AIBU or is decorating the Christmas tree excruciating?

[slippersandfleece]

All the furniture being moved around and the mess it reveals. All the tangled lights and mess of stuff everywhere. Clutter. So much clutter. My kids suggesting frankly ugly arrangements that I just have to suck up and allow for the sake of Christmas spirit, it's all so triggering. Every year I feel claustrophobic and panicky. Is it just me?

I do it in stages.

1. Decide where tree is going, clear the spot and relocate what was in that spot. (Me)
2. Get tree out of cupboard and assemble in it's spot. (Me)
3. Let it droop for a couple of days and faff with branches to make it look good and bushy. (DH).
4. Add lights (DH)
5. Add baubles (DS and me)
6. Add tinsel. (DH)
7. Add fairy. (DS)

This can take up to a week and a few mince pies.

We are at 3 right now.

It just feels like one more thing on n my massive to do list. Dc not interested in getting involved and i find it exhausting and stressful and messy. If i had money I'd pay someone to do it for me!

That said, i actually love Christmas and really appreciate it once it's up!

I don't find that at all. I look forward to decorating the tree with the (now teen) dc! We always have a real one.The only tricky bit is lugging it into the house and sometimes having to trim the trunk to fit in the holder.

After that it's Christmas music on, shove the sofa over a bit, drape the lights (not tangled, because I wind them around a piece of cardboard before putting them away) around the tree and put the decorations on. No ugly ones as I don't have any I don't like!

A week before putting ours up i deep clean the house and move furniture about etc to make space for the tree. Then when it comes to putting tree and decorations up half the job is done feels less stressful.

Not in general but the strings of lights, definitely.

I read an article that said designers who decorate people's homes for Christmas are very well paid because no one wants to do it!

YANBU. Last year the only colourful lights I could find were ones with multiple settings. This year I'm too ill so have left the decoating it to 12 year old DS. I'm now trying to relax in the middle of what appears to be a bloody rave.

I love it
Most of our decorations were bought on holidays or family day trips so decorating the tree is a real trip down memory lane for me.
getting the tree home and up is a faff but I don't mind too much

I find it very sad to do now as my children are grown up. You remember the many years of when they were little. Enjoy your years with little ones!

It is excruciating but worth it in my opinion!
Me and teenaged daughter have done the tree and all of the other decs this morning.
Now sat basking in the glow of twinkling lights.

Feel the same. It’s better now we’ve moved to a bigger house though as there’s more room for the chaos.

Agree with all this. Took DH and I 5 minutes to get it all out of the roof this morning. I’ll probably do the tree tomorrow and the rest on Tuesday. I know where everything goes, so don’t spend ages thinking and experimenting. I love meeting old friends again, 80 year old baubles with snowdrops, the cardboard Father Christmas who holds sweets in his stomach, which was given to me nearly 70 years ago, the Nutcracker baubles which I bought 10 years ago because of their ott teeth and ferocious expression.

My thoughts exactly

It doesn't help that we are in the middle of getting work done in the house, so already topsy turvey. Urgh. It's worth it in the end when all the lights are on and it smells so beautiful but OMG, the process is hellish.

I agree OP just so much stuff and upheaval everywhere! The room looks much smaller, clutter really gets to me.

Sounds like it might be so stressful because your house in its normal state is already too cluttered. I keep my home to minimal clutter and I think it’s because of this that Christmas decorating is low stress and fun for me.

pain in the bum to do but looks so nice up and i dont buy new decorations but i use my decs i have collected over the years, its wonderful to see all the memories though some make me cry for years and people past.
last few years i have not bothered due to being away but i have a craving to do the tree this year even though we will be away again, just be nice to see all the decorations again

No. I bought a pre-lit Balsam Hill one in the summer sale years ago. Wheel it out, stick the top part in. Put some gold stringy things around it then add baubles/decorations that I’ve collected over the years. Decs etc live in a box in the under stairs cupboard so no faffing in the loft to find them. Add the topper, switch it on and that’s it. Takes about 20 minutes, barely time for a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine.

No sorry I love it. But I have drunk an entire bottle of mulled wine in the two hours we spent doing the decorations so maybe that's why.

I love Christmas but absolutely know what you mean about the decorating, and feel the same way!

I always get a volunteer to do ours (one tasteful in the office, one riotous in the house). Haven't decorated a tree for years!

Usually I don't find it too bad - we buy the tree on a Saturday morning snd leave it in the garage to bring in and decorate on the Sunday. Meanwhile I spend the Saturday giving the place a good deep clean which I rope the kids into under the guise of the tree isn't coming in until it's sorted!

My problem is this year is that I've bought two lovely new pieces of furniture - a lovely set of free standing shelves and a sideboard which I love and have spent the last few weeks merrily planning which Christmas ornaments will grace them and buying a few new ornaments too. Unfortunately I completely failed to take into account them when we move the living room around to fit the tree into the corner it always goes into there won't actually be room for either of them. The sideboard is now in the garage covered with a sheet and my lovely shelves are up against wall where I really don't think they look nice. TBF, DH did spend ages with me moving everything around to try and fit things but nothing worked. So my lovely plans are all to waste!

I love it.

I haven't bought my tree yet. Will do that during the week, leave it outside, and then put it up in 2 weeks time with one of my daughters' help. We usually do it together, listening to carols and other Christmas music. Other daughter and husband aren't interested.

I will start the other decorations a bit earlier, including the advent calendars which I forgot to get out in time for today!

Poor dc

My now adult daughter, comes round and puts mine up, all frosted white and silver... I'm not allowed to touch it in case I ruin it! 😂, quite happy to let her crack on!

Ours goes in the bay window, there’s already a big empty space there so no moving of furniture required. And the dc decorate it every year - I do the lights and then sit down and tie the knots on the hanging chocolates and watch them get the tree decorated. Perfect.
i don’t give a shiny shit what it looks like, they’re always happy with it and that’s more than enough for me - because I’m lazy 😂