It's time again for our regular feature: How to do Stuff: The Holiday Edition, where I, as a professional homeowner of many years, describe all the things you can accomplish in the do-it-yourself field and have fun at the same time.

(Due to certain legal rulings in civil and criminal courts - and because we have a nervous insurance company, this newspaper is required to point out at this time that Mr. Reilly is not a licensed contractor, plumber, electrician, HVAC specialist or home improvement expert. We are further required to warn you that he was, in fact, an English major and you should proceed at your own risk.)

Today, we'll take up the topic of Christmas decorating and how to do it in a way that is tasteful but that is a little more manly than Martha Stewart's - if that is, in fact, at all possible.

First, gather all your decorating materials. You will find them - of course - where you carefully stored them last winter in their protective wrapping, clearly labeled, in a convenient location in the basement or garage. And then the elves can put them up for you.

Because what really happened last January (or February or March or whenever you got to take them down) is that you were so tired of looking at the lights and the plastic reindeer and the inflatable Santa that you tossed them in the deepest, darkest part of the basement and vowed that you would build a bonfire with them over the summer and get all NEW stuff. Of course, now it is the week before Christmas and you can't buy that life-sized animated manger set (with the talking oxen and sheep) for any money, even if your decorating budget hadn't gone the way of your 401K.

So you venture to the cellar only to find the old decorations are not where you put them. This is because the summer is the breeding season for holiday decorations. That is the reason you will find your neatly coiled strings of lights from last year tangled in a knotted mass, clear on the other side of the basement, having got up to heaven knows what during July.

Once you have untangled the lights - you didn't have any plans for this weekend, did you? - it's time to hook them up to a timer, which will save you time and energy by turning the lights on and off automatically. The one I purchased this year was actually no more difficult to assemble and install than some of the earlier versions of the Stinger missile.

Now it's time to string the lights on your home's bushes and trees. I recommend an eggnog break.

TOM REILLY is a Sun Chronicle news editor. Egg nog to be repeated as needed. He can be reached at 508-236-0332 or treilly@thesunchronicle.com. Read his blog at thesunchronicle.com/reilly.