Call Us Crazy...

But Tuesday night, Derek and I put up our Christmas decorations! Now I usually have issues with starting Christmas before Thanksgiving, but for some reason this year I'm just going with it. Maybe it was because while we were shopping in Chicago all of the stores were decorated for Christmas and it got is in the spirit early. Maybe it was because we realized that since we'll be out of town for the next two weekends we might as well take advantage of an unexpected free night. Or maybe because we head out of town before Christmas and want to enjoy our decorations as much as possible. But whatever the reason, we just decided that people can judge us and give us a hard time all they want, but our house is ready for Christmas!

Derek even let me watch White Christmas whlie we put the tree up. Ever since I can remember my family has always watched White Christmas while we decorate the tree, and since I probably won't be able to go up to Columbus to help my parents put their tree  up :( I was so glad I got to watch it!

So here are some of the interesting dynamics of Christmas decorating at the Warnick household:

1. It is my job to fluff the tree. {Yes, we have a fake tree, but it was free and it's so hard to go out and spend money on a real one every year when someone offers you a free fake one. And with a fake tree, you can put it up as early as you want :)} So you know how when your tree has been in storage all year long and you take it out it is not very full and you have to spread out all of the branches? Well I think that properly fluffing the tree is key to having a good looking Christmas tree. However, it is time consuming and not the most fun job. Derek doesn't have the patience for this so its my job.

2. Putting lights on the tree is a team effort and pretty easy to do. We use colored lights because we have all sorts of different colored ornaments. I would one day love to have a fancy tree with white lights and a color theme going on, but Derek loves variety, which brings me to the next point...

3. I love pretty glass ball ornaments in red, green, silver and gold. Derek loves unique ornaments. The ones you get every year with the date on them, or that have meaning. So I put up all of our pretty ornaments and Derek puts up all the fun ones. It's the only way I can get him to help me decorate the tree.

4. My favorite part of Christmas decorations is putting up the tree and watching White Christmas. After that I could be done. Don't get me wrong, I love a house that is beautifully decorated for Christmas all over. But I could be happy if all we had up was a Christmas Tree and a manger scene. Derek does a great job of decorating the rest of the house for Christmas. Putting Christmas towels in the bathroom. Setting up the little Christmas village I got from my grandma. Finding a home for all the little Christmas-y things we have accumulated over the years. {Although I think I would like to get some new decorations for the mantle and make that look real pretty - I just don't want to spend any money on it!}

So that's pretty much how Christmas decorating goes at our house. Since I no longer have a camera there are no pictures to document this years Christmas decorations, but you can check out all the pictures from last year right here. I haven't gotten anything new, so not much has changed. And we still have the cheap tacky plastic gold star on top of the tree. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good Christmas tree topper?