Christmas 2022

kaneohegirlinaz said:
I saw that Costco has a Wine Advent Calendar, $100, too rich for my blood thanks.
I keep my gifts to under $20usd or better yet, homemade for next to nothing.
That twenty buck limit will be difficult with my younger Sister's gift ... I always send her one of my Rum or Kahlua Cakes in the mail, ever since she was in College.
WELL!
It costs me about $4 to make the cake now with the outrageous price of Eggs and then a USPS medium sized Priority Flat Rate box has gone up to $17.05 :facepalm:WTH!!!
I'm over budget :mad:
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I know this is really late, but I just now looked at the thread because I am firmly in the camp of no christmas until after Thanksgiving, sorry Tasty, no offense, but check out UPS prices.
 
Again, no offense to the Christmas-ophiles (I invented the word), but when we went out to get dinner Saturday, quite a few communities already had Christmas lights up and already on at their entrance/exit onto main streets. The grocery store was putting stuff out for Christmas when we went Friday, just skipping Thanksgiving apparently. I just don't get it...

We're going to see Cirque Dreams Holidaze a couple days after Christmas. I'll admit we've had the tickets for several months but you have to buy them early for good seats as they only do a few shows then move on to another city.
 
My first (and probably only) Christmas decoration is up
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When I moved out of my parents' house 10 years ago, I didn't even have a Christmas tree. On that first year my then 9 year old sister went to my house around Christmas time, where she noticed I didn't have a Christmas tree. She was so shocked she told my dad, who gave me his own Christmas tree! So I do have a Christmas tree thanks to my dad and my little sister :laugh: When was the last time I put it up? Probably 10 years ago :laugh:
 
medtran49 said:
Again, no offense to the Christmas-ophiles (I invented the word), but when we went out to get dinner Saturday, quite a few communities already had Christmas lights up and already on at their entrance/exit onto main streets. The grocery store was putting stuff out for Christmas when we went Friday, just skipping Thanksgiving apparently. I just don't get it...

We're going to see Cirque Dreams Holidaze a couple days after Christmas. I'll admit we've had the tickets for several months but you have to buy them early for good seats as they only do a few shows then move on to another city.
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Yes, skipping Thanksgiving does seem strange over there. Here there's no such thing as thanksgiving, so it's straight into Christmas from Halloween onward.
 
medtran49 said:
The grocery store was putting stuff out for Christmas when we went Friday, just skipping Thanksgiving apparently. I just don't get it...
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Kroger has both out - pumpkin spice coffee right next to the holiday blend, center floor displays of canned pumpkin, stuffing mix, and canned yams right along side a big display of white fudge Oreos, peppermint nougats, and Christmas-scented candles.

In today’s world, at least here in the US, I don’t think anyone should be caught unawares by Christmas stuff available for sale in November (or October, for that matter) - it’s been that way long enough now. The last two years, Sam’s Club has started setting up their Christmas displays in late August. Obviously, retailers are making money from it or else they wouldn’t dedicate floor space to it.

We do have one neighbor with their lights up an on, but it’s a pretty simple display. I’m not out much at night, but I’ve seen a couple of others.
 
TastyReuben said:
In today’s world, at least here in the US, I don’t think anyone should be caught unawares by Christmas stuff available for sale in November (or October, for that matter) - it’s been that way long enough now.
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It's not that I was surprised by the Christmas stuff already out, it was that it was ONLY Christmas stuff. No Thanksgiving decorations, serving plates, etc.

Most communities in the past have waited until the day after Thanksgiving to turn their lights on, even if they are already installed. In fact, a lot of homeowner associations don't allow decorations/lights to be turned on more than 30 days before a holiday and they have to be removed within 10 to 15 days after. I chaired the holiday lighting committee for our HOA (over 1.2 million yearly overall operating budget) for several years prior to us downsizing. Although the company was allowed to install the decorations and lights starting in mid November, it was in the contract that they were to be turned on day after Thanksgiving and had to be removed by January 10. I'm very aware of other community's lights because of my committee work so I notice things the average person wouldn't. You'd be amazed at what's involved and the cost of professional lighting. Those companies must make a killing, albeit that it is mostly seasonal work.
 
medtran49 said:
It's not that I was surprised by the Christmas stuff already out, it was that it was ONLY Christmas stuff. No Thanksgiving decorations, serving plates, etc.

Most communities in the past have waited until the day after Thanksgiving to turn their lights on, even if they are already installed. In fact, a lot of homeowner associations don't allow decorations/lights to be turned on more than 30 days before a holiday and they have to be removed within 10 to 15 days after. I chaired the holiday lighting committee for our HOA (over 1.2 million yearly overall operating budget) for several years prior to us downsizing. Although the company was allowed to install the decorations and lights starting in mid November, it was in the contract that they were to be turned on day after Thanksgiving and had to be removed by January 10. I'm very aware of other community's lights because of my committee work so I notice things the average person wouldn't. You'd be amazed at what's involved and the cost of professional lighting. Those companies must make a killing, albeit that it is mostly seasonal work.
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When I was our HOA president (six years of Hell), exterior Christmas decorations had to be taken down by the end of January. I thought that was pretty reasonable, as did the rest of the HOA Board... and most of the homeowners.

CD
 
caseydog said:
When I was our HOA president (six years of Hell), exterior Christmas decorations had to be taken down by the end of January. I thought that was pretty reasonable, as did the rest of the HOA Board... and most of the homeowners.

CD
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The homeowners had until the 15th of January, which given our weather is reasonable, i.e. not cold, no snow, no ice. The HOA common area stuff always got done before any deadlines so the homeowners couldn't come and complain about the common areas when they got notices. Even at that, the notices gave 15 more days before any further action was taken, so with inspection and mail times valued in, they ended up with 5 to 6 weeks.
 
We don't have an HOA here, but we do have "Neighborhood Bylaws," which my realtor explained at the time meant, "We'd like you to do these things, but we have no power whatsoever to make you do these things." - even that didn't mention Christmas lights, just things like "You can't build another house on your property," and "You can't raise pigs/goats/chickens," and "Your outbuildings have to be the same color as your house."

In the 17 years I've lived there, I've seen those three (and most of the others) violated...all by one neighbor! :laugh:
 
medtran49 said:
The homeowners had until the 15th of January, which given our weather is reasonable, i.e. not cold, no snow, no ice. The HOA common area stuff always got done before any deadlines so the homeowners couldn't come and complain about the common areas when they got notices. Even at that, the notices gave 15 more days before any further action was taken, so with inspection and mail times valued in, they ended up with 5 to 6 weeks.
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Our HOA board, when I was on it, was very reasonable. We generally didn't send notices to people, either. We would go visit a homeowner who was breaking rules, of behind on dues, and have a conversation. That just seemed to be more effective. We had one homeowner that was really falling behind on dues payments, and when we visited, we found out the the husband was undergoing cancer treatment, and money was tight. We waived late fees, and differed dues payments for a few months. They eventually got caught up. We would not have know about the cancer had we just sent a notice in the mail.

I can only remember one homeowner that was slow to take down seasonal decorations... for everything from Christmas to Halloween. I dreaded knocking on her door, but it was either that, or keep getting calls from other homeowners complaining about Christmas decorations well into March.

CD
 
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