Morphing home into holiday season!

It was last Friday night. I was feeling like crap that night. I didn't want to be at work. And I didn't want to be awake after work. But Mr. Wookie insisted...he wanted to get a tree. He wanted to get a tree that night, he wanted it home, he wanted our home to start looking the season. What he wants, he got. He knows that loading me in the car will make me in a better mood, despite my crankiness that is vocalized.

He really gets into the holidays, and he really likes to put together a happy Christmas home. We've had Pandora rocking since his post-Thanksgiving hangover. And I can't believe it. It's Christmas time again. This really is the best time of the year.

But back to Friday. It was getting late. And he wanted to get going to the tree lots before it got too late, before we got cranky, before we called it a night with a dinner of Cheerios (for me) and Scotch (for him), and before we didn't get a tree. He feels the tree is the official kickoff to festivities, which I can agree. You can garland your house, change the door wreath, and plug in outdoors lights...but until you have a dead plant shoved into an erect position in your home waiting to spew out spiders and bugs, it ain't Christmas.

First up, Lowe's.  I don't even want to dwell out the lameness that made Lowe's a bust. It sucked. They were overpriced, brown, failing, and the poor worker wasn't doing a very good sales pitch. Lowe's = suck.

Next up...Home Depot. Final stop...Home Depot. Come to mama!

We found a fabulous 7-foot Douglas Fir, grown in the great state of Oregon (hey!!), for under $35, that was still bundled (we got to unwrap it, shake it, and contemplate it with a couple other trees). Like a Pound Puppy of the 80's...it needed a home. It was hilarious watching everyone shake their tree. Everyone has their own method in determining a needles consistency, branch character, and trunk stability. My wiggle is a firm one, much more robust than Mr. Wookie's. But it could be that because I'm from the great state of Oregon, I know my trees. I hug them, I cut them, I wipe my toosh with them. Too far?

Three trees, three wiggles, one Mexican family's children in my way, one deep breath to not kick said unruly children, and a 15-minute wait to pay, but we finally got to load 'er on top of the car. And by "we"...I mean....Mr. Wookie loaded in on the Jeep. I was sick that day. I sat in the warm car with the heat on to not make myself even more ill. Everything in the name of my health, right?

That night was the best. I got shills up my spine as we decorated our place. There's always something about making it home to family for the holidays. You show up, everyone loves you, the home is already decorated...it's like instant cheer. But when you stay home, whatever your circumstances, there's something magical about making your home the holiday centerpiece. This is our place. This is our holiday celebration. And there's nothing better than having Christmas cheer while being able to sleep in your own bed.

Our home is a steady stream of constant decoration since we both feel you can never really be done decorating for the holidays. Maybe it's new coasters in the shape of snowflakes, or new hand towels that you'll actually drape off of your bookshelf (I "won" these last year at the Wives Club Gift Exchange) - but the closer we're to Christmas, the more sales and discounts that lure us in. Okay, okay, it's an addiction.


I'm trying to be reasonable though. Although with next year being a solo Christmas for me, so the post-Christmas sales will be something I can't pass up. I'll need to get me a "deployment tree" that I've seen on blogs. This is brilliant. I will have one next year. Does it come with a crate of Kleenex though?

So far, pooch hasn't been too invested in the tree which is more than we expected. The dumb dog eats blades of grass. She'll nibble on plants. Soo....to put it past her to eat tree...we didn't. But so far there's nothing interesting. The big test will be wrapped presents. The dumb dog eats paper too. So we'll see if it looks like a slobbering mutt has shown interest in our heavily-Amazon.com bounty. And other than the typical needle loss during standing, she's holding steady and smelling beautiful as the corner anchor in the front room. Nothing beats a live tree. Okay, well one that waters itself and takes itself outside on New Years Day for recycling.

And I know Amazon.com has a massive anti-following because they undercut other businesses, etc. But in my opinion, any place that doesn't charge sales tax is great. I like pretending we live in Oregon....as I lounge in my hammock on warm December afternoons. ;)

But let me show you our current front room mid-progress. It doesn't look too bad, does it? We've since added stocking hangers to the mantle, thanks to Target, and more childhood ornaments to the tree (thanks Mom).

Although I'm patiently awaiting our stockings from Organize.com (due to arrive next week!! Eeek!). This is only our second holiday not being spent with family, so it's only about time I invest in our stockings for the two of us. And we're still trolling for a tree topper. While Darth Vader's head is applicable with a name like "The Wookiees," we haven't found an angel we like for less than $40. Apparently people drop $80 for tree toppers. Umm. No thanks. Darth works just fine for that price.