Christmas Tree!?! - Jefferson City,MO

You should wait until the day after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas and decorating as well, but Thanksgiving is a great holiday that has started getting completely overshadowed by Christmas. Concentrate on what you're thankful for over the next several weeks -and then decorate! Personally I despise going to someone's home for Thanksgiving or before Thanksgiving and seeing Christmas decorations up (and I hear a lot of other people saying the same thing) -it's just a real pet peeve! If you put them up the day after Thanksgiving, you still get them for over a month! I do this and with a live tree every year (day after Thanksgiving -day after New Year's).

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I'm a scrooge when it comes to decorations. I put ours up as close to Christmas as possible and it comes down as soon as I can after Christmas. (One year and this cause a ruckus it came down Christmas night)....

The Halloween decorations that my mom purcahased and the kids put in the yard...I took them down as I was walking back in the house after TOTing...

So it's not just Christams Decorations...it's any holiday decorations...
So to answer your question...it's too early!

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Many years, I have put my tree up the day after Halloween. I get plenty of comments that it's nutty to do, but why only enjoy something so beautiful for only a few weeks? And the bonus is, if you put it up now, you will be tired of it come New Year's and will take it down right away. (One year I took it down the day after Christmas and it was so nice to get everything cleaned and have the room to play with the new toys in.)

Then again, I play Christmas music all year round. :)

Merry Christmas!!!

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One of my FB friends posted pics of his Christmas tree & has been catching flack for it all day! Funny you asked this! ;) It's your house, do what you want; but hopefully it's an artificial tree or it'll be dead long before Christmas! ;)

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I have already started decorating. I want it all pretty for Thanksgiving!!

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Sorry, mama... I think Thanksgiving is the absolute earliest for putting up the tree :)

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To me....Christmas is not a two month holiday!! I have never been on board with the day after Thanksgiving thing either though. I can barely tolerate a two week window of decoration. I heard Bing Crosby the other night in the store....way too early for "I'll be home for Christmas"!!

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Too soon for a tree. We haven't even hit Thanksgiving yet.
For a present for your 7 mo. old, get some interactive toys he can play with. Go to babiesrus.com, and it will say something about baby's firsts. Pick a first, and it will show some things according to it.

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Shelf Elf! That would be a great to start. I learned about the Shelf Elf when my kids were older (elementary age) and they weren't interested it when I tried to do it :(

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1) Are you ready for almost 2 months of steering the baby and 4 year old away from the tree? That is a LONG time of temptation for them! Also, it might be confusing for the 4 year old, he may think Christmas is around the corner and wonder why it's taking so long to come :(

2) You can go to tree lighting ceremonies, bake cookies (with 7 month old enjoying watching you and big brother, of course,) whatever is meaningful to you.

3) Wooden blocks, balls that are too big to go in his mouth that you can roll to him and he can hold, a toy telephone (the more realistic the better so he can imitate you,) push toys, and sorting and stacking toys all offer opportunities to have fun exploring and learning at the same time : )

Merry Christmas!

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I usually put mine up Thanksgiving weekend, but it doesn't come down till spring - lol. We decorate it for Christmas, then change it to a winter tree, then a Valintine tree (kids make Valintines for on it), then change it to a Shamrock tree, and finaly an Easter tree... by that time - you can change the clocks and it starts staying light longer & we take the tree down.

We always try to get the kids picture with Santa... and the kids (7, 6 & 4)now like helping with baking cookies & decorating the tree (then momma fixes it after they go to bed or only the bottom 1/2 would have decorations). So you know, the 15 mo old isn't ready for kitchen duty yet, so he doesn't help there... but I'm sure he will help with the tree - not sure if he will decorate or undecorate it though.

As to what to get a 7 mo old... new cloths, toys for his age, books to read to him (thick cardboard paged ones), or stuffed animals for him to cuddle up with.

I hope you enjoy your little ones 1st Christmas!

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I used to put my Christmas tree up right around Halloween, but found that "tradition" going away when I had twins, and a cat that climbed up the tree and knocked all the ornaments off! lol I say, do whatever feels right to you and your family. It's your house, your rules. Maybe it's a good thing to feel the spirit of Christmas extra early!

As for our traditions, I have, each year, gotten all 3 of my kids their own ornaments to put on the tree, as well as one personalized family ornament. My husband and I also pick out an ornament for ourselves every year. As my kids have gotten older (about 2 yrs old), they have chosen their own ornaments. It's always fun every year to decorate the tree, and see how the kids' tastes have grown and changed over the years. The reason I started this tradition (the kids each getting their own ornament every year), was so that when the kids grow up and all leave the house, they will already have a collection of ornaments to put on their tree. Hopefully meaningful ornaments. And when they leave with their ornaments, my husband & I won't lose all our ornaments- we'll still have our family ornaments, and the one's we picked out for ourselves!

Another tradition we have is making sugar cookies, and truffles. We usually do this twice around christmas, because the first batch doesn't last very long! lol The kids have fun rolling out the dough, and cutting out shapes with cookie cutters. They also have a blast decorating.

A tradition that kinda goes with the sugar cookies, is putting out the sugar cookies and milk for Santa. Each child picks a cookie he made, to put out. We also put out carrots for the reindeer.

We also get new PJ's every year. And we always open them the night of Christmas Eve, so we all have nice new PJ's for pictures Christmas morning. We also let the kids open one gift from "mom and dad" Christmas Eve, because they are never very thrilled with opening PJ's on Christmas Eve. lol

We also have a bunch of christmas CD's we listen to all throughout the season, and especially while opening presents. But the most important CD we ALWAYS listen to is my "John Denver and the Muppets Christmas" CD. This is a tradition that has carried over from my childhood. We had it on a tape we recorded from someone's record a gazillion years ago, then about 10 yrs ago I found a copy on CD. I wanted my kids to love that CD as much as I do!

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LOL! I might wait until Thanksgiving weekend to put up the tree, but after reading all of these posts, I'm definitely going to get my lights up! :o)

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I have a friend who puts hers up on Halloween. Another one doesn't take hers down until February.
So whatever you and your husband can agree on is what you should do.

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Before our son was born our tradition was to decorate the tree Christmas eve and to leave it up till the end of January.
We certainly got wonderful discounts buying a tree at the last minute - sometimes %50 - %75 off the original asking price.
Now we do the tree 2 weeks before Christmas and leave it up till mid January.
I'm not ready to do the Christmas tree while I'm dealing with Thanksgiving leftovers.
I want to try to get Christmas cards mailed the Wed before Thanksgiving this year so I don't have that hanging over my head the rest of the holiday season.
They are selling artificial trees now, but it's too soon for the real trees.
Around here the earliest they sell them is Thanksgiving.
You might enjoy starting the Elf on the Shelf tradition now or get a nice Advent Calendar.

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Wow....I'm surprised how many of you put the tree up so early! That's funny. I don't care what other people do but you won't catch me doing that here. I don't blame your husband. Could you maybe hang Christmas lights in each of their rooms to get it a little festive?

If it were up to me the tree would go up the first w/e if Dec...whether it was Dec 1 or Dec 6. Then it would come down pretty darn quickly after the big day. Like another poster here, I also took it down once on Christmas night! I just want my house back, I get sick of having my furniture rearranged to accommodate the tree.

However, because I have 2 girls, the tree goes up the Friday or Saturday after thanksgiving. Makes them happy....and in our house that's what it's all about!

I always get each of us our own gingerbread house to make....let them do whatever they want with it. We also make decorated sugar cookies. Oh, every year I purchase an ornament for each of them that symbolizes what they were interested in or accomplished that year and write a dated note from her dad and I as to why we picked out that particular ornament. I live that tradition!

Have fun.

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I'm all for Christmas and decorate at different times-sometimes before and sometimes after Thanksgiving. I say compromise and put the tree up the weekend before Thanksgiving. Maybe you can start doing Christmassy stuff like having your 4 year old and "assist" your 7th month old make the Christmas Cards you will be sending out-like finger paint cards or something. I'm sure Google has many holiday ideas for art projects for 4 year olds. My little one will be a month old and I am having a hard time deciding what to get her. I know I will be buying or doing something really special for her instead of buying the many gifts that I will be doing for years to come.

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Dont forget to take pics with the mall santa.

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Ha, I decorate homes for the holidays. We are actually putting up all of a woman's Christmas on Monday!

They will be leaving for Colorado before Thanks giving. She said she wants to be able to come home and just enjoy the holidays.. Also having parties at her home.

The rest of our clients we will begin decorating right after Thanksgiving. Many of them have requested it earlier than in the past.

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Do whatever you guys like. We put our tree up around 10 days before Xmas and take it down New Years Day. I love the tree up but I get tired of it really quickly! 3 weeks is my max.

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I start Christmas after Thanksgiving.

I do start shopping now, though, if I haven't gotten stuff already. My baby nephew is all shopped for and DD is almost done, too.

Get him a cardboard box. Okay, that's half joking. Get him something he can chew and bash and manipulate. Soft blocks might be a good idea. Or board books. Sandra Boyton writes some great ones. Barnyard Dance is one of the most beloved and most chewed books in our house.

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it used to be our tradition that we would put the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving.
With an impending move this year we will not be doing that.
Any sooner and I think you start to get sick of it = )
Try making an ornament each year, it can be something as simple as a snap shot of the kids and the year, or more involved, google home made decorations and you can get tons of ideas.
Make something with their hand and foot prints each year....
Good luck, your excitement is contagious = )

Just an idea for baby - you can make beautiful felt tree decorations and put them on a little 'children's tree' that the kids can touch and won't hurt themselves or the decorations. My sister did this for her little girl and it worked a treat to distract her from my sister's beautiful hand blown antique glass decorations on their big tree. My niece is now 13, but they still have the children's tree every year as a tradition.