# Christmas Tree 2014



## bethzaring (Dec 4, 2014)

Have we done this in past years; post photos of our Christmas Trees?

It took DH and me about 5 minutes to put up and plug in this tree. We haven't decorated it yet. I have many very nice ornaments.


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## Katie H (Dec 4, 2014)

I can't remember if there's a thread for Christmas trees or not.  Whatever the case...we have one now.

Our tree won't go up until Christmas week, most likely Christmas Eve day, which is normal for me/us.  I like to keep the tree up until the first week in January so we can enjoy it.  Things are just too crazy here to put it up any earlier.

Looks nice, Beth and, yep, I bet I know where some of your ornaments came from.  Pretty nice, too, that you arranged for your upholstery to match the holiday.


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## Andy M. (Dec 4, 2014)

I remember last year's tree thread.  Haven't seen one this season.


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## roadfix (Dec 4, 2014)

Our fake tree is up and running again...


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## GotGarlic (Dec 4, 2014)

I remember last year's, too. Can't find it now.

We were talking about decorating last night. I think we'll start this weekend.


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## Andy M. (Dec 4, 2014)

GotGarlic said:


> I remember last year's, too. Can't find it now.
> 
> We were talking about decorating last night. I think we'll start this weekend.



We're finished decorating for Christmas.  When I say, "We're finished decorating..." I really mean SO is finished.  I provide technical support in repairing broken items and setting timers for all the lights.

I'll snap a pic and post it later.


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## Cheryl J (Dec 4, 2014)

Pretty tree, Beth.   Mine will be in front of a big window too...today I've been moving around things making a nice spot for it, and washing the window.  My biggest challenge so far has been finding a new place for all the plants that live in front of that window. 

I'll be getting my tree on Saturday.  Have to wait for my son-in-law's day off, he has a truck and will deliver it for me once I pick it out, and help me set it up in the stand.


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## bethzaring (Dec 4, 2014)

roadfix said:


> Our fake tree is up and running again...


 

Mine is fake too.  That is why it went up so quickly.

I always had a cut tree, until the last DH died.  Then I quickly converted.


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## Kayelle (Dec 4, 2014)

I just can't bring myself to put up my *huge* beautiful tree this year so it will stay in the box with the hundreds of ornaments. However, I just ordered a little 3 ft. table top tree with pretty fiber optic lights that we can put here in our little computer/tv room to enjoy. We're always in this room anyway, so this is the place to have it. I'll post a picture later as it's suppose to arrive Dec. 11th with free shipping.


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## Kayelle (Dec 4, 2014)

I just wanted to add that the huge beautiful tree that will stay in the box, pulls as much electricity as *nine 100 W light bulbs*! 
Dang, it actually heated up the living room.

This is what it looked like..


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## Cooking Goddess (Dec 5, 2014)

Wow Kayelle, that tree is gorgeous! And huge. We have 7 1/2 foot ceilings in this house, AKA "Munchkin Land".   My "big" tree is a short 6'.  Not as many ornaments either, but most are family heirlooms, ones we bought on vacations or celebrations, and those made by our kids or nieces. The really special ones will go on the shorter alpine tree in the family room, if I get it up. Danged germs....

This is our "Darlene Tree". If you look past the tree on the right, you can see the neighbor's dinette window in the background. I hope they like this year's version.


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## Cheryl J (Dec 5, 2014)

Beautiful trees, Kay and CG!  

CG, I can't imagine having more than one tree, but if I could I would!  My living room is 12' but I'm going to look for a tree between 5 and 6'. And CG, I sure hope you feel better soon.  

Kay, I'm going the opposite of you this year, it seems!  For the past few years I've gone with a table top tree, a couple of years ago I even had a little rosemary bush cut in the shape of a Christmas tree.  It was fun, but this year, I want to go bigger.


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## CWS4322 (Dec 6, 2014)

When my parents lived at The Lake, the ceiling was 18 ft. In the summer, we would scout for the perfect tree. When we arrived in December, we'd head out to get the tree. We did not cut the tree, rather I would have to climb the tree with a handsaw and parachute cord. I would have to attach the cord, cut the top off the tree and my brother and dad would guide it to the ground. There were times we had to drag the tree a mile or so over snowcovered rocky terrain. Once we got it home, we'd have to make sure the ceiling fan was off before we'd try to stand it up (fortunately, we only to clip the top off one Christmas tree to learn that requirement). 


The larger ornaments went up at the top so that you could see them when sitting in the livingroom. It took us an entire day to decorate it. My brother and I would start with the lights (using cross-country ski poles to position them), and then the ornaments. 


Ever since I was a child, I wanted a HUGE Christmas tree. The last Christmas at The Lake, we had to take two feet off the base of the tree because I cut it too tall. When we measured from the lower branches to the other side, it was 12 ft. It was a beautiful tree (and a wonderful Christmas). I have photos of it somewhere, but it was the whole process of getting the tree, putting it up, and then, of course, taking it down (not nearly as much fun, but just as tricky). 


We laughed so much when putting it up--it can be a bit tricky to get an ornament on a tree using a ski pole while leaning over the railing of a loft...there were several calls to the those below "Falling Angel!" or "Falling Star." The top was always topped with a large angel, surrounded by a choir of angels and stars and then the more earthly ornaments went on (deer, loons, etc.). It took a lot of ornaments to cover that tree, not to mention lights. For some reason, Christmas trees just aren't my thing anymore. It guess that tree was a tough act to follow...


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## bakechef (Dec 6, 2014)

This year I shall have a Christmas peacock instead of a tree!

Our wedding colors were inspired by the colors of a peacock, there were some peacock accents.  My mom decided last Christmas that she just HAD to buy us a 4 ft. LED peacock, the type that you put out in the yard.  Well when she got here, Lowe's home improvement was all out, she was so excited to get it for us, and so disappointed when she couldn't get it.  I really didn't want it, but didn't have the heart to tell her that.  I thought that I had dodged the bullet.  Well she found one this year and mailed it to us.  So I put it together and placed it on the fireplace hearth.  Now I'll decorate the mantle to match.  She was so excited when I put it together.


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## Kayelle (Dec 6, 2014)

bakechef said:


> This year I shall have a Christmas peacock instead of a tree!
> 
> Our wedding colors were inspired by the colors of a peacock, there were some peacock accents.  My mom decided last Christmas that she just HAD to buy us a 4 ft. LED peacock, the type that you put out in the yard.  Well when she got here, Lowe's home improvement was all out, she was so excited to get it for us, and so disappointed when she couldn't get it.  I really didn't want it, but didn't have the heart to tell her that.  I thought that I had dodged the bullet.  Well she found one this year and mailed it to us.  So I put it together and placed it on the fireplace hearth.  Now I'll decorate the mantle to match.  She was so excited when I put it together.



We need a picture!!!!!


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## CWS4322 (Dec 6, 2014)

bakechef said:


> This year I shall have a Christmas peacock instead of a tree!
> 
> Our wedding colors were inspired by the colors of a peacock, there were some peacock accents. My mom decided last Christmas that she just HAD to buy us a 4 ft. LED peacock, the type that you put out in the yard. Well when she got here, Lowe's home improvement was all out, she was so excited to get it for us, and so disappointed when she couldn't get it. I really didn't want it, but didn't have the heart to tell her that. I thought that I had dodged the bullet. Well she found one this year and mailed it to us. So I put it together and placed it on the fireplace hearth. Now I'll decorate the mantle to match. She was so excited when I put it together.


LOL! Can't wait to see a pic! We always had a real tree. The first year I was in living away from home, when I got home to find the tree had been put up in the family room (which was in the basement) and it was not a pretty tree. We spun it around in the stand (ornaments went flying). We decided the tree was not cut straight and so we hauled it out to the garage and cut it a bit, put it back in the stand, hauled it back in, still didn't like it, spun it around some more...hauled it upstairs and put it in its regular spot in the living room. Unbeknownst to us, while we were playing spin the Christmas tree, the neighbor across the street was watching us from his garage...he got a good laugh and told that story for years.


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## bakechef (Dec 6, 2014)

OK, I'll get a picture sometime today!


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## bakechef (Dec 12, 2014)

Ok a little late, but here it is.  It's apparently tricky to take pictures of LED lights with a phone, but you get the idea.


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## Andy M. (Dec 12, 2014)

Our first ever pre-lit artificial tree.


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## Addie (Dec 12, 2014)

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/christmas-trees-2013-a-88144.html

The same tree in 2013 as this one is the same one this year. Nothing changes around here except the residents.


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## Kayelle (Dec 12, 2014)

I *love *the led peacock BC...there must be a theme with the picture above the fireplace. Really lovely.

Nothing at all wrong with that beautiful tree Andy..it's beautiful.

My little 3 ft. micro fiber tree I ordered for our little computer/tv room has yet to arrive and I'm feeling deprived. I try to remember that many don't put up the Tree until Christmas Eve.


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## CWS4322 (Dec 12, 2014)

bakechef said:


> Ok a little late, but here it is. It's apparently tricky to take pictures of LED lights with a phone, but you get the idea.


 
Cool! I want one!


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## CWS4322 (Dec 12, 2014)

Andy M. said:


> Our first ever pre-lit artificial tree.


Nice. What is a pre-lit tree? Does it come with the lights on it and you add ornaments? A friend always puts her try away decorated so she only has to take the cover off and it is up.


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## Andy M. (Dec 12, 2014)

Yes, it comes with the lights on it.  We added our own ornaments.

We have a Christmas tree bag and will use that to store it in a semi "ready to go" condition.


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## CarolPa (Dec 13, 2014)

Andy, I love that tree-top Santa! 

My tree is going up tomorrow.


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## Kayelle (Dec 18, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> I just can't bring myself to put up my *huge* beautiful tree this year so it will stay in the box with the hundreds of ornaments. However, I just ordered a little 3 ft. table top tree with pretty fiber optic lights that we can put here in our little computer/tv room to enjoy. We're always in this room anyway, so this is the place to have it. I'll post a picture later as it's suppose to arrive *Dec. 11th *with free shipping.



It arrived last night and we love it!


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## Souschef (Dec 18, 2014)

*Late delivery*

UPS was running late, and it was dark. I put a candle on the front porch with the UPS logo under it to make sure we got it!
We got it up, and the light show on the fiber optics is great. The colors change, and we see red, white, blue, green and yellow changing.
Fascinating.
Also Kayelle, creative as usual, found a pretty scarf we picked up in our travels to use as tree skirt.


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## Cheryl J (Dec 18, 2014)

Nice little tree Kay, and pretty peacock décor, BC.  

I'll get a pic of mine eventually, it's been up for 2 weeks now.


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## Vanitas (Dec 18, 2014)

Here's our tree. We picked this beauty up last year and I have to say, I'm now a huge fan of pre-lit trees. Just fluff the branches, add ornaments, and DONE! Plus, our pesky cats don't seem interested in climbing an artificial tree.

And it's just so PURDY!!


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## Kayelle (Dec 18, 2014)

That tree is really lovely Vanitas!!! The white is stunning!


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## CarolPa (Dec 19, 2014)

I have 2 artificial trees, a green one and a white one.  I vary the theme from year to year.  The only reason I didn't get prelit trees is because I put different color lights on them depending on the theme for the year.  Our attic is full of boxes of Christmas decor.  I think from now on I will just go with the old fashioned tree and get rid of the rest of the decorations.


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## GotGarlic (Dec 19, 2014)

Our tree is "pre-lit" by us  We just leave the lights on when we put it away. We have always collected ornaments, and I have a few from childhood and gifts from family and friends, so I enjoy opening them and remembering the person or occasion, so my tree is the same every year. I love it


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## GotGarlic (Dec 19, 2014)

Thought I'd add a little detail.


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## bakechef (Dec 19, 2014)

GG I absolutely adore the old fashioned ornaments, reminds me of my Nana's tree.  I've collected quite a few of the hands painted ones over the years.  I love the look of designer trees but the old fashioned ones full of memories are what I love the most.


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## GotGarlic (Dec 19, 2014)

Thank you, bakechef  When we first moved to this neighborhood, there was a Christmas store the size of a warehouse nearby. We bought a box or two of the hand-painted glass ornaments every year till they closed. I like the look of the designer trees, too, but not for my house.


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## Cooking Goddess (Dec 19, 2014)

Love your ornaments GG! We, too, have a lot of memory ornaments. Some we bought when travelling or celebrating an event, some our kids made, and some were my parents' or grandma's, including the little cardboard house and glass bird with the filament tail, both at the end of this post. This is the tree we have in our family room. This one, and the earlier one I showed that is in our sun room, have all our ornaments. I have a small Alpine tree on our living room window seat, but it only has lights on it.


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## Vanitas (Dec 19, 2014)

GotGarlic said:


> Our tree is "pre-lit" by us  We just leave the lights on when we put it away. We have always collected ornaments, and I have a few from childhood and gifts from family and friends, so I enjoy opening them and remembering the person or occasion, so my tree is the same every year. *I love it*


And so you should! It's gorgeous! Lots of my decorations are also gifts from family and friends. There's nothing better than decades of memories hanging from the tree.


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## GotGarlic (Dec 19, 2014)

Lovely, CG! Thanks, Vanitas  We're enjoying it.


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## Vanitas (Dec 19, 2014)

Cooking Goddess said:


> Some we bought when travelling or celebrating an event, some our kids made, and some were my parents' or grandma's, including the little cardboard house and *glass bird with the filament tail*, both at the end of this post


My parents had some of those little glass ornamental birds... I loved playing with their tails!


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## CarolPa (Dec 20, 2014)

Your room looks very pretty, CG.  I had those birds on my tree when I was a child.  As each of her grandchildren were born, my mother passed out the old Christmas ornaments to them.  I, who had no children, got none.  I'll bet none of my nieces or nephews have those ornaments today.


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## Aunt Bea (Dec 20, 2014)

CarolPa said:


> Your room looks very pretty, CG.  I had those birds on my tree when I was a child.  As each of her grandchildren were born, my mother passed out the old Christmas ornaments to them.  I, who had no children, got none.  I'll bet none of my nieces or nephews have those ornaments today.



We all have a few of those Christmas memories mixed in over the years, funny the things that stick with us. 

My Grandmother had those birds, musical instruments made of glass,  little carousels that hung over lights so they would spin when they got  warm and best of all the bubble lights!  

We were always taught to squint  our eyes when the tree was lit so it would sparkle more, we were kinda  stupid, I still do it when I'm looking at a Christmas tree!


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## CarolPa (Dec 20, 2014)

Aunt Bea said:


> We were always taught to squint  our eyes when the tree was lit so it would sparkle more, we were kinda  stupid, I still do it when I'm looking at a Christmas tree!




I'll have to try that!  LOL  I always liked twinkle lights.  Many of our light sets come with the exta light that you put in to make them twinkle, but DH says it's too distracting.


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## Kayelle (Dec 20, 2014)

CarolPa said:


> I'll have to try that!  LOL  I always liked twinkle lights.  Many of our light sets come with the exta light that you put in to make them twinkle, but DH says it's too distracting.



 Oh no....a distracting twinkling Christmas Tree. 

I loved the bubbling lights on my childhood trees....they were so distracting.


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## Silversage (Dec 23, 2014)

We finally finished decorating ours.  It's 10 feet tall, plus the angel.


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## Vanitas (Dec 23, 2014)

Wow, that sure is a beauty! 

Sent from my SGH-I257M using Discuss Cooking mobile app


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## Andy M. (Dec 23, 2014)

Really nice looking trees.


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## Cheryl J (Dec 25, 2014)

Love all the special one of a kind ornaments! I gave all mine to my daughters, most of them were from when they were babies, and throughout their childhood years. There were many handpainted and dated personalized ones. They love and appreciate them, and one day they'll belong to my grandchildren.  

Here's a pic of my tree, taken last night on Christmas Eve. It's hard to get a decent shot because of the window, my small living room, and the surrounding furniture, but I tried.


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## GotGarlic (Dec 25, 2014)

It looks like a beautiful tree to me


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## Cheryl J (Dec 25, 2014)

Thank you, GG.    It's the biggest one I've had in a few years, at 5 1/2 feet tall.  Usually I go with the smaller, but wanted to go bigger this year.  My daughter and SIL went with me to the Christmas tree lot, hauled it over to my house in their truck, and set it up in the stand for me.


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## Kayelle (Dec 26, 2014)

It's beautiful Cheryl, and the view of the permanent trees outside at sundown makes a stunning Christmas picture!

Many thanks to all for sharing your beautiful Trees with all of us...


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## Cheryl J (Dec 27, 2014)

Thank you, Kay!    I've really been enjoying having a big tree this year.


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