I really love those birds! Well, are you going to leave it up? Don't think I could take it down after making it so pretty.

I am considering leaving it up :-) The only reason I wouldn't is that my family already thinks I am a nutcase about Christmas. Of course---I am!

With all due fondness, I agree with your family.

And please post a warning in the title when you are posting about xmas?

It was a glorious sunny day here and I don't want to hear about Christmas please!

So put a pretty bowl of nuts next to it with a tiny little sign that says âÂÂIâÂÂm nutsâ to make a point lol. No way could I take it down after all that work.

Lol, jterrilyn! I might just do that.

Mtnrdredux, they limit the characters in topic titles and I don't like using Xmas....bah humbug!

I don't decorate for Halloween because we don't have kids at home or trick or treaters here, we're too far out and the driveway is too long. And I can't decorate for Thanksgiving, because we have a Christmas party Dec. 1st. I am just embracing the pre-season :-)

I love the birds and acorns, and have some very similar! But yes, it's much to early to be thinking about these things. I stopped at Sam's today to get cat and dog food. They've already got their Christmas section in place and I've not even done my house for Halloween yet (we get a TON of kids).

Thanks, errant, I am loving those birds :-)

(Early schmerly!)

Very nice, but
TOO SOON!
TOO SOON!

Oh my gosh, kswl, our trees are decorated just the same! Well, mine is put away at the moment ;-P
I call it "woodland glam."
Looks terrific!!!

Now put it away and go buy a bag of Hershey's miniatures.
Halloween.

It is early but no worries just take out the round ornaments that are red and green add some DIY hand painted gourds and an orange bow on top. Artfully arrange some large gourds on the floor off to the side of tree. Presto change-o you now have a Halloween tree.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gourds

This post was edited by jterrilynn on Thu, Oct 9, 14 at 8:25

Those gourds are really cute!

Woodland glam---- that's it!

No Hershey's miniatures, we live out in the country with no trick or treaters, too much land between houses, and our driveway is a half mile long. We would have to feed them supper by the time they made it. All the kids in our town go to the suburban neighborhoods. But, I will man a pumpkin decorating booth next Saturday at our animal rescue society's annual Barks and Boos!

You are cracking me up!

So classy! Add a few fall items and remove them after thanksgiving. Some pheasant feathers and a few fall leaves would look awesome with the current ornaments. I am in love with that wicker tree skirt thing.

Feathers, I totally forgot about them! Thanks rtwilliams.

AnnieD....you know you love it, I'll bet your house is like Christmas in Connecticut, perfect and New Englandy.

I adore it! Keep it up and enjoy it. IMO, the Christmas season is way too short. I would like to put a tall, narrow tree in my foyer. No one even uses the front door because our guests always use the breakfast area door but I could enjoy the tree every morning and evening.

I loathe Halloween and never decorate for it. We too, live in the country and have a long lane. We have never had a soul brave enough to navigate our long winding lane for a treat. Honestly, with all the trees that line our drive, after dark it is rather scary even to me.

I do like to decorate for Thanksgiving though with pumpkins, gourds, and fall colors. Your tree fits in nicely with fall colors.

May I ask where you purchased your tree? Also where did your lovely glass ornaments come from? My tree gets decorated in burgundy and gold for the glass balls with a lot of pretty glass ornaments mixed in. I would love to do a woodland glam look!

That is one beautiful tree ! I am trying to get dh to look off the right tree now , id hate for it to be sold out or unavailable by the time he is ready . I think the woodland glam idea is perfect !!
I am planning on 3 trees this year . One decorative one in the upper window of the foyer . One flocked one in the dining room and one red green and gold in living room. Never too soon to start planning ! ;)

This tree is actually from Grandinroad, I thought I had ordered it from Frontgate (three months ago, just shipping now) but the box said Grandinroad. Their catalogs come on the same day and they're owned by the same company, I am always getting them confused, link below.

The tree was very easy to put up, it is 7.5" tall with 400 lights, just enough. The willow ring also came from the same catalog, and was only $49. I am seriously thinking about ordering one of these trees in the 9ft height for our library, as it is time for a new one there.

Glass ornaments were from a combination of ebay (all the glass birds and the vintage ornaments) and Amazon. Put "mercury glass christmas ornaments" in the Amazon search box to find lots of choices.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mountain Pine Pencil Tree

Well, if you are having a Christmas party Dec 1, I would just cross that off your long list of 'things to do' and be done.
Beautiful tree and ornaments and you probably enjoyed decorating it, which you might not enjoy as much when you're getting ready for the party.

Katy, I have the week before Thanksgiving scheduled for Christmas decorating, around here it is a full body contact sport Involving hired elves and my mother. We don't just decorate, we Decorate, iykwim. But you are right and this is definitely something I have now crossed off my list. And I am not even going to consider putting out the cardboard German Putz glitter houses until the real decorating commences.

LOL KSWL, you are too funny. Seriously, thanks for the info, I love your gorgeous tree.

I am starting preps for the holidays. I bought Christmas cards last week. I started polishing my silver this past weekend and I have been searching on Ebay for some fill in pieces. Taking stock of my Thanksgiving dinner ware (vintage Johnson Brothers, His Majesty pattern) and planning for a set of Lenox Winter Greetings.

The older I get the more important the holidays are to me. I want to continue to build the lovely traditions and happy memories that my children and grandchildren will look back on when I'm gone.

Here is a link that might be useful: His Majesty

K, I really like it! I'm trying to decide if I want a new tree or not.

Mtn., with all due respect, for those of us who decorate (or use new things) for Christmas, this is the month a lot of thought and planning goes into it.

There's not enough time in December to think about what I'm going to do, go out and buy the stuff IF I can find it, then decorate.

I hope this song gets stuck in your head, "Jingle Bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!" LOL!!!

Gorgeous!!!! :)

I LOVE that Grandin Road tree -- just KNEW that someone here might buy one -- and yep! it IS wonderful!

Still HOT hereabouts -- and Halloween ......

Mother (in her later years) used to wrap a sheet around her decorated tree and carry it to the basement and put it in the corner....Ready to go for next year.

Right...
You just had to put it up.
Good excuse, have to use it myself.

It's pretty warm here, too ---84 degrees yesterday, but last week we had a COLD snap and it went down to 38 degrees two nights in a row, which is winter here. So, my circadian or weatherarian rhythm or response kicked in and I sort of slipped into that Christmas thing without even realizing it.

Holly-Kay I love that Thanksgiving pattern, it is beautiful! Did you know that Benjamin Franklin lobbied to get the turkey named as our country's official bird? I would love to do Thanksgiving, and maybe someday when I stop our early Christmas party I can really celebrate Thanksgiving with all the pomp it deserves. I would love to see pictures of your set table.

I love dishes in general and have two sets of casual Christmas dishes. One is Lenox Holiday Gatherings, which they discontinued. I don't actually love them because the plates are so darned big, they almost look like troughs. I also have a Southern Living pattern that is mostly white and which we also use often year round. And Christopher Radko's Tree pattern in bowls and mugs, which we use with our off white every day dishes. For the actual Christmas dinner I still use my white Limoges with gold edges, as there is so much other stuff on the table I think the china should be quiet :-)

Oak, if you are serious about getting a tree I would scour the sites like naughtycodes.com and retailmenot.com for 20% off coupons. Or call the catalog 800 number and ask when their Christmas stuff goes on sale in the fall. There is never a reason to pay full price for this seasonal stuff!

Pretty tree! I remember when you were looking for a woodland ornaments. I love the willow basket, but my cats would be mad at me! They love getting all the way under our tree.

Grandma, that's just what I am going to do with this one!

Josephene.........ðÂÂÂ

Allison, I am hoping the ring will give the tree more stability when our three pups start playing bullet dog in that room, lol!

KSWL, I am a china fanatic too. I gave each of my daughters several sets of china to make way for more. I do love a beautiful white/gold trimmed china but my heart just sings for china with a pattern.

I have to keep my turkey platter on the table year round because it is so blasted big and heavy. I did know that Franklin lobbied for the turkey. I am sure with you being in the country you see plenty of wild turkey. We had a small flock of 4 behind our chicken coops last weekend. We once had a lovely turkey hen that I named Charlotte. She lived on our deck during the day for two summers. I loved seeing her but the turkey poop was not a welcome sight!

I think it's Fall-ish enough to call it your Thanksgiving Tree!

Lalalalala(sung with fingers in ears and eyes closed)! ;)

Don't you mean FA La La La La, La La La La ?

Make it FALL lalalalala and everyone is happy! Someone before suggested an "I'm nuts" sign. Love that :-)

I love your tree. It is beautiful! If it makes you feel good, leave it up. One less thing to do. I put mine up in November, because we celebrate Christmas on Thanksgiving, when my family gathers at my home.

Your theme is well executed!! I agree bottom level--leave it as is. I am also a Christmas nut-but agree I don't like to RUSH through too fast, but having one job "done"--I would deal with the rush this year!!

Joanie and kiwi, you are much cleverer than I am, lol. The only overtly chrostmas thing on that tree is the 12 days of Christmas ornaments, and I can just turn them around so they present their fall-y pinecone side. We usually decorate the week after Thanksgiving, except on the years when the extended family celebration is held here. Then I decorate before Christmas because the moms of young children like to take christmas pictures of their children here.

I'm leaving it up and not even doing the gourd thing, although that is a super fantastic idea. We aren't planning on any company before thanksgiving anyway so there won't be many witnesses. :-)

kswl, I have 2 trees I put up for xmas...they are all lighted, garlanded and ornamented with everything wired on so they don't come apart. They are up in the attic under a sheet. They and the pre-decorated wreaths come down once a year for a week or so and then back they go. Now that I have the cats, even that will be in question....

"There won't be many witnesses..."

If a Christmas tree is decorated in the woods and there is no one there to see it, is it too early......?

It's never too early for Christmas in the woods, kiwi. But seriously, i do understand the irritation for some people at the constant stretching of the season, mtn and Annie and others' objections to trotting it out early here are not unreasonable. (Although I think mtn should be at least relieved that there was no red on the tree, her most unfavorite color, lol)

And I finally got the vintage 1959s tree topper on the tree and it is perfect if I do say so myself. I waited like a stalker until the right one came up in ebay and got it for less than $12!! Now I just have to dig out the Burberryish plaid ribbon and tuck it in. Handy Guy is much better than I am at that though, so I may save the job for him.

edited to replace sideways picture

This post was edited by kswl on Fri, Oct 10, 14 at 13:24

Oh I have no objections- Auntie Mame all the way! I was trying, perhaps poorly, to make an "if a tree falls in the woods and there's no one there to hear it does it make a sound?" joke. :-)
Your tree is gorgeous and I wish I achieved the look as well as you did!

I knew you were joking, I forgot the smiley face!

kswl: I love your tree and am in love with the tree topper. It's all beautiful. And it is early for x-mas, but does remind me that I need to shop for a new topper now. All of the good stuff will be gone by the time I get in the spirit.

Annie: This is OT, but yes, kitties do love an x-mas tree and are especially good at picking the sparkly and delicate ornaments. We also have a new cat this year so it's probably another year of unbreakables combined with cheaper ornaments that we aren't attached to. Our other cat actually loves to use the tree as his house:

Pea camp, what a darling picture!!! I could almost be persuaded to get a cat if it would let me take sweet pictures of it at Christmas! But, then I remember that I have three dogs, one of whom thinks "cat" is another word for appetizer. :-(

As much as I LOVE Christmas, and put up at least 6 trees and a ton of other decorations, it's even a little too soon for me! It is a beauty though! How tall is it?

No 'Christmas red' for me either. It's overrated. ;)

Pea Camp, what a darling picture. Our dear Tommy died last year right before Christmas. I will rescue another kitty at some point. I was at Petco the other day and they have cats that need adopted through the SPCA. Not a one of them seemed in the least bit enthralled by me so I will keep watching.

KSWL, I have two dogs. A Yorkie and a Havanese. The Yorkie doesn't like cats but tolerated our Tommy. OTOH, Murphy our Hav was Tommy's best friend. Murphy looked for Tommy for months after he died.

I just received the Soft Surroundings catalog and they have some woodland scene décor items.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soft Surroundings

Those owls are adorable, Lucy!

Holly-Kay, I have heard many similar stories of dog and cat love and devotion and wish we could trust our Maltese, Charlie. He was so battered and defeated and angry when we got him, he still attacks men with facial hair. It will take years of loving kindness to repair the damage done to that poor dog. Maybe someday he can have a kitty friend.

Holly-Kay, I didn't want to get OT so sent you an email about possibly finding a rescue kitty that is fostered in a home with dogs.

We are in the opposite boat as you and kswl - we'd love to get a dog, but are worried for the cats...

Anyway now I can't resist posting this video my DH sent me yesterday.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cat and baby bunny