Lets see those Christmas decorations!!!!

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Ok, so I'm looking pretty unfestive here this year...  I have a huge nutcracker collection I usually unbox for the Christmas season, but I am going to see my Grandparents this Christmas...  It is really hard to get motivated to put out a bunch of decorations knowing I won't be here to share and enjoy them!  

I wanna see what ya'll have got going...  Lets see some pictures of your Christmas decorations!  Bring a little Christmas cheer here!  

I have a little tree and a dust catcher that are my decorations...  

Baby tree

Fish Kringle

[metalfan]

Its WAYYYYYY too early for us! Maybe on the Solstice.

[junglegalfla]

This year I decided to not put up a single decoration. PITA to drag all that stuff down for a couple weeks then put it all back in the blink of an eye. The pre-halloween xmas marketing has really made me a scrooge the last couple years.

Buy...buy...buy

[Gbarce]

Perfect timing for this topic.  I just took pictures of our christmas decorations and emailed it to my sister in the the States.

These are Christmas Lanterns.  Its a traditional Christmas decoration here.  These are the simple "old style lanterns made of bamboo and paper.  

There are a lot more elaborate ones particularly from a specific province-- but thats a whole other story.

[Gbarce]

Cool christmas ornaments by the way Will.  Looks like they were designed by Tim Burton - very whimsical.

We Don't have live Chrismas trees over here.  That one over there is artificial.

[Gbarce]

Christmas over here is by far the biggest holiday.  We don't really do Halloween and we don't have Thanks giving.

So we have all this pent up energy that is unleashed during the Christmas season.

Archway with garlands and lotsa lights.

[Gbarce]

We get a lot of Spanish and American influences in celebrating this season ( we were colonized by those 2 countries  for 400 and 40 years respectively)

The nativity scene  (seen here) is Spanish and I think the Christmas Tree  was an American introduction.  I think the Lanterns were a homegrown concept.

[Gbarce]

Sorry about the dim lights but we were trying to get the effects of the Christmas lights on the pictures.  Kinda give teh house a nice warm glow but I don't think it translates as well in the Photos.

[Gbarce]

Christmas Wreath.

I think that we unofficially have the longest christmas seasonon earth.  Starts from September 1  (what we call teh start of the "ber" months)  and ends on Three Kings Day which is teh fist Sunday After New Years.

Without fail Christmas songs play on the radio and public places on teh first day of September.  I kid you not.

[Gbarce]

Window

[Gbarce]

village scene

[Gbarce]

The "candy table" - we put candy dishes here so kids can just take their pick ( and grown ups too).

Notice the M&M's candy dispensers? -- I told you we had a lot of American influence

That's all he took.

I hope the others post pictures too.  I'd love to see how Christmas is in other countries.

Kris- tell us how it is in India - it would be interesting to know how it is celebrated in a place where there are many religions and Christianity is not particularly the dominant one.

[Gbarce]

I almost forgot - the obligatory poinsttias ( i hope I got the spelling right)

[metalfan]

Your decorations are great, but your HOUSE looks like a CASTLE! WOW it looks cool.

[Jeff Searle]

Gene,

    Nice pictures of all. Do you have any small children to share Christmas, it looks like you really get into it?

Jeff

[Walter John]

Not much folks but here's my tree, with some presents under already, nothing for you again Matty B, I guess you really do have to be good, as they say.

[Gbarce]

Jeff- Nah I don't have kids of my own yet.  

It gets this extreme for us  because: 1) the thing with families in my country is that they are really really "clannish"- meaning they are very close up to the second/third cousins level 2) Since we have the big house (its the ancestral house which my father inherited)  it automatically means that family reunions happen here.  So we don't really do this just for us but for the extended family as well.

Unlike you guys who probably decorations up for 2 or 3 weeks,  over here these things are up for over 2 months. We start putting things up in our house around November 1st.

And don't credit me for all this -- my only contribution are the M&M dispensers

[Gbarce]

Gina- It's certainly old but I wouldn't call it a castle.  It's my great grandfather's house that's been passed on to my dad.  It's realy nice but really needs a lLOT of repairs. We've been rehabilitating it for a lot of years now.  

I take care of the outdoors/gardens -- hence the plams.

But this is off topic already - lets see more Chistmas stuff from this board!!

[metalfan]

Well, like I said, not happening  for a bit...I just bought some new lights at Home Depot today and one string was bad so I have to exchange it tomorrow...sigh...

So the tree's up but not decorated.

We live on 5 acres down a 1/4 mile long road on which we are one of only 4 families. No one strings lights or anything...one family is Jewish. the other 2 consist of an almost 90 year old lady and her son and daughter in law who are in their 60's. We are the only family with a kid.

I do set out some things inside the house though and we do stockings.

We are having a party on Dec 29 so I imagine I will decorate up for that, maybe I will post my photos late, LOL

[Palmarum]

- In spite of the low end decorations I have at my house,  I decided to travel around and find some higher end Christmas decorations to photograph. There have been some incredible houses around here in the past, most within walking or biking distance. This year, it seems some have either downsized their displays or not done them at all. I noticed this display about a week ago when I drove past the townhouse entrance at night. Those are 50 ft tall Cuban Royal Palms, Roystonea regia, wrapped head to toe in Christmas lights. Someone really took the time and effort to wrap the white lights around the trunk and inter-twine the green lights along each leaf rachis. I thought it was worth a photo, especially for this Forum.

{ISO 400, 2 sec, f9, 25mm}

- With the constant traffic going by, I couldn't resist the obligatory streaming car light photo.

{ISO 400, 2sec, f9, 18mm}

- The illuminated Christmas tree display set up on the City of Pembroke Pines building. The city has done this every year for the past 12 years.

{ISO 400, 10sec, f16, 70mm}

- The building and its display can be seen right next to one of the busiest intersections in the city. I had to hold open the shutter for a while to get as much action as I could.

{ISO 400, 30sec, f22, 18mm}

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- "Hmm, I look at the light but I don't know what to do?" I had the idea for this photo for some time now and took it while I was shooting the rest above. I had to take it at "Palm Avenue" of course. Try to think of the traffic situation that would result in the lights shining the way they are... They were working fine by the way, in case you were thinking I got into the control box.

Ryan

[Gbarce]

Outdoor christmas decorations in Forida are very similar  to the ones in Manila!

[Jeff Searle]

I just took these few pictures, because time was running out! Andrea and I love the holidays, and really love having all the family coming over. She enjoys putting all the decorations out each year. She has alot of patience, I might add. Well here goes.

Jeff

[Jeff Searle]

Inside our front door, on right side.

I just noticed two things,well really one. Andrea was taking the picture but caught my reflection through the mirror. Also, we collect a few antiques, and down on the floor on the right side, I bought that snow sledge, or disc, or what ever you call that thing.  Hey, I was born and raised in South Florida, what do I know about sledging? But when I saw it in a store, I thought it was really cool to have.

[Jeff Searle]

Here's ole Santa Claus to meet everyone when they first come in.

[Jeff Searle]

Looking into our living room.

[Jeff Searle]

The Christmas tree.

[Jeff Searle]

A look at our wall unit in the family room.

[Jeff Searle]

Another

[Jeff Searle]

The last one of another Santa, thanks and a Merry Christmas !!

[BS Man about Palms]

Jeff AND Andrea,

Very Nice!  Very "Architectual Digest"  

Thanks!

Bill

[Gbarce]

Very nice decorations Jeff.  Very nice home too!!

Looks like you guys really get into it as well.

Nice to see that you have a real tree instead of an artificial one depite being in Florida

[Jeff Searle]

(Gbarce @ Dec. 24 2007,04:57)

QUOTE

Very nice decorations Jeff.  Very nice home too!!

Looks like you guys really get into it as well.

Nice to see that you have a real tree instead of an artificial one depite being in Florida

Every year while growing up as a child, we always went out to buy a tree. So of course I am the same way. We love the pine smell, you just can't beat that. We would'nt have it any other way.

Jeff

[Kris]

Dear Ryan  

lovely stills as always !  

Dear 007 Jeff  

your house decoration looks great and i can see how much you love palms,from the sofa's pillow covers having phoenix palms adoring them...

though our family do not celeberate christmas,but this year i have fixed one golden star & a christmas bell in our phoenix sylversteris palm tree and silver star in our balcony facing the main enterance and friends & neighbours have started bringing in lovely cakes...God i feel hungry even while typing this..i must leave for home to eat some cakes with my wife... :laugh:

lots of love,

Kris  

[Al in Kona]

Merry Christmas from our house to yours.  Just a couple pics to show you how we usually always decorate inside the house for Christmas.

This years tree.

[Al in Kona]

#2     The Nativity  -  the little palm to the right is a small Lytocaryum hoehnei

[putu enjula]

Couldn't find too many decorations that caught my eye so i had to "make" my own!

[putu enjula]

[Kris]

Here are the stills that i spoke of...

And by the way Al your celing wooden work-manship is excellant_i really loved the architecher...

lots of love,

Kris  

[putu enjula]

Aww.. how cute...  but wait,  something lurks...