My Mom and Dad did this for the first couple of years for my older brother & sister. Put the tree up and decorated and put toys together Christmas eve after kids went to sleep. My Dad would work on Christmas eve too.. until about 8pm. By the time I came along, they decided it was crazy, and we put the tree up about 2 weeks before Christmas. They still put out every toy after we went to sleep, some wrapped, some unwrapped. We could not go downstairs to see until everyone was up and ready to go downstairs together. We followed this tradition for as long as we lived in their house. I have two younger brothers as well. I remember pulling my older 19 or 20 year old brother out of bed at about 6am on Christmas morning! I grew up in the Bronx, NYC.

Grinch? Whatev. What bugs me most is the fact that a tenant went ahead and decorated the SHARED PUBLIC hallway. Decorate your apartment, decorate the front door to your apartment, decorate your car, but leave the public spaces alone. If the landlord had done it, it wouldn't have bothered me, because it's his property. But other tenants just decorating without consulting anyone else who lives in the building -- and just assuming we'd all be thrilled -- is irksome. Keep the hallways clean and neutral for everyone; go crazy with holiday decorations in your private space.

We had dinner guests last night and I used the Derian plates and napkins. So pretty for fall. The napkins have an added benefit. The background color is kind of "antiqued," w/ some random discoloration. Should be great for hiding stains that won't come out! I did not put out my turkey, but I found him. This post reminded me. I got him at Goodwill several years ago, when my DS was looking for a wardrobe for his part in a play. It was May so no one wanted him (the turkey).

Hmm, I just googled "bottom garland." I didn't really like the examples. And no one shows what it looks like at the bottom of the stairs looking up, but my guess is not so great. You can' have branches covering the treads at all so you are kind of looking at the "back" fo the garland from that angle. Some examples: https://www.thriftydecorchick.com/2022/11/holiday-garland-at-bottom-of-stair-railings.html https://nomadicdecorator.com/2013/12/13/garland-staircase-railings/ It also occurs to me that our morning staircase is more frequently used and so a slight compromise for form over function on this staircase is not really an issue.