Oh Christmas Tree!

Yesterday I finally changed out the October calendar. Is anyone else like this? Switching to November got me thinking two things; 1. I really need to work on planning our Thanksgiving meal and 2. Is it too early to start hanging our Christmas decorations?

Our Christmas Tree in 2011

(Our theme has always been traditional red and white, Scandinavian snowflakes)

With the all the preparation that has gone into the Christmas markets it has made me antsy for the holidays a lot sooner than normal. I have always said Thanksgiving is one of my favorite traditions but the day is easy to overlook living in Germany.

Thanksgiving 2012

This year Husband took off of work both the Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving. He will be the one in the kitchen, wearing the apron, and preparing our meal. I am a bit sad to turn over the cooking responsibilities but at the same time it will be a nice treat to come home to a waiting feast.

So as you can tell, my brain is already on Christmas.

Last year, we did not put up a Christmas tree. We left for the States in mid-December and did not feel a tree was practical. Huge mistake. We both regretted this decision and said this year we will put up a Christmas tree. So last night, I searched on amazon.de for some "Christbaumschmuck" Christmas ornaments.

I found three coordinating ornament boxes of the same colors but different styles. Using my Teacher Appreciation gift card, I purchased these, socks, and the book I Heart Christmas. I was excited to have accomplished something  on my To Do list. Christmas was on it's way!

Bright New Ornaments

 Last night before going to bed, I checked my email. An Amazon confirmation email was sitting in my inbox so I took a look. Shockingly enough, the estimated delivery date for my Christmas items was listed as January 13th! Nearly two months from now!! What is going on Amazon? I thought I was "ahead of the game" with the date being November 17th and all.

So now I have two options. I can either take the time to figure out the cancellation policy that is worded in German OR my personal favorite choice, put up and a Valentine's tree.

Valentine's Tree

***UPDATE***
Husband looked up my order summary and realized I had clicked the option to ship in as few of boxes as possible.  (the cheapest shipping option) When he clicked on each item in my basket it showed which were "In Stock" or "Out of Stock".  Two of the ornament boxes were "Out of Stock" which was why the delivery date was so far out. BUT....then something is not adding up quite right.  After Husband clicked the option to ship the items individually (which added 15 Euros to my total) they suddenly were able to be delivered by the end of the week.  Huh?!? So now I will have all of my items "In Stock" or "Out of Stock" by the end of this week.  

To me it is worth the 15 Euro gamble to be suckered into switching my shipping option to guarantee our Christmas tree will be up and decorated on Sunday, December 1st.  

Inge-Glas of Germany

In other news, during this whole Amazon shipping situation I googled the ornament's brand to see where they are located.  Turns out the company, Inge-Glas of Germany, has been glass blowing Christmas ornaments since 1596.  I thought I was just buying some temporary, won't ship when we move back to the States, Christmas ornaments. (Knowing I needed to use my giftcard) Looks like I might need to hold on to these bright colorful balls.  I have always wanted to decorate a cupcake themed Christmas tree and these colors would match my vision perfectly.  This just might be my excuse to start collecting cupcake ornaments!

Cupcake Tree

What style of Christmas tree are you? Traditional, modern, glitzy, themed, woodsy, family memories...  Back in the States Husband and I had two trees.  One was our official tree with glass ornaments, coordinating colors, and scandinavian snowflakes.  Our other tree was a fun one to support his college, Texas A&M and to show my college's spirit, Texas Tech! Do you change your Christmas tree theme each year? 

Happy Holidays,