>I cannot wait to put up Christmas decorations. I wanted to put these up the day after Halloween, but the Gent gracefully suggested that wait at least 25 more days.

I definitely enjoy Christmas, but I think the motivation to put up decorations comes more from geography. Here in Los Angeles, you don’t really have seasons so much. Anything that makes one week or month a little different from another is something special.

Our apartment is pretty cozy (small), so I generally don’t do a tree. We have bookshelves that hover above three-quarters of the living room, though, and they are the perfect surfaces for festoon-age.

Then, of course, there is the large stage of the dining room table begging for attention.