Sunday, November 27, 2011

Because It's Just What We Do

Outdoor Christmas decorations, like cooking, are highly overrated, especially in Chicago.

The garland we bought from the Boy Scouts showed up on the porch about 10 days ago.

It is now 36 degrees and raining, of course.

Charlie and I have spent the last hour securing and sizing up the garland across the porch. We used "close enough" more than once to characterize our handiwork. And, by golly, it just has to be.

I am typing this post with my nose because I cannot feel my fingers.

Will someone please remind me NOT to buy a garland next year from an adorable 10-year-old in uniform?

Thank you.

What are your outdoor decorating preferences? I'd love to hear what you do, where you do it and with what (and whom).

Believe it or not, I steamed these stupid bows, not that it made a difference.
My fingers are too frozen to do further ribbon fluffing.
Bring on the hot toddies.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I take the wreath that hangs on my bedroom door and ceremoniously hang it on the front door! Wa-lah! Outdoor Christmas decorating is done!!!!

Cuzzin Carolyn

Naperville Now said...

You are my hero!

Johanna said...

I use a lot of poinsettas to decorate. If you get up at 5 am on Black Friday, big flowers are 99cents a piece at Home Depot. On week 1 - they are bright and vibrant. On week 2 - they have a few yellow leaves. On week 3 - the leaves are starting to fall and the flowers are fading. On week 4 - they still look okay if you bunch 6 or more of them together to have 4 or more blooms. On week 5 - Christmas is over and they hit the garbage pile! Easy! I usually buy 30 plants to have one or two left by Christmas. Half the fun is the energetic, enthusiastic staff at Home Depot. This year I didn't get there until 7 am (How dare people get sick on Thanksgiving night, come to my ER and mess up my shopping!) I found one pink poinsettia and was so exicted waving it around that the entire staff caught the pink poinsettia fever. There were cries of "I found one" and "Who cares about you? I found two". I left there with a dozen pink poinsettias to decorate Mom's house and in the Christmas spirit! I wrote Home Depot a letter because these people make me smile every year. I think Home Depot serves coffee and Prozac to their staff on Black Friday!!! Did I mention that live wreaths with the red bow already attached are $5 each? Mom's front porch done and product, again, is disposable!

Kathy and Freddy said...

I'm down to two pre-lighted trees--up in December, down, oh, about May........

Beth said...

Our family tradition was that the kids went outside after Thanksgiving dinner and put the lights on the bushes. The adults vegged in front of football. We all slept well that night. Now the kids are all grown up and we have too many watching football and no outside lights!