Free Republic

A city council in Wisconsin has issued guidelines to its employees suggesting they do not use red and green decorations in public spaces to mark the Christmas holidays for fear of causing offense. The bizarre suggestion was put forward by Deputy City Administrator Melissa Cantarero Weiss in an email under the instruction of City Administrator James Archambo. In the email Weiss encouraged city workers to adopt 'inclusive decorating practices' in how Wauwatosa's municipal buildings are decorated over the holiday season including using more 'winter themed' decorations such as snowflakes or 'snow people'. The message specifically urges employees to choose more...

Melania Trump officially unveiled the White House Christmas decorations Sunday night in a festive video which showed the first lady adding the final touches to the patriotic display, dubbed 'The Spirit of America'. In a nearly one-minute-long video posted to Twitter, Melania, wearing a cream coat, matching dress and stiletto heels, enjoys the work of volunteers, who helped to decorate the residence. The first family arrived home to the White House Sunday after spending Thanksgiving in Florida and Melania, who designs the holiday decorations, appeared to be in the same outfit she had earlier teamed with tan knee high boots....

When I was younger and worked part-time, I would always start ‘Creating Christmas’ in July. I made a lot of my gifts back then, and would start work on them and on planning food and decor, in Summer; and by the end of September almost everything except cooking and decorating the house was finished, and many recipes and notes were saved/jotted-down for cooking, decorating and shopping. It made for much more leisurely holidays than I’ve enjoyed in recent years, and I’m trying this year to get back to handling things that way again. A while back I bought a gadget...

A lot of organizations have cashed in on the new president's image with kitschy trinkets, so why not the Navy? The Navy Secretariat Staff Officers Recreation Association, a service group run by Navy personnel and civilians at the Pentagon, has produced Obama Christmas ornaments for $15 a pop, limited to two per person. The normal Navy image has been replaced for the first time with that of the president. A gold frame surrounds a photo of Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as he takes the oath of office on Inauguration Day. Too much cheerleading? Some think so—and have...

Are you tired of decking your halls with boughs of holly? Have we got the solution for you. Thanks to some lady at the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Illinois, you can now decorate your halls --and whatever else you fancy -- with reindeer poop! You know, because nothing says Christmas like a tree full of turds!

Bulgarian archeologists uncover treasure of thousands of golden ornaments Canadian Press Wednesday, August 17, 2005 SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) - Archeologists working a dig in central Bulgaria have unearthed some 15,000 miniature rings and other gold ornaments that date to the end of the third millennium BC - a find they say matches the famous treasure of Troy, scholars announced Wednesday. The 4,100- to 4,200-year-old golden ornaments have been gradually unearthed over the past year from an ancient tomb near the central village of Dabene, 120 kilometres east of the capital, Sofia, according to Prof. Vasil Nikolov, the consultant on the...

I honestly don’t know what is so threatening about Christmas to some. No matter how you spend your Christmas Season, if you belong to the vast majority of believing Americans, you spent it, well, somehow. When I was a kid, the rule was we could not open the presents under the tree until my dad had his first cup of coffee. One year, when my mother’s younger brother was visiting, I convinced him to make coffee at about two o’clock in the morning. It didn’t change the rule in later years, but, I think, it made my uncle a little...

Hey, my wife put me up to this. :) Can use some help. Every year we put the White House Christmas Card on our computers as the seasonal wallpaper. I cannot find it this year except in a small picture. Can someone direct me to where this might be available in higher resolution? Just enjoyed watching the Home and Garden yearly White House decorating special and really would like to get the wallpaper. Googled around but really couldn't find anything. Thanks and forgive the vanity!