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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that decorating the Christmas tree should be a fun family thing?

23 replies

ScruffyTeddy · 08/12/2007 22:00

Even though im coming down with this flu thing going around, feel like crap and dragged myself up the loft, getting filthy to chuck down all the stuff because the kids were really excited.

Then ds is watching the tv, which I turned off in favour of cheesy Christmas songs cd. Dd is finding fun in stamping on baubles. They half heartedly helped to decorate the tree. Then while I was finishing off dd got every toy out of her toybox and threw them across the floor while ds played with the cat.

Grrrrrr...I would have killed to have a Christmas tree as a kid and decorate it with my mum. [sigh]...clearly I expect too much.

OP posts:

TisTheSeasontobeTalcy · 08/12/2007 22:02

right there with you scruffyteddy

thelittleElf · 08/12/2007 22:04

I am actually going round to my parents tomorrow afternoon to help decorate their tree with them. It's something we always try to do together, and this year my nephew is coming to 'help' aswell . This is all part of christmas to my family

amytheearwaxbanisher · 08/12/2007 22:23

you are lucky my ds 2.4 decided he wanted to hang every ball on himself and didnt understand how to open the strings to a loop so dh had to lift him while ds held the ball and i held the loop bit open.......60 balls and three hours later and it was done!but bless he was loving it and so excited

MaureenMLovesmincepies · 08/12/2007 22:24

No! The Christmas tree is mine!! I'm too much of a control freak! It is a fun family day though. DH & DD go and get me the best Christmas tree, then DH puts it in a pot for me and positions it just right. Then he buggers off to the football club. Perfect!

ChubbyStuckForAFestiveNameBurd · 08/12/2007 22:26

My mum and dad did it at night when we were in bed so it was a nice surprise for us. I can see me doing likewise when DS is of an age to be 'helping'

TheQueenSPeaches · 08/12/2007 22:30

Amy, I misread your post and thought your DS wanted to put the baubles on himself, ie, cover himself with them. Amazed he'd spent 3 hours standing still for you to do this, and how on earth you got 60 of them on a small child?

Then I re-read it properly.

Scruffy, it should be a fun family thing but I guess it only works out like that when kids are a bit older. DS (now 6) doesn't quite get what a ritual it should be, and DH usually just sits on the sofa watching football, which rather ruins it, but I will persevere...

amytheearwaxbanisher · 08/12/2007 22:32

sorry queen!rofl should have explained better!

Original poster

ScruffyTeddy · 08/12/2007 22:33

There's nothing wrong with letting a toddler decorate the tree and then sneakily moving the baubles later .

Really stupidly and unreasonably annoyed with the pair of them for showing no interest.

I hate the tree and decorations anyway, flutters annoy me, I only do it for them [scrooge emoticon].

OP posts:

Staceym11PipersPiping · 08/12/2007 22:36

My mum never let us help do the xmas tree, one year she was ill and we did it, as soon as she was better she took it all off and re-did it (we were about 14 and 16 by this point! )

now its my turn!!! hahaha!!! its all mine!!!

when they're bigger il let them help but at 3yo and 1yo im not letting them near my precious decos!!!

JoyeuxNoelBiggy · 08/12/2007 22:38

I do it at night, get it all done, and tidied up. It's a done deal by the time they wake up.

Original poster

ScruffyTeddy · 08/12/2007 22:41

Queenpeaches, no excuse. Ds is 10 (although at 4 dd could grudgingly be excused I suppose.....

Im perhaps old fashioned...can see myself fitting a leaded bay window type thing with snow on the shelf...blah blah, Just for other people to look through.

(trots off to see if radio times has a festive pic on the cover yet).

OP posts:

EricScrooge · 08/12/2007 22:46

That's a shame.

Just did ours with all of us there.

We have a 3 and 9 DD.

Both of them were really excited about the whole thing and had loads of fun.

specialmagiclady · 08/12/2007 22:53

We had a compromise. DH and I did the boring tree assembly (we have a faux one, I'm afraid) and light putting-on and put most of the decos on last night. This morning, DS1 (2.9) came down and was delighted with the tree. He put up a couple of home made decorationis he's been working on and I put the star up while he watched. That was enough for him.

Keep plugging at these family traditions though. In my family, my dad used to do it with us kids. We used to go and get the most disgusting vulgar tinsel we could find. One year we overloaded the tree so badly it fell down.... My mum was desperate for the excuse to redo it every year¬! !

Vulgar · 08/12/2007 23:31

Vulgar tinsel?

I must get some!

ColdPenguin · 09/12/2007 09:30

My daughter is 4 and she 100% believes that the elves come and put the decs up.

This means we get to put the tree up when she is in bed and we also get to see her face when she has the big surprise in the morning.

Our elves also left some snowy footprints on the carpet, a new christmas book, and a note to my dd asking her to put the star on top of the tree.

I think she enjoyed all that more than she would enjoy 'helping' to do the tree anyway.

KbearingGiftsWeTraverseAfar · 09/12/2007 09:34

Me and the DCs do it together, they wait im patiently while I put the lights on then it's go go go to put every single dec on the tree. DH buggers off up the pub , I drink Baileys and we sing Christmas songs at full pelt, draped in tinsel. Then we sit and eat Roses and admire our handiwork. Roll on next Saturday when we get the tree!

coldtits · 09/12/2007 09:34

You should have made it their job.

One thing my mother always did was leave us to decorate the tree, then NOT tidy it up in any way - it stayed like that!

YuleLoveHekateAtSolstice · 09/12/2007 10:02

You don't know how lucky you are.

I would love to be left alone to do the tree..

However, my kids apparently take a million baubles and the entire world's supply of tinsel, close their eyes and throw them at the tree.

When they've gone to bed I try to rearrange it a bit without it looking too obvious. lol! I am currently itching because we've got multi-coloured lights at the back living room window and white ones at the front. It's just not right

octavia · 09/12/2007 10:39

cold penguin what a lovely thing to do

morningpaper · 09/12/2007 10:43

hehe, mine usually just watch me as I run around in wild excitement dressing the tree while they sit reading books or playing with toys as per usual

I enjoy it though

FairyTaleOfNewYork · 09/12/2007 10:44

my treee is up, and i have put the lights on it.

the decorating of the tree doesnt start untill tonight after dinner. with all 3dd's here to help.

then after they go to bed i rearrange it so it looks pretty

Brandnewchristmaspyjamasgirl · 09/12/2007 10:48

Thats why I am doing mine tomorrow when they are all at school .
Last year was a nightmare

hippipotTEDCHRISTMASTREEami · 09/12/2007 16:24

Oh no, I love it - we do it all together.

We go and get the tree, and dh puts it in the stand. Then he tries to untangle the fairy lights and the air gets a little blue, whilst I hum nervously to try and distract the dc's from daddy's impending nervous breakdown!
Then we open the box of decorations. Invariably some of the saltdough ones made at school have gone mouldy and we marvel at the patterns of fungii before I throw them in the bin whilst the dc cry bitterly.
Then we have fun trying to untangle all the decorations from one another. No matter how carefully we pack them away, they spend a year in a box shuffeling around, wrapping themselves around eachother and generally making life difficult for me.
Then we finally decorate the tree, dh proclaims this is not his area of expertise and walks off. I plough on, to a chorus of 'you can't hang that there that is where mine will go' , and 'mum, O is being horrible he wants to hang the raindeer there but that is where the snowman goes'
When it is all finished, I call dh in for a look. He looks at the tree, just in time to see the dog cock his leg against the tree.

Christmas is here!!

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