WHEN DOES YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE GO UP AND A TRAIN GO UNDER IT.

The tradition in our house, both before kids and know with them, is the night before Thanksgiving we go out for pizza than come home and put up the tree and trains.  The boys have the date circled and have picked out a new piece for the Polar Express.

I will build a replica of a small town that has snow in the Winter for the Christmas layout. That would not fit under a tree though.

 

Andrew

Since I go to my daughters in NYC for Thanksgiving every year I put up the tree and train the weekend before so everything is done when I come back home.  My wife bought me the Christmas Story train for my birthday so it will be under the tree this year with the lighted leg lamp car.

Stephen,  anyone who is a little educated realizes The X  in Xmas  is the Greek symbol for Christ.  We had a priest in our family who always signed  Merry Xmas.   So no offense will be taken if they really know the origin.  And we too have the tree up and lit Thanksgiving night.  And it stays up and house lit right thru Jan7th for thos that celebrate Orthodox Xmas.  Trains stay till end of Feb hahaha

trainman60…… Thank's and MERRY XMAS…….. 

I start planning Christmas displays before I finish constructing the current years display. I start building the display in a time frame appropriate that allows it to be completed and assembled in the Living room Thanksgiving night while everyone sleeps.

This year may be a little different routine as my niece will be visiting Thanksgiving and leaving on Friday. So if I want to incorporate her help, I'll probably a set the display up a day or two early this year.

The tree usually goes up sometime between Thanksgiving and the beginning of December. The loop of Fastrack goes around it soon after.

Before I had a permanent layout, it used to go up Black Friday, and then the tree went up later. I still save Black Friday as a train day.

My experience has been based on my daughters habit of collecting cats and the track around the tree seems to be in the line of fire in regard to the tree. I thought if I put the G gauge stuff around the tree, that its weight and heft would avoid tip over from their invasion of the space. Not so. The O gauge stuff is out of the question for now.

The cats watch the trains go around and they are fascinated enough to pounce when my back is turned. Model trains seem to be a source of prey.

The first morning after putting up the display, the set looked like it was in the path of a tornado. This became an everyday routine and at my age, bending down to put each and every car back on the track was a literal pain in the posterior. So...I put off setting anything up until the 11th hour. 

If anyone knows a "cat strategy" I would be forever thankful as will my back. 

Anyone else have a cat infestation?

electroliner, I FEEL YOUR PAIN….  Once I get this 315lbs. on the floor it's not easy getting it up. My wife says I look like a Sea Lion…...

Yes, We don't own pets. Guests are allowed to visit with dogs, but not cats.

Tree goes up the day after thanksgiving and the trains start running in the next day or two. Merry Christmas. I love it.

The tree goes up the weekend following Thanksgiving. After running with Coal scented smoke fluid back in 2010, the trains have been banished from around the tree. I depend upon running with my club for train-time during Christmas.

 

Gilly

I have 4x8 layout in two parts for storage.   It has an hole on one side, so the tree base for an 8ft tree sits on the floor vs. on the layout.   The layout get set up during thankgiving morning and we complete the setup the long weekend.   For many years we set up the live tree during the 2nd weekend of December.    Last, we use the artificial tree which keeps the layout cleaner and we do not have to rush to teardown at New Years.  We now set up the entire display by the end of Thanksgiving weekend.  

 

 

I usually put up the tree and under-tree-train the week after thanksgiving.  This year, it will be earlier, probably before thanksgiving.  I've got some new tinplate that I want under the tree.  

20,000 outdoor lights and decorations must be up and lit Thanksgiving evening. I start this weekend. The tree, because we cut one live at a farm, we wait until two weeks before Christmas give or take a day or two depending on weather and where Christmas falls on the calendar that year. Everything must stay up until the 10th day of Christmas. (Unless the tree falls over in the middle of the night like it did three years ago, then everything is game to come down.) Our artificial tree goes up the weekend after Thanksgiving. That one has the train and scene around it.

 

Gandy

  We usually start on the decorations the weeknd after turkey day.I do a lot of decorations inside the house and visitors say it is a winter wonderland when they visit. But this year will be diffrent as after 2 surgeries in less then a month I will just have a tree and some candles in the windows.

  Well I do not think it is to early to say Merry Christmas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It goes up about late November and comes down in early January unless I'm lazy.  

I usually start with outdoor decorations around mid Novembers warm spurts.  The tree goes up anywhere bwt the outdoor lights and Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving weekend

at the latest(artificial as real trees dry out to fast and cause fire hazard).  Havn't put a train around the tree in 4 yrs, but going to try it this year, if my knees will allow it.

Mike

This is the first Christmas since I retired so I'm not sure when the tree will go up. In previous years it was some weekend in December when I could get to it. I'd like to get it up in early December this year and put a train under it. I haven't done that in 10 years. This is the last time I had a train under the tree. We have since moved into a townhouse.

 

P.S. I am a Christian and not offended by Xmas though I prefer Christmas, but of course, opinions vary.

Country Joe,  enjoy retirement……..