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| How are you spending Christmas? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 22 2007, 01:54 PM (337 Views) | |
| Jane | Dec 22 2007, 01:54 PM Post #1 |
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Board Bitch!
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What's everyone doing for the festive period?!! I will be going to my sisters for opening presents and Christmas dinner, later going to Rick's mum and Dad's, then home in time for Doctor Who!!
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| Taman | Dec 22 2007, 04:22 PM Post #2 |
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The Darksider
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When I wake up, I go to a christmas sauna (this is the 24th). And then I go to my granmas to eat (our family joins forces) and then we give out gifts. Then I'll go home with folks and we eat and drink. Might play card games and watch movies. Alas still no snow so it does not feel like a Christmas.
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| Noname | Dec 22 2007, 06:51 PM Post #3 |
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Glorious Witch
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Come on to Michigan where the snow is a plenty. I will open Christmas presents and then watch as my mother and sisters cook in the kitchen, call me over because I am "do nothing" and then tell me to get out of their way because I can't cook. Yeah, you have to love the holidays. |
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| Jane | Dec 22 2007, 10:24 PM Post #4 |
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Board Bitch!
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You could help with the washing up Darrelle! No snow here either Anne :( |
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| Julesy | Dec 22 2007, 10:28 PM Post #5 |
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deliciously domestic
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no snow ever here xmas eve with my familyt here. xmas day with his family |
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| la anaconda de chocolatee | Dec 22 2007, 10:29 PM Post #6 |
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Skittle Skank
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Abominable Snowmen: The War on Lawn Decorations Over-the-Top Displays Inspire Loud Complaints, Even Rage; An Inflatable Santa Beheaded By SARA SCHAEFER MUŅOZ December 20, 2007; Page D1 Jim McDilda's holiday display last year included a 28-foot lighted arch, a 50-foot tree, 50,000 lights and dozens of animated silhouettes. The spectacle -- he needed a crane to set it all up -- lit up the sky and drew thousands of gawking visitors to his Redding, Calif., house. [See a Photo Slideshow] This 28-foot lighted arch was a part of Jim McDilda's holiday display last year. But nearby neighbors weren't so thrilled. Cars, limos and tour buses clogged the cul-de-sac, and trash was strewn across lawns. Christmas music blasting from Mr. McDilda's display kept neighbors awake. They complained to the city, which required that Mr. McDilda get a special-events permit and demanded that he remove the nearby cargo containers he used to store the display most of the year. After months of sniping between Mr. McDilda and the city, he decided to throw in the towel. This year, his house is unadorned. "They gave me so much trouble, they took the fun out of it," he says. Look out, Santa: There's a backlash brewing against over-the-top holiday displays. With community associations ramping up holiday decorating contests (some in the hopes of attracting potential home buyers) and manufacturers pitching an increasing variety of yard decor -- think 8-foot inflatable snowmen -- some homeowners and cities have had enough. Disgruntled neighbors complain of everything from traffic to wasted electricity. In places like Redding and Aurora, Ill., people called for the city to crack down on loud music or decorations that linger after holidays. Police in some areas of the country even report that the growing number of blow-up Santas adorning people's yards are targets for stabbing and other forms of violent deflation. Every year, hedge-fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II puts on an elaborate light show in his tony neighborhood in Greenwich, Conn. WSJ's Alan Murray reports. Wary of Scrooges, some homeowners are taking action to protect their annual extravaganzas: In Greenwich, Conn., hedge-fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II, who puts on an elaborate light display in the upscale enclave of Belle Haven each year, has hired off-duty police officers to direct traffic and avert backups. Overall, sales of seasonal decorations in 2006 totaled $16 billion, up 9% from 2004. Inflatable yard decorations were the fastest-growing decorating category in 2006, with people spending $500 million in 2006, up from $100 million in 2003, according to Mintel International Group, a market-research firm. But not everyone shares the enthusiasm for decorating. "People have just rows and rows of things," says Kat Shumar, an Indianapolis homeowner and past vice president of her neighborhood association. "They've got Jesus next to Santa, and Mary with the elves -- it's just tacky." Airing Grievances Ms. Shumar is airing her grievances online. This season, she launched a Web site called www.tackychristmasyards.com, where she challenges people to find and send pictures of yards with the most "violations." Her list of violation categories includes "more is not less" and "multiple Clauses" (competing Santa figures). Under the category "fallen figurines," she implores people to restore to standing position the figures that have tipped over. "No one wants to see Mary and Joseph laying down as if involved in a deadly drive-by shooting," she writes. Some neighbors complain that once the displays go up, people are too slow to take them down. Residents of the city of Aurora, Ill., were concerned that lights and Santas lingering well past the holiday season looked ugly and could depress property values. So last year, they pressed the city to pass a law mandating that people take down decorations within 60 days of a holiday. "It really did become unsightly," says city Alderman Abby Schuler. "There was a house that had Christmas decorations and Halloween decorations up at the same time." Attracting Vandals Police in some areas are also saying that the large inflatables -- which can range from 4 to 12 feet tall -- are attracting the attention of vandals who like to poke holes in them and deflate them. Last year in the Cincinnati area, two men were arrested after being caught on video stabbing a Frosty the Snowman with a screwdriver. This month in Lancaster, Pa., someone sliced the head off an inflatable Santa that the Ide family had in their front yard. "The decorations were for people to enjoy, but I guess it didn't happen like we had hoped," says Jessica Ide. Despite the risk of Santa attacks, holiday decorating contests keep raising the bar for yard decor. For the first time, Gemmy Industries Corp., a leading manufacturer of decorations, this year held a contest, entreating people to send in photos of their decked-out yards. (The prizes: more Gemmy stuff.) Neighborhood competitions are also popular among the growing number of community associations around the country. These associations have grown to about 300,000 from 240,000 five years ago, according to the Community Associations Institute, an education and advocacy group based in Alexandria, Va. Many of the residents see sponsoring holiday decorating contest as a good way to build community spirit -- and attract the attention of would-be home buyers who might be tempted to drive through and check out the lights. "I always have in the back of my mind how to attract people to the neighborhood," says Susan Maki, a Realtor and president of the Brook Forest Homeowners' Association, which governs the Houston-area subdivision of single-family homes. She says holiday displays have grown more elaborate every year; this year, things like oversize snow globes and a Scooby Doo figure are among the decorations. The association is also getting more serious about judging. Last year, it started to bring in outsiders to avert any accusations of bias. To those unbitten by the decorating bug, it can all be a bit unseemly. During the annual contest in Sara Koehn's community in Allen, Texas, people go all out; one homeowner put up a giant illuminated ornament in the shape of Texas. But Ms. Koehn, an attorney, opted for a few flags and some greenery. Energy Waste "I'm a little bit turned off by all the energy waste," she says. "We've got global warming. It just doesn't seem appropriate to blow up a snow globe." Aaron Landry, an Internet technology manager in Minneapolis, won't be putting up any holiday decorations either. The reason isn't just environmentally driven: His whole house glows anyway as a result of his neighbors lights, he says. The display across the street includes 17 trees and thousands of lights that blink in sync to Christmas tunes and songs by Italian singer Andrea Bocelli. Limousines and buses will often linger on the street. But Mr. Landry wasn't used to the lack of privacy. "A couple of times I was changing, and then I saw four people parked in front of my house, and I thought, 'Oh I should probably close the shade,'" he says. In Redding, at least, the fracas caused by Mr. McDilda's holiday light display came to a satisfactory conclusion. After he decided against decking out his yard this year, local merchants from a city revitalization group asked him to put the display in an outdoor area downtown, offering to defray some of the costs. The display has drawn crowds to downtown, and Mr. McDilda has been able to spread holiday cheer. "I think the one who was happiest was my wife," he says. "She was getting really tired of people looking in our windows." |
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| Julesy | Dec 22 2007, 10:31 PM Post #7 |
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deliciously domestic
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[size=14] Mc DILDO![/size]
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| la anaconda de chocolatee | Dec 22 2007, 10:33 PM Post #8 |
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Skittle Skank
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I didnt even notice that jules! |
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| Julesy | Dec 22 2007, 10:34 PM Post #9 |
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deliciously domestic
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thats because Im a dirty bitch! |
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| Sexy Zombie | Dec 25 2007, 03:50 PM Post #10 |
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Poosie Liquor
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I don't mind decorations like a few lights but loud music all night and enough lights to turn night into day so far too much. Anyway, I had to work this morning yep we were closed but I guess we aren't high tech enough to have stuff feed animals for us. This past weekend I made the 4 hour trip down to New Orleans to spend time with family but Rick still had to work. Later today we're going over to Rick's mom's house. And tomorrow the best Yule gift, I finnally get my first ultrasound I really hope the baby's not shy
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| Noname | Dec 26 2007, 05:16 PM Post #11 |
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Glorious Witch
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I did. I cleaned up the house today. |
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