When are you unveiling the Holiday and the clickable presents?

[MistressOhm]

It's a thing where I am too.

 

Lights, and themed inflatables on the lawns.  

 

I'm going to do my usual luminarias (aka farolitos) along the sidewalk and the driveway, run some icicle lights along the arches for the porch, and call it good.

[Darkir]

On 11/23/2022 at 7:00 AM, Player2 said:

I get having it done early, especially if you're getting someone else to do it and there's a queue...  but even if the lights are up early, there's no need to turn them on until after Thanksgiving.  And definitely stop leaving them on after January 1st.

Isn't it traditional to leave them on until January 6th (kings day)?

[Player2]

4 hours ago, Darkir said:

Isn't it traditional to leave them on until January 6th (kings day)?

I don't know.  Maybe?  But that's like an extra week.  I can deal with that.  It's the extra months that get to me.

[huang3721]

 

 

[High_Beam]

On 11/25/2022 at 12:45 AM, MistressOhm said:

It's a thing where I am too.

 

Lights, and themed inflatables on the lawns.  

 

I'm going to do my usual luminarias (aka farolitos) along the sidewalk and the driveway, run some icicle lights along the arches for the porch, and call it good.

The Following Is My Opinion and By No Means the Only Opinion

 

When I was younger and far more likely to lash out "inappropriately" at things I disliked I would have totally been destroying those horrid inflatable pieces of $h1t.  If you are going to decorate, then do it for real and stop taking shortcuts.  Easy (read lazy) decorating options lead to this whole more is better concept (which is wrong) and conversely cheapen everything.  It takes me several hours to do the outside which is comprised of the following:

 

- Three (3) symmetrically aligned fake Christmas trees with lights and balls.

- Three (3) Large Christmas Tree Balls (Size of Basketball) with lights spaced evenly around trees.

- Three (3) Christmas Presents (milk crates wrapped with weatherproof material and lights) spaced evenly around trees.

- Blue Blanket Lights on the Box Shrubbery (2)

- One Garland with Lights strung over Garage.

- One wreath on house front door.

 

Spouse used to do a Nativity on the the other side of the garage but fallen Catholics are fun in their inconsistent application of faith so we don't do it any more.

 

BUT I AM NOT A GRINCH (Yelling Intentional)

 

My indoor tree is effing fabulous and it takes five hours to do and seven to take down.  Its glorious and it makes me tingly in several places just thinking about it.

[Luminara]

From the other end of the perspective spectrum:

 

My mother would start decorating right after Halloween.  Splashes of red and green everywhere, that canned snow stuff frosting the windows, garlands of gold and silver strewn around.  Christmas music played constantly for months.  Family tree tinseling and ornament hanging, and nothing came down until the tree was shedding needles faster than she could vacuum them up.  She never put up a single decoration outside, everything was always indoors.  Christmas was in her heart, and her home was her heart.  We were poor, so it wasn't about presents and fancy displays for other people, more about feeling Christmas for as long as possible.  That was usually about six months.  When the inevitable time came to put everything away, we took the tinsel off of the tree and saved it (i said we were poor), boxed everything up and moved it to the shed, and she'd get a mixed look on her face.  Part regret, part anticipation.

 

I still believe it was the best Christmas present she ever gave me.  I love Christmas.  I love seeing Christmas decorations.  I love snow and firs and holly trees and hot cocoa on cold days and Christmas music and Christmas movies with cheesy cliché conclusions.  During the holiday season, middle of the year, doesn't matter to me, every day is Christmas because Christmas is in me every day.  It's a perpetual feeling, and I'm grateful that people leave their decorations up because these complete strangers are sharing their joy, their love of Christmas, with me.  Just like my mother did.

There's always bad shit going on in the world.  Wars, hate, starvation, abuse.  The Christmas spirit is the polar opposite of all of it, and to the people who leave their decorations up past some stranger's arbitrarily determined date of expiration, I say thank you.  There's never a time when we don't need some of that spirit, and for every person who rolls his/her eyes and scoffs at the doofuses who haven't taken down their decorations, there's also a person who looks at those decorations and feels a spark of warmth.

[High_Beam]

17 hours ago, Luminara said:

From the other end of the perspective spectrum:

 

My mother would start decorating right after Halloween.  Splashes of red and green everywhere, that canned snow stuff frosting the windows, garlands of gold and silver strewn around.  Christmas music played constantly for months.  Family tree tinseling and ornament hanging, and nothing came down until the tree was shedding needles faster than she could vacuum them up.  She never put up a single decoration outside, everything was always indoors.  Christmas was in her heart, and her home was her heart.  We were poor, so it wasn't about presents and fancy displays for other people, more about feeling Christmas for as long as possible.  That was usually about six months.  When the inevitable time came to put everything away, we took the tinsel off of the tree and saved it (i said we were poor), boxed everything up and moved it to the shed, and she'd get a mixed look on her face.  Part regret, part anticipation.

 

I still believe it was the best Christmas present she ever gave me.  I love Christmas.  I love seeing Christmas decorations.  I love snow and firs and holly trees and hot cocoa on cold days and Christmas music and Christmas movies with cheesy cliché conclusions.  During the holiday season, middle of the year, doesn't matter to me, every day is Christmas because Christmas is in me every day.  It's a perpetual feeling, and I'm grateful that people leave their decorations up because these complete strangers are sharing their joy, their love of Christmas, with me.  Just like my mother did.

There's always bad shit going on in the world.  Wars, hate, starvation, abuse.  The Christmas spirit is the polar opposite of all of it, and to the people who leave their decorations up past some stranger's arbitrarily determined date of expiration, I say thank you.  There's never a time when we don't need some of that spirit, and for every person who rolls his/her eyes and scoffs at the doofuses who haven't taken down their decorations, there's also a person who looks at those decorations and feels a spark of warmth.

This response is not sarcasm, it's sincere.  That was was some real knot in your throat Hallmark channel stuff right there.  Made me take a moment and think about things.

 

Merry Christmas.

[Herah]

On 11/22/2022 at 8:39 PM, TheZag said:

Usually the earliest would be the tuesday after thanksgiving.  Someone said they have to manually change the maps over to the christmas stuff so its more involved then just flipping a switch.

 

Agreed. This is usually why Halloween and Winter events are 'flipped' on on a Tuesday during maintenance/downtime. Halloween typically will be the first Tuesday in October, sometimes the Tuesday before. Winter would be the same. So either today or the first Tues in Dec.

[BurtHutt]

On 11/25/2022 at 7:03 AM, Darkir said:

Isn't it traditional to leave them on until January 6th (kings day)?

WTF is kings day?! The idea of kings and queens in this day in age is rather sickening. 

[Darkir]

1 hour ago, BurtHutt said:

WTF is kings day?! The idea of kings and queens in this day in age is rather sickening. 

Ummmm its the day when Christians remember the day that the three kings visited Jesus. 

[Astralock]

38 minutes ago, Darkir said:

Ummmm its the day when Christians remember the day that the three kings visited Jesus. 

Better known as the Epiphany outside of Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and Latin America.  But yes, it’s a Christian holiday.

[Luminara]

10 hours ago, High_Beam said:

Merry Christmas.

 

The Sinatra version of this song is eerily appropriate here...

Here we are, as in olden days.

Happy golden days of yore.

Faithful friends who are dear to us,

Gather near to us, once more.

 

Through the years, we all will be together,

If the fates allow.

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough,

And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

 

Merry Christmas to you, too, @High_Beam.  Merry Christmas to all of you, today and every day.