Kylie covered the topic of shopping brilliantly, don’t you think? Well, I’m going to make a few confessions about holiday decorating. There have been years when I spent hours and hours decorating the tree and interior of our house, and trust me, there was never a resemblance between what I did and what Martha Stewart does.
So, I’ve turned into a bit of a decorator cheat. Yes, I’ll admit it. I cheat on the Christmas tree. All that decorating can turn into a grind and make me feel like a Scroogetta. So, we have two artificial trees. Both are pre-lit. One is pre-decorated. For those years I’m on deadline, up goes the pre-lit, pre-decorated Christmas tree. You pull it up like a hoop skirt and it’s done in less than ten minutes. Here is a pic of this marvelous invention. 
This year, since I’m not on crazy deadline, I’m using our slim-line pre-lit artificial tree. You ask, why do you have a slim-line tree? Because my dear husband chose the previous fat and heavy tree and it nearly required a crane to bring it in from the garage. Our slim-line (skinny) tree bears a resemblance to Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, so I’ve had to learned to fill it in. First tip from my mother: Get some of those fake bunches of decorated branchy things at a craft store and stick them into the holes. Second tip: Use BIG ornaments. They take up lots of space and you can get the tree decorated in much less time. Third tip: Just put up a few balls on the back of the tree. WHO’S LOOKING?!!! Fourth tip: While decorating, drink wine and listen to my long-time favorite CD. 
Wanna hear one of the songs?
I’ve already put up my tree, but won’t do any outdoor decorations until after Thanksgiving. I don’t want to traumatize the neighbors.
What are your time-saving decorator tips? Share, share! I’d love to know!
xo,
Leanne
Leanne:
I buy two little pine trees, still live, still in pots. I put my most beloved ornaments on them. One I put on my front porch and the other in my front window. At the end of the season I tale down the ornaments, and in the spring have my lawn guy plant them.
I’m alone, other than my dog, who isn’t all that invested, so I do what I love, which is decorate, then replant. 
Trish, what a lovely idea. And I like how you put your most favorite ornaments. Lovely! Enjoy the season and the trees next Spring!:)
Great idea. And the predecorated tree looks good too. They really have improved the fake tree options. Due to my loving but rotten cats, my tree it only about 2 feet tall. And is prelit with no ornaments. Super easy and fast to get it out though!!
donna, I’ve heard some tales about cats and Christmas trees! I think what’s most important is if the sight of the tree gives you a little lift.:)
We (or rather I) just put up our Christmas tree today. For the past 20+ years, I have decorated it with dozens and dozens of our children’s homemade ornaments, as well as tons of balls and pine cones. Not so this year. This year I placed garland EVERYWHERE on the tree (in various colours since I don’t have enough of one colour to do the entire tree), then I placed big hanging stuffed bears every foot or two where there were tiny gaps. Voila! SOOOO much easier. My daughter likes it; I’m waiting for my son to come home and see it in an hour or so. (Not that it really matters since it’s OUR house, LOL!) I placed some Christmas napkins out as doilies on end tables, hung a few wreaths, stuck some more garland around our mirrors, and I’m done. No bows anywhere, no Christmas settings placed out on tabletops. Nadda. And just think how fast it will be to take down the bears, garland, and lights after Christmas! Wonderful!
Laney, garland! Perfect! And stuffed bears! I LOVE IT! I will try the garland next year. I put up dozens of ornaments, but tried to focus on the front of the tree.:) And you’re so right. Whatever you put out, you have to put away.
I think what ever you do at Christmas is right for you… I don’t do a lot of things I used to, but the Tree will go up near the 15th of December. Some decorations will go up then too.. I have one event here at Christmas on the 15th. I have never heard that Christmas song before. I love Steve and Eydie.. Thanks for sharing.
superaunt, good for you knowing what works for you! Glad you enjoyed Steve and Edie. I love them too.:)
Fake trees are the norm here in Australia, because Christmas is in summer, and real trees die so fast in the heat.
We have a fake one we put up on the 1st of December, and we’ve started getting a real pine mid-December. It just struggles through until the 7th of January – which is Ukrainian (and other countries’) Christmas.
I actually really love decorating for Christmas – I also do my ninety year old grandmother’s and my aunt’s houses each year – so I don’t mind the time it takes!
Sonya, you decorate 3 houses! You are a super sweetie! What a blessing that you enjoy the decorating part and feel you have the time. Enjoy it this year!:)
You make me feel guilty. I’m weeks away from the dreaded Christmas tree tradition. And my hubby still insists on a live tree.
No guilt! That’s part of the plan. You put up the tree however you want and whenever you want!:) xo
My son comes over every year and puts the tree up (otherwise it just wouldn’t get done). I like the idea of having a tree, but decorating it drives me mad. I have a slim tree too, and love it because it just takes up so much less space.
Xmas tunes! Heading to iTunes right now to find some new ones.
Michele, LOVE that your sons comes over to decorate the tree! Too cool! Enjoy the tree and the tunes!:) xo
Leanne, it’s SO funny that you have a Charley Brown slim tree! A few years ago, my husband decided to go with all electric everything in the house (he’s in HVAC & knows all the energy-saving techniques). Anyway, that meant he put up some Thermal Heat Storage Systems with forced-air heating, which also meant I lost a lot of wall space. So, I had to get a very slim tree that will fit in a corner. It’s rather scrawny, 6 feet tall, but only 3 feet in diameter. I was very sad that I had to get rid of my lush, 8 foot tree and began calling this one my “Christmas Twig” or Charley Brown tree. Since it was smaller, it takes fewer ornaments, so I culled and divided them between my kids. My time-saving decorating tips? Have the kids do it while I do something else! While they’re home at Thanksgiving, I have them put up the tree and ornaments. My daughter’s boyfriend comes over to help, so that makes it more fun. Son and hubby work on the outdoor lights. I’ve toned down a lot on the decorations I used to put out; as the kids got older, most of the Santas, etc. were left in their boxes, so now it’s mostly the tree, a lit garland around doorways, window lights, and outdoor/ garage lights.
C-Jay, we had one of those lush 8 foot trees, but I feared my husband was going to get a hernia every time he hauled it from the garage. LOVE your Christmas twig tree! That gave me a good laugh!:) Enjoy the season!!:) xo,
My family is a little crazy when it comes to Christmas. We have the go-big-or-go-home personality when it comes to Christmas trees in particular. Probably because it’s the only holiday celebrated at our house and our family drives 12 hours to be here. So we want to make it special! We drive to the mountains to cut down our tree and every year my mom and I choose a 10 or 11 ft tree while my dad reminds us constantly our ceilings are only 9 ft tall! This year was no different, except not only did we choose a tree too tall; it’s over 6 ft wide and practically takes over the “Christmas room!” While its definitely not time-saving to have to decorate it, it’s given us a lot of laughs so far walking by the room and saying that it looks like it is getting bigger each day!
Krishelin, good for you!:) I think it helps a whole lot if the task is shared. And, hey, with a tree that wide, you’ll be talking about it for a long time! Enjoy!!:)
I am looking forward to do the decorations for Christmas. My girls are at University so that is one of our tradition now to wait for them. Like you we put our favorite Christmas songs, we open a box of good chocolate and have a decoration party. I love it!
We have two fake trees, one of them is pre-lit. I put lights on the other one and that is what I like the least.
Oooh, great idea on the fake branchy things for filler. I might need some this year. Our tall slim tree is getting on in years. I use fancy froufrou to camouflage holes. Big balls serve nicely, but I wouldn’t deck the halls with balls (which I used to confuse with boughs) since they’re breakable. Fa-la-la-la-la.
Kathleen, what is your version of fancy froufrou?
Nicole, that sounds wonderful! I hate to say it, but by the time my kids were in college, they didn’t want to spend more than an hour or so decorating. They wanted to go see their friends. ENJOY!!!!:)
I don’t really have any time saving tips. I don’t have my tree up yet or decorations but hope to at the end of this week. There has just been so much going on lately.
I know what you’re saying Quilt Lady. You have to grab the open moment when you can! Good luck! xo
I don’t have time saver tips. But if I get in a bind or get lazy, I don’t put the Christmas village out. When I do I leave it up until March. It takes soooo long there’s no way I’ll go to all that work just for a couple weeks.
Kylie, you are even more amazing than I thought if you can put up that freakin’ Christmas Village. But if you can’t, you’re still amazing.:) xo, Leanne
Until the kids all went away to college,each year I took them out to one Christmas tree farm after another in search of The Perfect Tree to cut down. My dh wasn’t into tramping all over in the snow and slush, so we did it on our own. Then I bought live trees off a lot for a few years, and finally graduated to an artificial tree. I decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving, but book deadlines determine when everything gets put away. I’ve been as late as mid-February.
Whenever I finally get it done, I know I’ll miss those lovely twinkly lights in our living room!