Catrin,place looks great No point having the place kitted out with fancy decorations if you don't have the most important thing....family ...looks like you have a great one xxxx

Do the artificial trees fold up for storage? I assume they do but then how do you open them? Is there some sort of umbrella type action?

Sorry for the questions but I obviously do not know anything about Christmas trees!

Malka, ours folds up into quite a large box basically with ours the trunk gets put on and the branches are in layers and get clipped in.. it lives under our stairs all year round

I remember my Mum's artificial tree lived in her wardrobe cloaked in a dustbin bag she had a tree in her closet

MALKA,don't you have a Christmas tree?Not even a tiny one?

The only artifical tree I ever had was huge and was given to me my Lady Crowther (an American married to Baron Crowther who I worked for)

What a piece of kit it was! As you say trunk was in sections and all branches were numbered all the way up. Was quite a feat to construct it but BOY did it look REAL!

I gave it to my mum as my sisters were born and she made good use of it thereafter. I have no idea what happened to it after my mum died. But will never forget it. There were NO artificial trees of that calibre available to buy in the UK then.

Most artificials I see now are just wired pull down branches and don't look a bit 'real'.

Yes it sounds just like ours, branches are numbered and color co-ordinated... good job I am married to an Engineer

We were lucky enough that some friends were moving to a small apartment so gave it to us for free, amazing, I would never spend the sort of money they would have paid for it!! I love it, and will keep it forever if I can!!!

BTW we are not Lord or Lady Crowther

It looks really real! I've always had real trees too.

No, because I do not celebrate Christmas as I am Jewish, and Christmas Day in Israel is just a normal working day.

Oh One of our neighbours doesn't celebrate Christmas...often wonder does he think we're all a bit looney

At Hannukah, is it just the actual day that's a holiday or are there more public holidays? I've never really been clear how much of Christmas is a public holiday as I've always worked in school and colleges so long...and now don't work at all....well dog walking, but I'm master of my own whatsit with that.

Well I say I'm master, I got a text from my most intense client saying the dates she'll need me on the next two weeks and saying they need the puppy walked for an hour on Christmas Eve and returned by one as they have a long journey ahead! No inquiry as to if I am actually working on Christmas Eve at all. She also wants me to walk her on the 23rd, which. My birthday. Oh well, it's all work.