I am ATTEMPTING to hang the Christmas lights in the freezing cold, and I HAVE NEVER DONE B4!  I AM DETERMINED, the clips are breaking, the lights are popping, strands of lights are all over the lawn, the ladder is tipping...............WHAT AM I DOING????????????????????

Neighbors are going by and waving, probably laughing @ me!  SO MUCH FOR HELPING THOSE IN NEED!!  

I REALLY wanted to do this guys, but I think when Keith comes home in a bit, I will have to have him help me.  i HATE to feel helpless like this!
GGGGGGGRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWLLLLLLLL!

Thanks for listening!!

debs

Now Deb, here is why some people put them up before Thanksgiving, LOL!  

Of course, you could do like I do and put lights on all the bushes and around the little pines in the yard.  I'm horrid with lights up high so you won't see me up on a ladder unless it's pretty damn important!

I also like the lawn ornaments.  They come prelit and all you gotta do is stake them into the frozen ground (thank goodness for tent stakes).

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Not much help from me, sorry. We do lit lawn ornaments also, nothing on the house itself.

Deb....

I know that helpless female feeling all too well.  This morning, Dylan and I were trying to get the old and defunct battery out of his car.  All but the bolt for the battery stay was off and we were unable to budge the damn thing with a wrench.  

So...I declaired that we were off to the store to purchase a small ratchet and soccet set.

We are at the store and low and behold, there is a nice small set of Craftsman for 19.99.  No extension adaptor.  The next set up WITH an adaptor was 39.99.  So we are seeking out individual parts, and wouldn'tyou know it, I was picking out all the wrong oes, and Dyl was rolling his eyes at me..."Mom that one isn't going to work.  Neither is that one just let me find it."  sort of thing.

So we did find what we needed...went back to the car and removed the battery (3 year free repalcement warrentee and it was only 2 years old)  So we get to Wallyworld, and sure we can get a new battery but the warrentee is now only 2 years, so if this one goes to hell we'll have to buy a new one, because the warrentee is for theoriginal battery, not an addition 2 years on this new battery.

Oh well....Dyl's car starts, and he's at work, and it cost him nothing, and only cost me 27 bucks and change for the socket set.

Dyl knew what parts we needed and I was lost.

Oh well...

Deb,

I give you credit for attempting to D.I.Y.  There's lots of satisfaction in doing a tough job on your own but I know how frustrating it can be when everything seems to go wrong.  I bet you felt like throwing the ladder across the lawn and using the strands of lights to strangle the neighbors who were riding by, waving and not helping.   >:(

Jack Smith who owns the auto repair shop where I take my Jeep for maintenance lives up the street from me.  He and his sons go crazy decorating their house and have done this for years.

Here is a link to someone's site who took pics of Jack's House:

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Once you go past his house and turn down my street, every neighbor has their house decked out in lights and decorations.  Looks cool for sure....and then there is my house with a Christmas wreath on the door. That's it, one wreath.  Easy to hang up and easy to take down.

I used to go crazy decorating, running up and down ladders, cursing at bulbs that had blown out and tangled, etc but now look forward to January 2nd when I can sit inside in a nice warm house while all of my neighbors are outside shivering and cursing taking down all of their lights and decorations. ;)



 

Bravo Deb,, I have ALWAYS said, "it just aint Christmasy if you arnt hanging lights in the freezing cold". Those folks who do it early on sunny warm days just dont get it!! A few tips,, Keep the Christmas music going in the house, it will keep you in the spirit during the 257 trips inside to warm up and get hot chocolate.,,, Those neighbors arnt laughing at you, they are smiling knowing that at least someone in the neighborhood has "caught the spirit".... Keep the clips in a pocket as close to your body as possible, maybe even a quick hot breath on each before you hang it, that helps witht the breaking issue.,,,, Dont worry about broken bulbs,,,, replace those when EVERYTHING is up.  As for the helpless feeling, NONSENSE my dear,, Rome wasnt built in a day!!!!! Even one crappy string of lights looks a million times better than none at all!!!!!!!!!!  God bless and MERRY CHRISTMAS,,,,Clark (TUCK) Griswald

Well, Keith (my 23 yr old) came home and saw the lights hanging, all over the lawn, the ladder tipped, and said "GEEZ MOM  I WILL HELP YOU.......R U OK?"   Many tears later, I was, and the house is done..............

Keith then said, "Come on Mom, let's go buy that tree now!" I'm gonna buy a REALLY big one, since it may be the last year it the house, IT'S GOTTA BE SPECIAL"............................So, off we went and got a tree, ................  We will decorate 2moro night when it relaxes a bit..................

Keith pulled through..........................and I TRIED...................

debs

Cyn, those are cool pictures!  I like the light up polar bears especially. :)

This thread made me cry  :'(

When we got married, Daniel promised me he would give me a Christmas with the most and biggest light show I had ever seen. It was one of his childhood dreams also.  

The first Christmas as a couple he was in a high CH cycle and could not do anything. The second Christmas he was in hospital with Crohns disease. This Christmas he is with God !

I was going to climb up the ladder to put up some Christmas lights myself but in the end I could not bring myself to do it. I was afraid seeing them up would bring me pain rather than joy.

Cherish your loved ones every day, you never know when they will leave you.

oh, Mel I really don't have bushes to put them on, nor big old trees........my plants are all perennials and they be dead now!!! lol.................

Cyn, so many the houses in my development look like "jacks house"!! I probably could not afford all that elecricity either!!! But now my house has lotsa pretty white lights on it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tuck, NOW i know how to do and believe I could do myself..............the key was PUTTIN THOSE DARN CLIPS IN MY POCKET!

Pegg..................kinda makes me feel like an "old lady" @ times, when the boys know so much more than we do.....................but, @ least they always "pull through" for us......................

debs.

oh, Annsie......................I am so sorry.............................if there is anything at all that I may do, please do not hesitate to PM me

debs
xo