Decorating for the Holidays
/I decorate for most all the holidays… Valentine’s Day, St. Pat’s, Easter, Patriotic holidays (summer is a pretty boring decoration time, BTW), Halloween, Thanksgiving. But Christmas… Christmas is THE holiday for decorating.
That begs the question… When the ‘right’ time to decorate for Christmas? Some people leave up their holiday lights all year. In our neighborhood, inflatable Santas, animals and Christmas scenes have been adorning front yards for over a week. Lights are up and twinkling. For us, however, the weekend after Thanksgiving is our traditional ‘put up the Christmas tree’, ‘decorate the house’ time.
Some of our neighbors get a little carried away.
It took me an hour or so to get rid of… I mean pack up and store… the Thanksgiving/Fall decorations. Dragging out the artificial tree that fits perfectly in the corner of the living room (once we move some furniture) and all of the decorations, Christmas china and linens takes another hour or so. David has the big outdoor wreath stored in the garage rafters which requires ladder access… another small, but unpopular chore. Other than the wreath on the door and a garland on the light post, we don’t do much outside. Do you?
Once all the ornamentation and associated trappings are out and available, the real work begins. The tree goes up and the festooning commences. I’ve collected Christmas ornaments as we sailed around the world and still do whenever we visit someplace special or celebrate special occasions. Decorating the tree takes extra time because there’s a sentimental story or memory associated with most every ornament.
I collected souvenirs from South America and Africa, New Zealand and Australia, a multitude of sailing ornaments and then there are those that friends and family have given me over the years that have lots of sentimental value.
When walking the Via Francigena in 2019, a Pinocchio puppet (Italy), a St. Bernard dog(Switzerland), a wooden Champagne label (France), and a Canterbury Cathedral cross were mementos of the countries through which we walked.
The additions this year include an Anne of Green Gables ornament from PEI, a carved wooden Blue Nose II ornament from Nova Scotia and a little carved puffin from Newfoundland.
Mementos of our Maritime Canada road trip
Once the tree is up and decorated, I putter around for days trying to put a little touch of Christmas in every corner of the house. Holiday towels in the kitchen and bath… garlands on the mantel, red candles, a sprig of holly wherever it’s needed. We hang our stockings on the mantel.
Thank goodness it’s up for an entire month because there’s more work and less enjoyment when it’s time to collect everything, wrap it, pack it , and carefully stow it away for another whole year. The house usually looks so lackluster once the decorations are down. Luckily, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. ;-)
What about you? When do you decorate for the winter holidays? Tree or no tree? Do you have a special collection of ornaments or decorations that you’ve had for years? Outside decorations or just inside? When do you take it all down? Inquiring minds want to know.