I work part time in a hardware store and I can tell you that yes, command does make things like that. I used clear ones on the hardy plank eaves of my house to hang Christmas lights one year. When You are done, you just pull them and remove them.

ok, i am off to look for them. and the ladder!

Last weekend I used one of the small clear ones to hang felt mistletoe from the arch going into my DR. Can't really see the hook, so I'm happy. Careful on the ladder!

I used to hang a vintage plastic boxwood wreath on the wall above my bed every year for the last four years. Last year something went wrong when I pulled the strip to remove the Command hanger and a piece of drywall paper came off with it. :( Just saying be careful when removing the hangers, and also as nhbaskets said be careful on the ladder too.

I hung the wreath on the bedpost this year. ha

Decorating the tree - and opening all the presents - on Christmas Eve was my mom's family tradition too = )

My parents were from Philly and until I was 7... and I'm the youngest....we saw nothing until Christmas morning. My parents stayed up all night after we went to bed.... decorating the tree, putting together bikes and other toys, dad setting up the big train set on a big piece of plywood he painted with streets, grass, etc. It was pretty magical. My poor parents must have been exhausted!

I've always wondered if it was a Philly or east coast thing to do that. Then we moved to California and everyone had their trees up before Christmas so my parents did the same from then on.

Joanie, that's what they did on the I Love Lucy show at Christmas -- put Little Rickie to bed and then brought in the tree, decorations and presents. That is the first and only other reference to that custom I remember seeing or hearing. Charming, but exhausting. We hardly slept when the boys were little with the tree up and decorated.

My Mom and Dad did this for the first couple of years for my older brother & sister. Put the tree up and decorated and put toys together Christmas eve after kids went to sleep. My Dad would work on Christmas eve too.. until about 8pm.

By the time I came along, they decided it was crazy, and we put the tree up about 2 weeks before Christmas. They still put out every toy after we went to sleep, some wrapped, some unwrapped. We could not go downstairs to see until everyone was up and ready to go downstairs together. We followed this tradition for as long as we lived in their house. I have two younger brothers as well. I remember pulling my older 19 or 20 year old brother out of bed at about 6am on Christmas morning!

I grew up in the Bronx, NYC.

I think puting up the Christmas tree on Christmas eve is a European tradition. Years ago I celebrated Christmas in Denmark, ans we went out to buy the tree and put it up on Christmas eve. REAL candles were also put on the tree, and we danced around it singing Danish Christmas carols after which the candles were blown out. I found it very odd the tree was taken down the day after Christmas, so barely up 24 hours.

Agreed Patty_cakes. Our Au pairs from Germany and Austria have both told us that. their parents put it up Christmas eve.

I remember living in Guatemala when I was younger and a few days before Christmas the main streets of the village were suddenly decorated - very simply, but really lovely. I remember thinking that it seemed much more magical and special than the tons of decorations put out weeks before Christmas at home.

Hmmm, I visited this thread to see if it had been updated with pics, noted that it had got a bit off topic and just now realized I've managed to veer things even further astray.

So... pics, mtn?

About putting up the tree on Christmas Eve - my late mother would speak about this tradition which her family followed. She mentioned that it was at least in part because of the risk of fire. The tree would be put up and decorated on Christmas Eve, and be down by New Year's Day.

My DH and I used to decorate a fresh tree a few days before Christmas and made sure it was well watered. Once our children were teens, we stopped putting up a real tree and have since decorated early in December, in time for our first entertaining of the season. Mtn, I hope the hanging of the high ornaments went well:)