Do you decorate for the seasons and holidays

[keepersdaughter]

Do you decorate your home in keeping with the season and/or holiday.
The shops are full of every shape, size, colour and hue of pumpkins and gourds. Also loads of chrysanthemums. I used to buy pumpkins for my children to decorate and put my the front door along with some brightly coloured chrysanths. usually people have their porches adorned with these items by now, i don't know if it's a sign of the economic times or what, but I haven't seen one house with anything yet. Also Christmas. How much do you dress your home, just a tree, or do you go the whole way and make it look like Blackpool lights?

[dragonfly]

I don't bother now that we don't have children at home.
I would love to dress the outside of the house in lights at christmas but our house can't be seen from anywhere so would be a waste of time and money. Perhaps we shouldn't be wasting the electricity this year anyway!!! I do have a small christmas tree and a few decorations in the living room.

[Ivy]

It's the accessories that change yes, but not the whole colour scheme like some mags suggest.As for Halloween this seems to have come out of fashion during the last two years. When my kids were small they used to roam the streets asking for sweets, but now hardly anybody rings the doorbell. Last year I gave all the sweets I had bought for the little ghosts and monsters to my kids as I didn't have a single call. But after all it isn't a German tradition just a borrowed one from Irish/American society so it's not that we are loosing a tradition it's more ,like I said ,going out of fashion. Christmas decoration YES PLEASE! I love natural decoration mixes with baubles and ribbons, but we never put our tree up before Dec 23rd. Before that we have an advent wreath decorated with candles and what ever I am in the mood of putting up but no electric lights. I hate them and they are a waste of energy.

[Crocus]

No, not really, except for the festive season when the baubles, miniature pine cones, etc. etc. get dusted.

[souter girl]

My mum was German and Christmas was absolutely magical! She could shut off the sitting room from the rest of the house and we were not allowed in until she rang a little bell on Christmas eve, about 6 or 7 o'clock. The tree always had real candles and all the other lights were out and there would be a Christmas carol like "Tannenbaum" or "Stille Nacht" on the radiogram. We used to get our presents on Christmas Eve, but living in Scotland, we got stockings on Christmas morning too!! Talk about best of both worlds. I think Germany does Christmas and Easter so well and they don't start too early - not like here where John Lewis has its decorations up at the end of the summer. Somehow it never seemed tacky - I can't recapture the magic ,but I do hold off putting my tree up until the last possible day - at the earliest it's the Sunday before Christmas. That reminds me. we also used to celebrate Advent with an Adventskranz (wreath) at Sunday supper the 4 Sundays before Christmas. I think it mattered a lot to her as I believe she was very homesick.Wonderful memories

[sunflower]

I always decorate for the season of Advent and Christmas. Also, instead of spring cleaning I do late Autumn cleaning in preparation for these seasons. Advent decorating begins with putting up the enormous life like artificial tree and buying large Ponsiettas to go at each end of the fireplace. Then a winter wreath is put on the front door. Each week the advent candles are lit one by one. Over the weeks I add until the whole house is decorated and the real tree is brought in and decorated with home made stuff.
Christmas Eve is very important to us. We usually have a big family party after watching the children....and nowthe grand children take part in the crib service. I love it. Still a child at heart.....that's me!!

[TIGGYWINKLE]

I like to theme the house for St. Patricks Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas.I usually have a wreath on the front door, and theme China, place settings, cushions etc. Easter and Christmas are my favourites. I love preparing for Christmas, wrapping presents, the cooking, the family traditions.

[jazzactivist]

Whether or not I change accessories for different calender events depends on my mood. If I had children then I would probably make much more of an effort. I don't redecorate the whole house for different seasons, but I do change some of the accessories for winter and summer - for winter I change cushion covers and throws for woolly, cosy ones in deep colours and in summer change to light, brighter ones. I also have a lot more cut flowers round about in summer. In this house there is a lovely little vestibule with a window and deep windowsill next to the front door, so I will put a nice lantern with pine cones in the window and wreath on the front door at Christmas. I really hate those tacky, electric Christmas lights that people cover their houses with, so am hoping that this year electricity will be too expensive for them to go for too much.

[Crocus]

I get a lot of ideas on here, because I don't change curtains, cushion covers or nothing. I will decorate with Christmassy stuff like baubles, the usual stuff really, and of course the Christmas tree gets 'dressed' as well. We had a "real" Christmas Tree last year, but later on almost the whole of the house was covered in pine needles. So this year it will be back to the very modern Christmas Tree OH had to make from wood - I gave him the drawing, he had to produce it - or perhaps something else. Will have to see what's available in the shops. x

[jazzactivist]

I like collecting long, thin, interesting shaped branches, crocus, putting them in a nice vase and hanging themed Christmas baubles etc on those. It can look really effective if you stick to one colour theme and don't overdo the decoration. I would have thought that some of the long thorn bush branches in SA would be perfect, if you can risk cutting any!

[Crocus]

HI Jazz, problem is, here in our area there's not really thorn trees - but yes it would look quite nice to use it, if as you've mentioned, one can risk cutting it! The old lady behind us have some ivy creeping over the wall and I was thinking of cutting some of those and using it as decoration. x

[TIGGYWINKLE]

Jazactivist, I can just imagine your vestibule. I love deep windowsills. We had them in our house in the country. You can do such lovely arrangements in them. I agree about lit up houses, they can be so gaudy. I bought an artificial tree 2 years ago, and it looks so natural, and I use "Noel" essence from Evelyn and Crabtree for my burners, and lamp discs, which gives the lovely aroma of Pine. Because of running a B&B, I change the table linens and China, for the different seasons, and add little extra accessories, as we have so many repeat guests. I do a little branch tree in a vase with pinecones at the base, and red wooden decorations on it, in the dining room. Simple but pretty. It's amazing how a change of cushions can change the look of a room. I love doing projects with my little grand daughter. Must get out the sewing machine to make a few new things for this year.

[Crocus]

I've made a few table cloths from fabric printed with a Christmas theme. I use that during the festive season, and instead of white or blue serviettes (paper) I use red or something with a festive theme. I saw some lovely serviettes yesterday which look like damask, cream background with gold or silver - lovely. Perhaps I should sew some cushion covers for the season. xx

[tigger2]

I like to change the house for the seasons.Fall starts in Oct.with the kitchen.Pot holders,towels and dryed flower arrangements.Brown,gold and yellow.
Dining room table has a large ,lg.glass rounded bowl filled with a small lake that wood ducks swim on and a deer in the back gound,backed with branches of leaves.I change colorful napkins on the side board,etc.and more fall like arrangements.A wreath on the
door with a little bird perched on the bottom.
This blends into Thanksgiving.
Christmas is a special time.With the whole house redecorated.
We open our presents after midnight and have hot chocolate,Stolen,plus.
Afamily tradition.
Tigger2.

[Crocus]

I bought some lovely serviettes today to use sometime during the Christmas Season, most probably on Christmas Day. It's a cream background, with little christmas trees in rows, in green red and gold. xx

[Ivy]

What is the family tradition than tigger2?