). Better than sitting around and being on the dole.
I can has calendars this year! And so will many family members! It was worth the line and the wait and the crowd. No Black Friday shit for me, I did mine early!
@CaptAmehrican @duodec @tinamarie1974
maybe in the future we could get an “herb” advent calendar… THAT would be amazing… and probably worth the trip to a green state…
/giphy cheech and chong
@CaptAmehrican Stopped at a more distant Aldi for stuffing bread today (their normal loaves but pre-seasoned with sage and all the other spices for stuffing); they still had Barbie, Cars, and the basic chocolate Advent calendars… and one last chocolate truffle calendar. Which is now on my gift stack. I had wanted to buy a few more but both nearer stores sold out of the truffle ones on day 1. 11 days and 10 miles make a lot of difference apparently.
Put the tree up yesterday. Last year it was up by the 9th. Too busy to wait til after Thanksgiving.
Totally varies from year to year, but generally not up until early Dec and down shortly after Epiphany (12th day of Christmas).
That being said, now that there are no kids at home we don’t always decorate…
Wifey put the tree up 3 weeks ago with fall stuff on it and called it an autumn tree or something… It’s a Christmas tree… unless the box it came in lied. We (normally) put it up after Thanksgiving so we don’t get sick of looking at it. It even spins so the decor changes a little… Yep, I’m already sick of it. Maybe I should spin instead of the tree. Ba humbug.
I don’t “Christmas” as I’m not a pagan I choose not to participate in pagan rituals.
/giphy pagan Christmas
@kittykat9180 So you’re good with the whole ‘banning Merry Christmas’ thing…?
i do xmas on dec 26th. so, 364 days early. 365 days early during leap years.
About a week before and then I leave it up for most of January, just to piss off the “dude xmas is over…” people.
My house starts merriment sometime between the day after Thanksgiving and December 1st, though Mannheim Steamroller music gets a pass starting anytime after the 1st of October!
I am about 3/4 done with shopping (and wrapping), but I don’t decorate, put up a tree, etc. until around December 20.
I made apple cider last night, does that count?
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/shortcut-slow-cooker-apple-cider-5468518
@msklzannie Sounds good!
Uh, I still have a box of hard apple cider and a box of hard cherry cider still sitting in my living room from my botched Casemates purchase. Perhaps I should get busy decorating them for Christmas?
@Barney It is so yummy.
@msklzannie I’ve marked it for my recipe collection!
@Barney @msklzannie
@msklzannie @sammydog01 That’s what I need!
I “did Christmas” last year, so won’t be “doing it” this year. Because it’s done now. Why redo things!? As Talking Heads nearly sang:
Do something once / Why do it again?
When we bought our house in '95, a friend and neighbor, convinced me to put up the outside Christmas lights with her when I take down the Halloween decorations and have done it ever since. I already have the decorations area torn apart and it’s warm out. Now when I decorate, I remember her and all the fun we had over the years. Miss her.
I don’t turn them on until Thanksgiving.
As for inside, I swear I’ll put them up right after turkey day but it never happens.
My boyfriend never gets a tree so I’m trying to convince him to get us one this year. And only live trees too, I love the smell.
I don’t do Christmas
Yule happens when my daughter and her husband come, and the dates vary every year.
My solstice celebration is private and my own
When the kids were small and their grandparents were stupid about how many gifts they gave (total of 3 sets due to in-law divorce) we always set aside a dozen gifts to open during the 12 days of Christmas (yes… they are AFTER 12/25) Made the holidays last longer, and avoided the orgy of toys/presents on Christmas morn – when we had them open one present at a time, taking turns so we could all see all the gifts they each got. Then for the next 12 days they each opened a present each morning. After epiphany we took down the tree etc.
I try to wait until after Thanksgiving to do Christmas things (especially music if I can help it), but if I see a good gift, I’ll buy it before then.
My stuff usually goes up after dinner on thanksgiving but I’ve been cheating a bit in recent years and putting it up earlier. Everything comes down Christmas evening.
By the lights on my neighbor’s house, 4 or 5 years ago.
Saw lights on a house yesterday all lit up for Christmas already.
@RiotDemon just saw my second.
@RiotDemon Yesterday I had to listen to Christmas carols on Pokémon Go community day.
@sammydog01 too soon, way too soon.
Omg Wal-Mart is playing Christmas music already…
@tinamarie1974 ugh. Take it up with corporate!
@RiotDemon @tinamarie1974
Vote with your dollars. Spend your money at another store with corporate policies aligned with your principles.
@mike808 @RiotDemon I actually said that to my mom today. That the music will be a great reason for me to shop at Target!