When you're decorating the tree, what order to you put things on?

I grew up thinking it was supposed to be: Lights, then ornaments, then garland

Last night, Mrs. WI claimed the garland was supposed to be put on BEFORE the ornaments. And that everyone knows that! Mind you...we've been married 22 years and we're just now having this conversation.

So what's the right order?

__________________
Though I am different from you,
We were born involved in one another.

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

Complete surrender should not just come at moments in which one faces overwhelming odds, but in the calm when it seems one is personally in complete control of one's life.

Whatever works.

That being said, putting up the tinsel first increases the places you can hang ornaments and lights. Your choice, there is no right and Ffffffzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

__________________
Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

I think so long as you don't blow a fuze or burn the house down it's all good. I grew up with light, garland, ornaments, tinsel, then cat removal............constant cat removal.

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"BOY: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses? GIRL: Will he offer me his mouth? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his teeth? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his jaws? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his hunger? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Again, will he offer me his hunger? BOY: Yes! GIRL: Yes. BOY: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses? GIRL: Yes. BOY: I bet you say that to all the boys!" -Meatloaf

Yep! Socks, our fat, dumb alpha male insists on eating the needles, getting a far away look in his eyes as if he's stoned, and then running into the laundry room to barf. Again. For the N+1th time!

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Eudaimonia

Always lights first, just so you don't get the wiring tangled up in tinsel, and/or knock the ornaments off and smash them!

Only then may you hang the tinsel (IF you use it - we don't!) then ornaments/baubles and garland.

Oh, and Fairy/Angel/Santa* is always, always last!

DM


* delete as appropriate.

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The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

Lights first. This year, after the lights, we did ornaments then garland. Don't know that we've ever insisted on that, though.

(The cat removal, however, was right on!)

When I was a little Lord we had a live tree. The cat removal was to for drinking the water, climbing the tree, and eating the tinsel. Though I always thought the idea of shiny poop amusing, it's not healthy for the animal.

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"BOY: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses? GIRL: Will he offer me his mouth? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his teeth? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his jaws? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his hunger? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Again, will he offer me his hunger? BOY: Yes! GIRL: Yes. BOY: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses? GIRL: Yes. BOY: I bet you say that to all the boys!" -Meatloaf

Mrs. WildIrish is correct. Once you have the lights, garland, and other string like items, such as strands of beads perfectly arranged, then you may put on the ornaments. If you choose to use tinsel you will put that on at the very end. And please never toss on tinsel by the handful. Be patient and place only one or two strands at a time and you will have a perfectly gorgeous tree.

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Just when the caterpiller thought the world was over, it became a butterfly!

Owning Pita, by my JassWolf!!
My Story~ Friday Night Spanking

We've always done lights, then garland, then ornaments. Anything that is spread throughout the tree repeatedly should go first, as a background to the individual ornaments. If you're one of those people who does a theme tree, I suppose all bets are off, but I prefer the time capsule tree, where every ornament has a story or comes from a certain time in your life.

Of course, since I've switched to a 4' tree, I decorated it 4 years ago, and after Christmas, I cover it in a hefty bag and put it away until next year. "Putting up the tree" now only involves taking the bag off, plugging it in, and finding the tree skirt. Smartest thing I ever did.

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OTP, siempre

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"I walk with my head held high and naked in the sun, claiming these streets for myself."--Jonatha Brooke

I hear that a lot. Especially from her. lol

__________________
Though I am different from you,
We were born involved in one another.

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.

Complete surrender should not just come at moments in which one faces overwhelming odds, but in the calm when it seems one is personally in complete control of one's life.

Nod wisely and say "Yes dear".

__________________
Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating