** Exchangers-Come & join us for the QOTD, and chat with us **CLOSED

[BELLEDOZER]

The past couple of years I've been keeping the tree decorated simply, due to the age of the kids at that time. 2 years ago the tree was covered in bows, and last year it was covered in Christmas Crackers. Now that the kids are older, am considering getting the good ornaments out again, but it's alot of work unboxing all my special ornaments, and takes the better part of a day to decorate the tree when I do it. Maybe closer to Dec I'll finally make up my mind as to how I'm going to decorate it this year. Just find it easier to hit a dollar store and spend around $10 to $15 and find some neat things to decorate the tree with, that it doesn't matter if the kids play with whatever I put on the tree. Or if the dogs get into play mode and decide to kill the tree (you never know when Holly our greyhound gets into playmode what mischief she will get into). Have a greyt day!!

Trish

 

[mommytotwo]

The past couple of years I've been keeping the tree decorated simply, due to the age of the kids at that time. 2 years ago the tree was covered in bows, and last year it was covered in Christmas Crackers. Now that the kids are older, am considering getting the good ornaments out again, but it's alot of work unboxing all my special ornaments, and takes the better part of a day to decorate the tree when I do it. Maybe closer to Dec I'll finally make up my mind as to how I'm going to decorate it this year. Just find it easier to hit a dollar store and spend around $10 to $15 and find some neat things to decorate the tree with, that it doesn't matter if the kids play with whatever I put on the tree. Or if the dogs get into play mode and decide to kill the tree (you never know when Holly our greyhound gets into playmode what mischief she will get into). Have a greyt day!!

Trish

What are Christmas crackers?

 

[BELLEDOZER]

From what I know of them, they originate from ENGLAND. They are basically 3 toilet paper rolls lined up in a line. They are then covered in fancy Christmas paper, and a snapper is in put into them. Ribbons tie each end of the cracker. Then a silly hat, a joke, and a small inexpensive gift is inserted into it. Here is a link that I found that pretty well explains it: http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cracker

Pretty well describes all the tradition around them. In my husbands family it's a tradition to have the Christmas Crackers with the traditional Christmas dinner. Last year I bought a pile of cheap ones at my favourite dollar store, and covered the tree in them. That way if the kids took one off the tree, I didn't mind.

Trish

 

[Promomx2]

Love the question!! Our main tree in the living room has red ribbon, red ornaments adn then all our family ones, including the ones we get while on vacation and the kids get a new one each year. The dining room tree has all my angels on it. The silver pom-pom tree in the kitchen has my Christmas Town misfits on it. DD has a purple or pink tree, depending on her mood. DS has his football/baseball/motorcylcle tree. DH used to have a tree in the florida room with his bar with beer and sports ornaments but it kept falling over, we used to keep it up all year round.

 

[Promomx2]

This year is I and dh's 25th anniversary and I can't find ANY 25th anniversary ornaments. I've checked hallmark and kohls. If anyone sees any can you let me know.

 

[mommytotwo]

From what I know of them, they originate from ENGLAND. They are basically 3 toilet paper rolls lined up in a line. They are then covered in fancy Christmas paper, and a snapper is in put into them. Ribbons tie each end of the cracker. Then a silly hat, a joke, and a small inexpensive gift is inserted into it. Here is a link that I found that pretty well explains it: http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cracker

Pretty well describes all the tradition around them. In my husbands family it's a tradition to have the Christmas Crackers with the traditional Christmas dinner. Last year I bought a pile of cheap ones at my favourite dollar store, and covered the tree in them. That way if the kids took one off the tree, I didn't mind.

Trish

Oh, I have seen pictures of them, but did not know that they came filled with something .

 

[mommytotwo]

This year is I and dh's 25th anniversary and I can't find ANY 25th anniversary ornaments. I've checked hallmark and kohls. If anyone sees any can you let me know.

They have one at www.bronners.com
I have ordered from them before with fast shipping. Congratulations to you, and your husband on 25 years of marriage.

 

[mommytotwo]

How many Christmas cards will you be sending out? Do you send to any of the DISers here?

 

[Kirby]

Do you have a certain theme for your Christmas tree(s)?

I used to try to theme my tree when we were first married but as the kids were born and ornaments were made at school and church, it has become eclectic. I also have lots of Hallmark series that my mother has given us over the years.

How many Christmas cards will you be sending out? Do you send to any of the DISers here?

Right around 100 and some are sent to DISers.

 

[mommytotwo]

A bit of a twist from our usual QOTD-


Tell us ten things that you can see if you look outside of your window or door. Then tell us three things that you wish you were able to see.

 

[Kirby]

Ten things that I can see out my front door:
1. my flag pole
2. the mums in my planters on my front porch
3. a water tower
4. a number of trees in my front yard
5. houses
6. cows in the field at the end of the street
7. usually lots of blue sky
8. our red tip photynias (sp?) along the fence
9. fields at the end of our street
10. sometimes a car driving down the street

Three things I wished I could see:

1. No houses across the street
2. Cows in the field where the houses would not be
3. a sky at night without light pollution

 

[mommytotwo]

Ten things I can see....
*Mango tree
*Papaya tree
*Tomato plants
*2 garages
*Waterhose
*Front yard
*Cherry blossom tree
*Avocado tree
*Orchid plants
*Our cats

Three things I wish I could see......
*A garden full of veggies that needs to be picked
*Puppies playing around
*A nice Christmas tree that we could decorate each year

 

[Kirby]

Avocado tree! I wouldn't mind having one of those!

 

[mommytotwo]

Avocado tree! I wouldn't mind having one of those!

We have a few of them, and with the prices of avocados these days, it is good that we do have them so that we do not have to pay those outrageous prices.

 

[mommytotwo]

Do you give your postman or delivery person a gift for the holidays?

 

[KimRaye]

Do you give your postman or delivery person a gift for the holidays?

Mailman, yes, for the past few years anyway - he's been the same person. He tolerates ALL my deliveries, DIS and otherwise.

 

[Disneydonnam]

yes to both. The mailman usually gets a box of chocolates and a gift card. The UPS driver gets a gift card.

 

[Kirby]

Do you give your postman or delivery person a gift for the holidays?

No, because we've had so many different ones over the last couple of years. If I left a gift for my current one in the mailbox, I couldn't depend on him being the one to deliver our mail on that day. Besides, he provides no service at all beyond sticking our mail in the box. He will not bring packages to our door to see if I am home, just sticks one of those notices in the box. We used to have a really good mail man, a woman, who would always bring packages to the door and your mail with it. But the neighbor across the street got mad at her one day and complained so much that the post office gave her a different route. We haven't had such good service since.

Now my mom gives gift cards to her postman and her paper boy. The postman brings her mail to her door (she has a street side mailbox) when the weather is nasty or when my dad gets a lot of tapes. He receives books on tape from the state library because he is blind. And the paper boy always puts her paper on her porch.

 

[mommytotwo]

What is your all time favorite song?

 

[Kirby]

What is your all time favorite song?

What A Wonderful World . I think that that's the name.