Christmas in October??

I was shocked (ok, not quite shocked...but definitely surprised) a few weeks ago to see a Christmas tree displayed in the windows of a store in the mall. Wow - it gets earlier and earlier every year, doesn't it?

I LOVE Christmas. Always have. The decorations, the music, the snow, the food, the gift-giving...all to celebrate the birth of Jesus...love!

Last Saturday I got 4 or 5 Christmas catalogs in the mail from stores like Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and Garnet Hill. I sat down for a few quiet moments to look through them and it really put me in the mood to do this:

Yep. It's up and SO pretty! I bought this tree from Hobby Lobby last January. It was their last display tree and had a crazy unbelievable price. I had been wanting a taller pre-lit tree forever so I snatched it up. It's perfect for our family room!

I also put a 6 foot tree up in the girl's room and it looks adorable. It's decorated with lots of funky things I've had in my Christmas stash for a couple years but didn't want to use on my 'pretty' tree. And, I put a small 2 or 3 foot tree in the boy's room.

I originally planned to decorate everything which meant putting up all the wreaths, stockings, decorating the stair banisters, etc. BUT...it's a little early for that. So, for now, I have a bare tree downstairs that makes me very happy. I think it will be a few weeks, though, until Michael lets me light up the tree AND open the curtains. He thinks our neighbors or passers-by will think we're crazy for having a tree in the window already.

I also got out some Fall decorations and put our cornucopia out and a few fake pumpkins so that Thanksgiving doesn't go unnoticed. Henry will be quite sad when the foam pumpkin is put away because it's currently his favorite new toy.

When do you start decorating? Any fellow crazy people like me who love to decorate early? Or order Christmas cards in October? (just finished those up too...it's great to check things like that off of the to-do list before the craziness of the holidays sets in)