The Cellar - View Single Post - Getting your house set up for the holidays

chrisinhouston · 12-10-2006, 02:03 PM

There's a Christmas decorations thread going in Quality Images but I thought I'd start one here more in line with what cellar dwellers do to get the house decorated, whatever holiday you are celebrating.

Last week my sister and I went out in search for a tree (we are caretakers for our parents at their house in Atlanta). They only have an 8 ft ceiling so we usually get a 7 ft tree. We were picking one out at Lowes and commented on how much the damn things cost. The guy said he had some bargain trees. He showed us a nice one for $5! It had gotten some brown spots on one side from being packed in ice but was otherwise perfect. Since my mom has Alzheimer's and dad is blind we decided this little defect shouldn't matter!

We put it up and I strung the lights. Dad was disheartened to find out that the old lights he got used in 1952 no longer work. They were those old ones with cloth covered wires and a little wooden ball just behind the light that you slide back and slip it over the branch and slide the ball up tight. The cloth was frayed and I didn't feel safe putting them up. Oh well, 50+ years isn't bad, with all the new lights made in China you are lucky if they last 2 or 3 years.

As I strung the lights I plugged them in to make sure they worked. My mom kept saying "Oh how beautiful." My dad kept saying that he wished he could see them.

Most of their other decorations are old as well. Faded glass balls, little glass birds with sequins and sparkles. There's a funny little angle for the top, I think it's about 60 years old. We usually put garland and other stuff around the house, down the stairs railing. We strung the big plantation style columns on the front porch with lights and my sister bought a big new wreath for the front door. She brings it in every night, she thinks someone might come by and steal it!

12-10-2006, 02:03 PM	#1
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	Getting your house set up for the holidays There's a Christmas decorations thread going in Quality Images but I thought I'd start one here more in line with what cellar dwellers do to get the house decorated, whatever holiday you are celebrating. Last week my sister and I went out in search for a tree (we are caretakers for our parents at their house in Atlanta). They only have an 8 ft ceiling so we usually get a 7 ft tree. We were picking one out at Lowes and commented on how much the damn things cost. The guy said he had some bargain trees. He showed us a nice one for $5! It had gotten some brown spots on one side from being packed in ice but was otherwise perfect. Since my mom has Alzheimer's and dad is blind we decided this little defect shouldn't matter! We put it up and I strung the lights. Dad was disheartened to find out that the old lights he got used in 1952 no longer work. They were those old ones with cloth covered wires and a little wooden ball just behind the light that you slide back and slip it over the branch and slide the ball up tight. The cloth was frayed and I didn't feel safe putting them up. Oh well, 50+ years isn't bad, with all the new lights made in China you are lucky if they last 2 or 3 years. As I strung the lights I plugged them in to make sure they worked. My mom kept saying "Oh how beautiful." My dad kept saying that he wished he could see them. Most of their other decorations are old as well. Faded glass balls, little glass birds with sequins and sparkles. There's a funny little angle for the top, I think it's about 60 years old. We usually put garland and other stuff around the house, down the stairs railing. We strung the big plantation style columns on the front porch with lights and my sister bought a big new wreath for the front door. She brings it in every night, she thinks someone might come by and steal it!