We don't bother to put up Christmas decorations in our living area because it's just us here, but it's kind of required to have them in the theatre lobby because we usually do a free admission movie for Santa Claus (with Santa coming to visit and so forth) so it would be kind of odd if there were no Christmas decorations.

I actually have four really unique and quite pretty two-foot snowflakes that look like they date back to sometime in the fifties that I hang over the candy counter (far enough back that the kids can't reach them). I found them in the basement here when I was cleaning out junk shortly after I bought the building thirty years back.

Gosh, thirty years now. I must be getting old....

--
If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!

Looking at those pictures makes me wanna play Charlie Brown Christmas music. 🙂

    I usually wait until after Thanksgiving to set up a tree. My picture was from a Christmas Past like ShiroKuro!

    Bellyman I have a great book of transcriptions of the music from the Charlie Brown Xmas show. I don't know who made them but they are really close to the originals....the one thing lacking is the piano accompaniment when the bass takes off for it's solo - it just gives bars of rest - and I'm not good enough by ear to pick out the chords

        danno858, yeah, it kinda depends on the transcription. The original Charlie Brown music was a trio, piano / bass / drums. And often, transcriptions are trying to at least fill in an approximation of the piano and bass, sometimes more effectively than others, for piano solo.

        Something else I find is that Vince did a lot of improv that I have a hard time getting my head wrapped around completely (and sometimes don't even like) but am more and more OK with that of late because I wanna be a good player in my own standing and not just a Vince mini-me, or an Oscar Peterson mini-me, or an Art Tatum mini-me. It's good to figure out, know, and maybe even be able to do something exactly as someone else did, there is value in that. But repeating it over and over exactly the same way? If I wanted to do that, I'd be playing classical music, and that, I do not do anymore. It doesn't take long, when playing a classical piece and playing it the way I feel it, before someone "good and proper" will tell me how "wrong" I'm doing it... (probably a bunny trail, and some won't agree with me)...

          There’s a guy in DC who brings his trio every season to a dinner music stage. As you’re finishing up your meal, they project the Charlie Brown Christmas tv show in its entirety, then the trio (piano, bass, drums) picks up for a full loose performance mix of that music and a bit more. When I saw them a few years ago, his young son came out for his first stage performance singing a couple of poignant holiday songs. It was a really lovely evening. I have friends coming in next weekend, and now I’ll be introducing them to the new tradition.

          Perpetual Beginner, Yamaha P115

          Are these real trees or artificial ones? I always cut a young tree from the back yard for Christmas (they grow like weeds so I usually only keep about 6 years worth of seedlings and saplings at various growth stages around), so it's a real one and it has not been engineered to not drop needles, or sap for that matter. Obviously I am loathed to put such a tree close to my piano. How do you protect from unwanted moisture and other problems?

            I’ve used an artificial tree for years now.

              Ok, our trees are up. (This might be the earliest I’ve decorated ever… 😅

              Living tree with lights out (full disclosure, no piano in this pic!)

              Pencil tree in the piano room:

              View from the bench (see the living room tree in the distance)

              Another view from the bench

              Random comment: I took these photos with my iPhone. When you go to edit a photo, there’s an “auto” option that tweaks the brightness and contrast, maybe it does some other things. Anyway, I use that option a lot and I used it with all of the photos shared here.

              Look at photo number three. I used the auto edit for that one, and look at how the Yamaha logo really pops (esp compared to photo number four). There was no light source behind me, although the lettering is brass and I polished all the brass when I first bought the piano (so about 5 years ago). So it’s interesting how the logo really pops in photo 3 but not photo 4.

              I’m sure there are editing options where you can bring out or brighten one spot in a photo but I’ve never tried to figure out how to use them. Still, as a piano lover, photo number 3 is a not unwelcomed result 😄

                ShiroKuro With an artificial tree it certainly makes sense having it in prime position by the piano. Yours look lovely.

                  ShiroKuro I’d guess in the original photos there was something reflecting off the logo, and the angle in #4 missed it. Also, any automatic function will increase some things, suppress others.

                  Very nice rooms!

                  Perpetual Beginner, Yamaha P115

                    @TLH21 and @macuaig thank you both!

                    Whatever the tech behind it, I love how that Yamaha logo looks! 😊

                    TLH21 mine is artificial- last year was the first year I stopped using real trees

                      We never had Christmas trees at our house when I was growing up. My dad was very religious and thought they were too commercial. We had a manger scene that rested on the top of our tall upright piano. My mom did add some bling to the manger scene by adding an evergreen swag around the top and sides of it, complete with colored lights.

                      As an adult, my spouse and I had a series of dwarf Alberta spruces as live Christmas trees. We didn't bring them inside until a week or two before Christmas for the health of the tree. Eventually they'd get too big and I'd plant them in the yard. Now, if I turn sideways on my piano bench, I can see a couple of them.

                      The Santa Claus day that I mentioned above is today, starting with the movie here at my theatre at 4pm so I'll be setting that up shortly.

                      Unfortunately, it's so cold outside (-34 right now and dropping) that they've cancelled the sleigh rides. Which is wise because I'm sure they would freeze the horses as well as the kids.

                      There's going to be a live nativity scene just down the street, Santa will be in at City Hall all evening, a kids art contest at the Credit Union, and some elf is supposed to be wandering around so there's still stuff going on.

                      But they sure got a cold day for Santa this year.

                      Edit: and they just cancelled the nativity scene. Can't blame 'em but it's still a shame.

                      --
                      If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!