I go mad at Christmas time with decorating the house. I have garlands up the stairs, wreaths on the door and every mantle piece decorated. There are candles everywhere. It brings out my December-only control-freakery as no one else is allowed to touch or add to the displays.
The tree has to be just-so with precious baubles/ornaments/decorations I have collected over the years or ones I inherited from my Mum.
I love the run up to Christmas and as getting everything just-so is important to me. Because I love the ambience and look forward to Christmas, I intend to start early this year. You cannot have too much time sitting in a decorated house feeling Christmassy, imo. The carols play too.
It all falls flat after Boxing Day, and New Year celebrations always seem a bit of an anti-climax, so I want a good few weeks in a festive December house. I am planning to get the decs down from the loft and start on getting the house decorated next weekend. It's a mammoth task, but the results are worth it. OH does the manual work up, ladders, etc.