My mom is a character. If you know her, you know how extra she is. Every year when the holidays roll around her level of pettiness slowly starts to rise, along with the level of entertainment you experience driving in a car with her.

My mom has a very strict list of holiday/seasonal decorating rules, and I personally believe everyone should follow them.

Fall:

1. Fall decorations can go up anytime after September 1st.

(Fall decorations include corn stalks, scarecrows and un-carved pumpkins. NO witches, carved pumpkins or ghost.)

2. ALL Fall decorations come down December 1st.

Halloween:

3. October first you can start displaying Halloween decorations.

4. November 1st ALL Halloween decorations need to beat it.

Thanksgiving:

5. Un-carved pumpkins and scarecrows can stay. Pilgrims are now welcome.

6. ALL Thanksgiving pilgrim decorations come down the morning after Thanksgiving.

(Can keep un-carved pumpkins, cornstalks and scarecrows up for the remainder of the month.)

Christmas:

7. DO NOT PUT UP CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS UNTIL YOU'VE WASHED ALL WALLS/WOODWORK/WINDOWS IN THE HOUSE.

8. Start with white lights and snowmen.

9. The second week of December you can put out our colored lights, wreath and Christmas decorations.

Lights:

10. Absolutely no blinking/tinkling/pulsing lights.

11. Absolutely no projections on the house.

12. ABSOLUTELY no blow-up decorations.

("The only good blow up has a 6 inch cut in it." Wow mom.. Really?)

13. No gaps between lights, aka broken strands.

14. White with a touch of color is better than a lot of color.

Tree:

15. Your tree can only be up for two weeks, choose wisely.

16. NO BLINKING LIGHTS.

(Understood mom..)

17. NO fake trees.

18. Make Christmas salad even though no one eats it and you'll end up throwing it away.

("Because that's what you do when you're a Cobb. Also, buy a can of peach blossoms.")

19. Always have a bowl of assorted nuts.Presents:

20. No gift boxes unless they are wrapped.

21. Only use bags when you're in a pinch.

22. Wrap everything/almost everything in the stockings.

After Christmas:

23. Tree out by the 26th.

24. ALL Santa Clauses need to be down the 26th also.

25. Snowmen and "winter decorations" can stay up until the last week of January.

26. Wreath and lights should start coming down the second week of January.

Penalty:

Tires slashed... (Honestly, I wouldn't put it past her.)