Let's talk Christmas decoration expenses

[TexasHusker]

With Thanksgiving coming, we are now in the home stretch for the HOLIDAYS! I LOVE EM!

I'm a big Christmas guy. I love spending way too much on way too much. I love it all the way through New Year's. There's something about New Year's that just awesome.

I usually buy my wife some really nice decoration for the house each year. One year I bought her a solid wood, working nutcracker that is life size and width that is about 6 feet tall. Hand painted, 170 pounds. We display it every year.

I try to spend $300 or so for that one really nice new decoration. Fitz and Floyd, carousels, large reindeer, etc.

We also buy a 10 foot live tree. I'm not much on fake stuff. I like the real trees because each one is unique and it really makes the house smell good. I usually spend around $250 on a tree.

As for Christmas lights, this is my real vice: Every year for the last 16 years, I have decorated a big live oak tree that we have in our front yard. I use the large, old-fashioned, multi-colored C9 lights. It takes me two full days to get this tree decorated. It takes so many lights to fill the tree that it burns about 16,000 watts when it's on. That's a lot of juice from the power company, but my gosh is it spectacular. All of the neighbors love it and look forward to it. I probably spend $300 a year on new bulbs and some new strings (I buy commercial stuff), but all total it's around $1200 worth of lights and strings. In fact I've got to get my yearly order of new stuff placed by mid-next week.

So all total, I pretty easily exceed $1000 each Christmas on decorations, not including my December electric bill.

Tell me about your decorations!

[disneysteve]

$0 here, but we're not Christian. We do love going around each year to the well-decorated homes in the area though.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Ba-humbug! I might get the Jack Daniels gift set which comes with the nice shot glass for $15.99 but no Christmas tree nor decorations for me. I'm a descendant Ebenezer Scrooge.

[kork13]

I mentioned this in the Halloween thread the other day, but I'm not much of one for holiday decorating (for any holiday). We'll put up a Christmas tree & stockings, maybe a few random decorations, perhaps a string of lights... But that's about it. Besides the hassle of setting them up & taking them down a month later, you also have to store that stuff, and I just don't want to deal with that. As I said, I dislike the commercialization of all of our holidays, particularly the religious holidays (Christmas & Easter). I prefer my holidays to be about family & friends, not shopping lists & decorations.

[bjl584]

I'll decorate, but everything is a sunk cost. I bought all the lights, tree, etc. a few years ago. So, most likely no new spending this year. I just have to dig all of the decorations out of the basement and put them out.

[creditcardfree]

I'll decorate, but everything is a sunk cost. I bought all the lights, tree, etc. a few years ago. So, most likely no new spending this year. I just have to dig all of the decorations out of the basement and put them out.

This is us for the most part too. A new string of lights if one went bad and maybe an ornament for each of my daughters/

[scfr]

Because we may be relocating within the next year, soon I will be listing our artificial tree for sale on the local fb garage sale page. So we won't put up a tree this year. I'll sort through the ornaments, sell some, donate some, and hang on to only the ones that have sentimental value. (When we travel, I like to buy a tree ornament as a trip memory. And I have several that I received as a child.)

I get a kick out of figuring out ways to make every day things festive for the holidays with minimal spending. I've found that a spool of red ribbon can go a long way (to create scarves around the neck of animal figurines, turn pillows in to packages, add bows to candlesticks, etc). And a bag of red decorative rocks or some crumpled sparkly tissue can turn anything crystal/glass in to an instant bit of holiday cheer. I also re-purpose the little decorative things that have come on gift baskets we have received.

As far as holiday decoration spending, this year will be minimal, but I'll probably buy a poinsettia and may splurge on a couple bottles of uplifting, holiday-scented hand soap. (I love Mrs. Meyer's Orange Clove.)

Your tree lights sound great, TH. If you lived in my neighborhood I'd be planning some of my evening walks to take me past your house. Lights on live oaks are such a unique, "Texasy" thing.

[msomnipotent]

I heard on the news that there is a Christmas tree shortage, so I'm expecting to pay about $175 for our 8-9ft tree. I'm trying to talk my husband into getting a really nice but fake tree. I'm mentally budgeting $400 for it. I'm getting really tired of spending the whole weekend driving around town looking for the perfect tree and wind up with one that has a huge bald spot anyway. And in the cold, no less.

I plan on buying some decorations for the cottage, so maybe $100 or so this year, plus whatever I bring from our house. Our main home doesn't need any more Christmas. It takes me 3 days to set up. Getting too old for this!

[Thrif-t]

I've already got bins and bins full of Christmas decorations and don't put up 3/4 of it anymore. But I am planning to go to a Christmas open house this weekend at a store and buy a canvas picture of a snowy house with lights in the window. I'm determined to just bring cash so I can only buy the picture I covet and not come out with a lot of other stuff too that I don't need.

I do like the house decorated for Christmas and I plan to start earlier this year, like this weekend when I bring my prize canvas home.

[kork13]

I heard on the news that there is a Christmas tree shortage, so I'm expecting to pay about $175 for our 8-9ft tree. I'm trying to talk my husband into getting a really nice but fake tree. I'm mentally budgeting $400 for it. I'm getting really tired of spending the whole weekend driving around town looking for the perfect tree and wind up with one that has a huge bald spot anyway. And in the cold, no less.

Something I've always wanted to do, actually, is to plant some species of "Christmas tree" somewhere in our yard, and decorate it for Christmas in lieu of a tree inside (or perhaps in addition to a small one inside)...then on Christmas morning, things get hidden under/in the tree outside. Probably not the best idea up here in Alaska, since the weather would almost certainly be frigid cold & snowy... But if/when we wind up loving somewhere that this would be possible, this is definitely a Christmas fantasy that I plan to live out. As a plus, we'd never have to go buy a tree!

[msomnipotent]

Something I've always wanted to do, actually, is to plant some species of "Christmas tree" somewhere in our yard, and decorate it for Christmas in lieu of a tree inside (or perhaps in addition to a small one inside)...then on Christmas morning, things get hidden under/in the tree outside. Probably not the best idea up here in Alaska, since the weather would almost certainly be frigid cold & snowy... But if/when we wind up loving somewhere that this would be possible, this is definitely a Christmas fantasy that I plan to live out. As a plus, we'd never have to go buy a tree!

Sounds great as long as you live in a place where your neighbors wouldn't steal your gifts. That wouldn't fly out here, but I still wanted to plant a nice spruce in our front yard to decorate for the holidays. It would have also given us a little privacy and provide year-round shelter for the birds, but no. Someone just had to have a sugar maple instead.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

$40 tree from costco? And we have decorations we've been buying and adding to every year usually 1 think $50-100. And seriously until we moved into a house we've never had decorations because we didn't have space. Now we do and it's pretty fun.

[A.H.A.H]

Lobster costume for our 5 month old, $20 with a coupon at promopure. There are lots of kids in our neighborhood, so we also bought a bag of candy

[SavingMoneyGoals]

I usually feel pretty sad around Christmas as it reminds me of those who cannot celebrate it with their families or don't have the resources to even enjoy a nice meal on Christmas day. I try to decorate the house using the same decorations year after year, as this usually uplifts my mood! I very rarely buy a new decoration. I think I have enough! HA!

[Budget Kitty]

We usually buy a few decorations each year, often on clearance or after the season. That way over the years we build up our stable without breaking the budget in any particular year.