How do you known when to stop decorating your christmas tree?
813621
stop when you have used 50 baubles and see how much greenness you can see. if the greenness is very noticeable add 15 more babubles. repeat until you think the tree is suitably covered. if you are not sure, grab a neighbour and ask them what it looks like from the outside.
966589
I'm to excited to wait til DEC 12, but i will wait til DEC 1, but i keep buying new stuff to put on the tree .. it helps me not to put it up sooner. ...have a merry Christmas & wonderful new year.
977571
I love to look at my decorations!  Some are from my Parents, when I was a kid, some my kids made!  It brings back so many memories.  Don't you think it's fun to make things look "special"  once a year?  It feels like magic seeing everything lit up!  Don't be a scrooge!  Find the joy of the season so you can pass it on!  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!
6819
Often times, massive department store or hardware stores will market live trees for the holiday season. Or just drive around the community for a while and you are bound to find a tree lot. While you're at it, you can admire all the Christmas decorations too.
777461
The best time is around 3 weeks before Christmas.  Buy it any sooner than that and you run the risk of the tree drying out too much and becoming a fire hazard.  Buy it much later than that and you don't have very much time to enjoy it.
980686
I say keep things minimalistic in terms of ornaments and other decorations, and (I know it sounds corny but bear with me) show the celebration instead through emotional warmth and connection.\n\nOne of the best parts of the holidays is getting to be with your loved ones, and in the end it should be more about that than decorations (though I do sympathize with your bf in that sometimes going all out with the trees and ornaments can be great fun.)  I know I would love nothing more than to be able to spend Christmas with my boyfriend, but I won't get to this year because I'll have to be down in Texas visiting my parents.\n\nNot to say I don't like seeing them, but really my heart wants me to stay where I am now, and be sitting with my boyfriend on Christmas morning with a cup of hot chocolate as we get to sit amid little piles of torn wrapping paper and watch the tinsel get shaken from the tree as his little nieces and nephews run around.  But no, I'll be stuck, well below the Mason-Dixon line and unhappy regardless of what decorations there are...\n\nRemind your boyfriend that while getting everything decked out for the holidays can be very enjoyable, at the end of the day, it's not about the tree or the ornaments on it but who's going to be gathered around it come Christmas morning.  I wish you good luck, and I hope the pain you feel from the loss of your grandmother will be eased soon.
765934
That is when most people do it - we just leave ours up year round, as they are difficult to remove.  You can put them up anytime you want; most people just don't turn them on until after Thanksgiving.  It is your house, so do whatever is convenient for you.
818509
I think the day after Thanksgiving is the way to go. That way you observe Thanksgiving and have the most time to enjoy your Christmas decorations. Merry Christmas!!!
857318
Drive around and look at the beautiful lights.  It's so fun to see how people decorate their houses.  Even the cheesiest decorations make me smile, because it's only once a year, and it's still fun.  Put up a tree and decorate it.  Buy a good CD of classic Christmas tunes. Light a fire in the fireplace and listen to it and look at your tree with the room lights off.
705338
putting up Christmas decorations
739342
I completely understand your desire not to cut a tree down or have a cut one in the house, but really, that *is* the tradition.  By bringing an evergreen tree into your home, you are bringing that promise of renewed life into proximity with your family and friends (all who enter your home while the tree is there).\n\nBut I think the idea of decorating a tree in your yard is GREAT - and it would serve the same purpose; a close and lovely reminder of the promise of Spring and light and life returning.\n\nSome cities have a spacial program for tree chipping, BTW; if you want to have a cut tree in your home you can check around for companies that don't just put the tree into landfill.\n\nPersonally, we use up the tree after the Yule season is over - the trunk goes to make a Yule log (for next year, or for friends), and the rest is allowed to dry out for ceremonial fires later in the year.  I very much like the symbolism of carrying that Yule energy over into other celebrations like Imbolg or Ostara.\n\nYule is the promise, and Imbolg is the fulfillment of that promise, so burning wood from your Yule tree ties them together.
855574
ITS NOT CHRISTMAS UNLESS YOU GET A REAL TREE !!!!\n\n\nFake trees dont smell good and they look cheesy....\n\nReal trees smell like christmas, and although they have more matainence its worth it..
771714
My Christmas tree is so full of stuff that you barely notice the tree!\nI have a really nice fake tree, but the more stuff you have on it, the less likely you are to notice the 'fake' parts.\n\nI love tons of multi-colored lights.  I have some that flash and some that don't, evenly dispersed throughout the tree.  I also use strands of non-flashing white lights amongst the colored, to really show off my crystal ornaments. I use gold and/or silver garland, lots and lots of ornaments, unique ones and also colored balls, also strategically spread out around the tree, and a small amount of carefully placed silver icicles to seal the deal.  It takes a lot of time to decorate, but year after year, everyone who sees it remarks on how beautiful it is.  And it truly is NOT tacky looking.  My husband & I spend our evenings admiring it throughout the holidays.  It has so much character that it really draws you in.\n\nThat's MY idea of how a Christmas tree should look, but that's the really cool thing about trees; it's a totally individual thing.  What works for one person isn't right for another.  I guess the question is what you want your tree to say about YOU.  Do you want simple and elegant or do you want lively and fun?\n\nHappy decorating!\n\nPolly
892213
Start anytime after Thanksgiving.  I used to work in a department store and they had Christmas decorations up before Halloween (very tacky).  We used to joke about needing to put jack-o'-lanterns and witches on the wreathes!
145169
when you stop working on it...
68045
It's not wrong, but after January 6th (tomorrow) it's officially goofy. Technically Jan 6th is the last day of the 12 days of Xmas.\nDon't worry because I still have my tree up (it's fake though). We love our tree. Also we're the only house in our neighborhood that still has xmas lights on. :)\nHappy "Three Kings Day".
835329
I think it is a bit early.  I find the norm is after Thanksgiving decorating can begin, because technically the holidays begin around Thanksgiving and end after New Year's.  Maybe they are feeling very festive and want to start early.