When do you start decorating for the Holidays?

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The Farmers Daughter

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Do you do each room or only the common areas? Inside and out? Live or synthetic trees/greens?
I decorate every room. Parlor with a 9ft live tree, Living room, dining room and every guest room. Both houses inside and out. Its an exhausting process. I start right after Thanksgiving to get it all done and leave it up until mid January. Its all done in a period Victorian Theme. A lot of work but worth it. I'm on the Holiday House tour every year, so I try to stay motivated.
 
Common areas only and both rooflines decked with lights. Artifical tree for safety purposes and right around the first week of December.
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We leave everything up all year and just call it part of our "ecelectic" decor. LOL
It can be a little hard on the eyes having Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, July 4th, etc.. stuff out at one time, but some find it quite "interesting"
NOT!
We usually do some fallish stuff around Halloween that except for the Halloween spooky stuff stays up for Thanksgiving. You know, dried flowers, pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, etc...
The Xmas stuff comes out maybe around the 15th of December and stays until the New Year's crowds leave and then its all put away. I put the outdoor lights up the week before Xmas and we do the little luminaria bags with sand and candles just for the couple of days surrounding Xmas.
Two artificial trees for in the main house and we treat ourselves with a hike to the forest and a live tree we find there for our living quarters.
We have general main house and exterior stuff with much smaller, individual things for each guest room.
We don't go overboard at all but make sure it feels and looks like a holiday for folks.
 
We leave everything up all year and just call it part of our "ecelectic" decor. LOL
It can be a little hard on the eyes having Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, July 4th, etc.. stuff out at one time, but some find it quite "interesting"
NOT!
We usually do some fallish stuff around Halloween that except for the Halloween spooky stuff stays up for Thanksgiving. You know, dried flowers, pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, etc...
The Xmas stuff comes out maybe around the 15th of December and stays until the New Year's crowds leave and then its all put away. I put the outdoor lights up the week before Xmas and we do the little luminaria bags with sand and candles just for the couple of days surrounding Xmas.
Two artificial trees for in the main house and we treat ourselves with a hike to the forest and a live tree we find there for our living quarters.
We have general main house and exterior stuff with much smaller, individual things for each guest room.
We don't go overboard at all but make sure it feels and looks like a holiday for folks..
Tim_Toad_HLB said:
We don't go overboard at all but make sure it feels and looks like a holiday for folks.
Ditto. We try to make the food and drink that's available to the guest reflect the season as well.
 
Since the weather has turned cooler early this year, I will get the fall stuff out probably in the next two weeks...we do all things that can last thru to Thanksgiving.
The Monday after Thanksgiving we put up an extensive Lionel train display, and not too long after that we'll do one or two live trees plus lights outside. We do open houses for our neighborhood throughout December, it's a nice way to see our neighbors and they love to see the house. I love December here.
 
Common areas only and both rooflines decked with lights. Artifical tree for safety purposes and right around the first week of December.
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Copy%20of%20Tree.jpg
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I have those chairs! My table, however, was a pre-distressed pine fron the Sears scratch & dent room many,many years ago. Back when I had a kitchen eating area so small we used benches because there was no room for chairs and the 2 leaves never saw daylight. Today the leaves reside in the table and there is lots of room to spare!
 
I have 2 artificial trees. I set one up in the Library (oh crap! I only have a couple months to finish the decrapifying that started in Jan and got stalled) that is the family tree and I have another set up in the window in the upstairs hall. I do a garland swag w/red bows on the staircase and a string of white tiny lights on the banister. A few odds & ends in each room, but not much because there is no room (plus what I put up, I have to take down - UGH!). I also put red bows on the outside railing and a big red bow on the mail box (I think the mailman hates it). I start a few days after Thanksgiving - as soon as I can force myself to pull the wobbly stairs down from the store room ceiling and get me motivated to go wrestle the huge tub down.
 
The Common room(hot tub/sun room)gets a slim 8' artifical tree then the two unites have generic decorations on the fireplace mantles (sleigh,greenery swag &stocking hung at fireplace). I get alot of non Christian couples from the D.C. area,so its nice but low key.Outside is a huge (4.6')wreath above the front door....Mary in Bridgewater..Oh! early Dec till after the New Years guest leave.
 
We do a 9 or 10 foot real tree Douglas Fir. We never decorate the outside like we would like - it is a huge undertaking and we are just over our busiest month and too pooped to do it.
We don't get many guests in December so we decorate purely for ourselves to enjoy. That includes wreaths of jingle bells, and all the gear (inside). We celebrate Christmas and it is our home, so we decorate it for us.
 
We used to decorate every room and outdoors etc etc. Williamsburg style. Now that we have retired..we have our own little tree and that is it. I have given away almost all of my holiday decorations.
 
I decorate after Thanksgiving at the first opportunity when the inn is empty. I do only the common areas and a little on the outside. We cut down a 8 or 9 foot tree for the living room. We're in prime Christmas tree country so I'd probably get shot if we got an artificial one. I leave everything up until after New Years. Then I take it all down when there are no guests. 2 full days to put up, 1 day to take down. No decorations in our IQ.
 
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
They are afraid of us having a fire
RIki
 
We start decorating Thanksgiving evening and stop Sunday night. We have 2 tall trees. One goes in the common sun room. The other in the upstairs hallway.
2 exterior wreaths beside the front door.
The double stairway has green garland run up the side with white lights and small red bows. Lamps and bows on both newel posts.
lights and garland on both fireplaces.
Sunroom has shelf around half the room with lighted village scene.
 
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
They are afraid of us having a fire
RIki.
egoodell said:
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
RIki
I have read your posts and am constantly amazed at the red tape you have to wade thru. It must be so frustrating. What made you decide to open there with all the junk they put you thru?
 
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
They are afraid of us having a fire
RIki.
egoodell said:
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
RIki
I have read your posts and am constantly amazed at the red tape you have to wade thru. It must be so frustrating. What made you decide to open there with all the junk they put you thru?
.
She isn't alone. THere is red tape everywhere.She chose a wonderful place to live and to do business. If I had my way, we would have been where she is...but we couldn't afford that:-(
Everyone has some hoops they have to jump through.
 
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
They are afraid of us having a fire
RIki.
egoodell said:
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
RIki
I have read your posts and am constantly amazed at the red tape you have to wade thru. It must be so frustrating. What made you decide to open there with all the junk they put you thru?
.
She isn't alone. THere is red tape everywhere.She chose a wonderful place to live and to do business. If I had my way, we would have been where she is...but we couldn't afford that:-(
Everyone has some hoops they have to jump through.
.
The hoops she has to jump thru are higher and smaller than the ones my employers have to jump thru. It's almost as though they don't want her to do business at all...My employers have very little red tape to wade thru...almost makes me want to look in my state for a B&B...I wouldn't want to be competition to them, though.
 
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
They are afraid of us having a fire
RIki.
egoodell said:
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
RIki
I have read your posts and am constantly amazed at the red tape you have to wade thru. It must be so frustrating. What made you decide to open there with all the junk they put you thru?
.
penelope said:
I have read your posts and am constantly amazed at the red tape you have to wade thru. It must be so frustrating. What made you decide to open there with all the junk they put you thru?
13 acres only 2.5 miles from Monticello, 6.5 miles from downtown.
Polllak Vineyards, Mountfair Winery, Lovingston Vineyards, Afton Mtn Winery, King Family VIneyards, Jefferson Vineyards, Blenheim Vineyards, Kluge Estate Vineyards, First Colony Vineyards, Virginia Wineworks, Whitehall Winery, Veritas Vineyards, Barboursville Vineyards, DelFosse Vineyards, Cooper Winery
Friday After Five free music concerts on the 8 block pedestrian mall every Friday
UVA for me to work and have healthcare
Two hours or less drive from Washington DC for constant guests.
Wine Tours which nobody is doing personally, only limos which is the same as having four additional rooms filled but little overhead.
There are less hoops to jump here than where we were living in Napa, CA
Riki
 
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
They are afraid of us having a fire
RIki.
egoodell said:
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
RIki
I have read your posts and am constantly amazed at the red tape you have to wade thru. It must be so frustrating. What made you decide to open there with all the junk they put you thru?
.
She isn't alone. THere is red tape everywhere.She chose a wonderful place to live and to do business. If I had my way, we would have been where she is...but we couldn't afford that:-(
Everyone has some hoops they have to jump through.
.
The hoops she has to jump thru are higher and smaller than the ones my employers have to jump thru. It's almost as though they don't want her to do business at all...My employers have very little red tape to wade thru...almost makes me want to look in my state for a B&B...I wouldn't want to be competition to them, though.
.
penelope said:
The hoops she has to jump thru are higher and smaller than the ones my employers have to jump thru. It's almost as though they don't want her to do business at all...My employers have very little red tape to wade thru...almost makes me want to look in my state for a B&B...I wouldn't want to be competition to them, though.
My theory is there are too many people here from "old money" that get on the Supes boards and such and have nothing better to do than to make it difficult for all the small business here. They give the wineries as many problems as us.
And now our govenor has said that he is against private liquor shops (here we have state run shops so they carry absolutely nothing interesting - I have to purchase my Kirsh in Califonia when I'm back home for my cheese fondue). Why is he against them? He thinks it will make people drink more????????
RIki
 
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
They are afraid of us having a fire
RIki.
egoodell said:
We are legally bound to only use artificial trees. I hate it.
RIki
I have read your posts and am constantly amazed at the red tape you have to wade thru. It must be so frustrating. What made you decide to open there with all the junk they put you thru?
.
She isn't alone. THere is red tape everywhere.She chose a wonderful place to live and to do business. If I had my way, we would have been where she is...but we couldn't afford that:-(
Everyone has some hoops they have to jump through.
.
The hoops she has to jump thru are higher and smaller than the ones my employers have to jump thru. It's almost as though they don't want her to do business at all...My employers have very little red tape to wade thru...almost makes me want to look in my state for a B&B...I wouldn't want to be competition to them, though.
.
There are several of us that have more hoops and more associated costs than other locales. Aspiring innkeepers need to be aware of this. It can cost you thousands and thousands more to run the same kind of business from one place to another.
 
I don't decorate. Period. I do tell guests that when they are coming during the Xmas season.
 
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