Show us your holiday decor, cont.

I was wondering if anyone had a collection of Snowbabies. My daughter collects them.

I love all the trees, and collections, it gives me some great ideas. This is a wonderful thread.

Love the paper snowflakes.

I was so busy admiring Eleanors pine cone ornament I missed the kitty the first time, and had to go back.

Thanks eveyone, it's so fun to cut out the snowflakes because you don't know what you get until you open them.

Like presents!

Nice guys.

Jan - It looks like you have a mass hanging going on there. I like Family Guy, can't do American Dad. Didn't you have some special Brian Christmas thing?

Al, yep, got Brian last year

We love the cartoon and movie characters, but I get pretty things, too.

Wow - you have lots of themes going Jan!

I think your pretty thing is dead Jan - does it stand up?

Like the Brian, his funniest bits are when they have him actually do dog things.

Al...duh! of course it's dead. (it's deceased. it is no more. like the parrot in monty python.)if it wasn't I'd have to feed it.

agree on Brian. I think he's the whole reason I watch the show.

Jan - wonderful collections of ornaments displayed so nicely on your trees!

Deb - you're really GOOD with the snowflakes!! They look very pretty!

Allison - great decorations all the way around - including your adorable fur people!!

Everything you guys have done in your homes is so beautiful!
I have now garnered a whole lot of ideas for NEXT year!

Jan & Al, I live with the REAL Brian! Eat your hearts out!!

About the cat photos above, found this and wanted to share, it made me giggle!
"Of all God's creatures, there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat."

MARK TWAIN

pix, funny and all too true

cattjovi, thanks for the explanation. I think I can see a little nativity way down toward the bottom on the lowest level. Very beautiful.

bluecow, your cat is so cat! Ours sometimes sprawl out like your Fatapus.

debilu, loved your cut out snowflakes. We do those too but ours aren't nearly as uniform.

onewish1, I'm always running out of something. Would have never noticed if you hadn't mentioned it. Nice village.

Grandpapa, your bendables are a kick!

More of the deer in the herd outside are lighting up. Still working on pulling out snowglobes but have finished pulling out snowmen and nutcrackers. Started arranging a few here and there-

Here's our little army of nutcrackers that we mostly receive as gifts which is why we love them so much-

Nice Lauren. Love those old instruments - who's the collector? Hubby?

Yup, he mostly collects theodolites but we have a few transits, levels, and miscellaneous just for props. They're scattered throughout the house.

Back to digging, must find my husband's battered old nativity. He loves that thing even though it has definitely seen better days.

.............and I thought it was from your early USGS days.LOL
Love the nutcrackers.

Lauren, everything is so pretty, but I just love the framed snowman looking up at the star.

Yes, I liked that as well.

The snowman isn't framed. It was a holiday greeting card sent to us and I taped it to the front of a frame that has a family photo in it.

This photo of a very innocent looking nutcracker is for Al. It appeared on our doorstep today and had a Home Depot tag on it. It very loudly and very obnoxiously plays the "March" from the Nutcracker Suite. I think I know who it came from. My family has a friendly war going on throughout the year and there is no ceasefire during holidays. It started with the bangy xylophone, push popper toys, See n Says from Matel, and dreidls that played tunes and escalated to whole drum sets and literally the louder and more nerve racking the gift the better. We're talking a competition to see who could buy the most offensive and annoying gifts for each other's kids. Excederin strength type toys that kids love and adults hate. As the kids got older, it's turned into more of an adult skirmish with each one of us trying to top each other. We've given each other electronic menorahs that play Maoz Tzur, Christmas trees that have eyes that open and sway to Jingle Bell Rock, clap your hand wall plaques of talking fish, and somebody got a Hannukah deer with antlers in the shape of the Star of David that had a mouth that opened and closed and sang something or other- ghastly, we're talking absolutely ghastly and we were all knee slapping and rolling on the floor laughing over that one.

Every family has their quirks. I'm sure our kids will be talking about who got what hideously loud gift long after we're all gone so it will be well worth it for the silly memories. Here's to our newest addition of loud and obnoxious gifts! The Nutcracker from Home Depot. Forgot to mention its arms move back and forth, its head bops to and fro, and one leg moves as if it is marching when you play it.

Almost a major award Lauren. Funny story - I'm sure you have been innocent though ;)

Equilibrium, your family sounds like mine...a bit crazy but fun!!
We to do the loudest toy for our DN too, and a extra large bottle of asprin for the parents. Hee hee

Oh how I wish we could add wave files here because I'd push that little black button at the base of that nutcracker to let you hear this thing.

Oh Al, you know me. I get into this just like everyone else does! I'm certainly not innocent, none of us are. One year I came up with adding a twist to a foam neck brace... you know the type, the ones that people claiming to suffer from whiplash wear. I sliced it open and sewed in one of those remote control tape devices. I had recorded all kinds of interesting responses as if the person wearing it was responding to questioning from an insurance company defense attorney. That was quite a few years ago and that neck brace shows up every once in a while wrapped as somebody else's gift. We've also got a bust of President Lincoln with his nose chipped off circulating because gag gifts have become a family tradition too. Pretty funny if you ask me. We're all getting quite creative in our old age. This year my gift was some sort of acrylic snow globe that plays horrible holiday tunes as snow swirls around inside. A Santa and a snowman are the focal point. If I think of it, I'll take a photo of that thing tomorrow.

Yes pixie, lots of fun particularly since the kids are older and more cognizant of what's been going on all these years. They even try to help with gift selection. If we're out shopping and they spot something that might be just right for a relative, they point it out to me and we discuss the merits of the object as in whether or not it's worthy of being given as a gift or not.

You could do you own wav,but you would have to have it on a 3rd party site and link it in.

Would never be better than this though:
http://www.geocities.com/faizaferhat/heatmiser2.wav



This message was edited Dec 16, 2007 7:33 PM

That's fun Lauren. Our family wars resulted in years of not talking to each other (though it was a variation on the nutcracker theme). I like your way better!
One of my favorites Al! My wife calls me Heat Miser when I turn the T-stat down.

Here's another window shot.

And an outside walkway light.

Cat's view of the tree.

Victor - did the cat take the pic?? Eleanor

No - I was the cat. Can't get him to wear the cat cam yet!

V, you were a cat?? in a former incarnation (earlier today)? you sure your name's not Mike? are you still in prison? I'm so confused.

Good - that's exactly how I like it. Keep them guessing!

thanks for the smile Al.... love rudolph Victor

A little modification of the tree star.

So Victor is really a cat and maybe in prison!! Is it a prison for cats? Eleanor

No No - that could be a pound. A Humane Sociatys (sp) can be any where in the US. Sing Sing is permanet.... I am having a hard time spelling this morning.

that's ok...we don't take off for spelling LOL

I'm making some progress on my decorating, in spite of Victor's incatceration

here's my tree with the Hummel children on the piano

a wide shot of the top of the piano. I also put my Avon nativity there...I think I've had it about 20 years.

then a couple of my quirky little trees...this ones mostly Disney. I get the book sets when they have them 1/2 price. that's Marilyn as the angel. I didn't think it was fair to make a real angel sit on top of this one