Ok, it's time to take down the lights

As I drove through town this evening on my way home from work at twilight, I noticed that a lot of homes still have Christmas displays up with lights on.

Really, people, it's time to take down the lights. Christmas was three weeks ago already.


Of course, even though the holidays are over, that doesn't mean we have to give up on the Christmas Spirit, which should last all year through anyway. And there are those people who enjoy Christmas so much that they have an entire room decorated in Christmas paraphernalia.

This house in the Phillippines is a tourist attraction.

Then there are those places that sell Christmas items or have Christmas fun all year long.

I guess I can't really complain. Here's a picture of my mantel. Yes, those are Father Christmases, and an Effanbee Christmas Patsy doll. :)

















And then there's this one, who stands alone by the tv:

D06 -- Christmas Trees

Back in the day, up until the age of six or seven, my family purchased a real tree to decorate at Christmastime. I remember quite clearly how the chosen tree would have to be propped in a corner, and we were always told, "GET AWAY FROM THERE! YOU'LL KNOCK IT OVER!!!"

I spent my time gazing at the multicolored lights from afar.

I also remember covering the tree in lots of silver tinsel. Mom hated it. She would be picking up tinsel well into the new year.

As we grew up, I suppose that live Christmas trees became more expensive. For many years, we had an artificial tree, about four feet tall. It sat in the living room bay window. On top, there was a lighted star that would blink on and off. (One year, it quit working, and my mom searched everywhere to find another star like it. She complained for days until she found one.) I do remember, however, begging my parents one year to get a real tree. I think I was either in high school or college. They agreed and it was fun to go back to the "good old days."

Now our family has a 6-ft. artificial tree. It's just easier to deal with and we don't have as much to clean up after the holidays. We reuse the tree year after year. DD will probably never know the excitement of having a live tree.

But that's perfectly all right by me. At least I won't have to yell at her constantly: "GET AWAY FROM THERE! YOU'LL KNOCK IT OVER!!!" because she loves to touch and look at all the ornaments.

D05 --My Favorite Holiday Decoration

In the last post, I discussed interior and exterior holiday decorating. But what is my favorite decoration, you ask?

When I was growing up, there were several ornaments I loved to be the one to hang on the tree. For instance, when I was 11 or 12 years old, I bought my parents an ornament; it was two doves with a red heart in between them. The ornament was glass, and something I had purchased with my very own money. I felt honored to be the one to place it on the tree.

My mom always liked the ornaments that we had made in school. One time I wanted to throw away a really ugly wreath thing that my youngest sister had made in kindergarten with her picture on it. It had become rather ratty over the years. But Mom had a cow and would NOT let me touch it. She said it was one of her favorites. I thought she was nuts.

But... now I understand why.

Last year in kindergarten, DD made a Christmas tree out of popsicle sticks with her picture in the center. I had totally forgotten about it. As we were putting on the ornaments on our tree this year, I finally understood why my mom liked that ratty old wreath. A lump rose in my throat and I had to very nearly wipe a tear away. Someday I will look back at that Christmas tree DD made and wonder where the years have gone.

Heck, I look at it now and wondered where the time has gone!

No matter how many Hallmark ornaments I may collect, the little things DD made will always be my favorites.

D04 -- Holiday Decorating

When we first got married, back in the ancient year of 1997, DH and I were excited to be spending our first Christmas together in our first apartment. We went to Wal-Mart and bought a 6-ft. artificial tree. We didn't have any decorations for the tree, so we bought a few ornaments, too. It was fun putting it together, and then putting all the ornaments and lights on it. I also put up my tiny miniature tree that I had used when I was living alone.

It was so amazing to have our first tree. I remember thinking that we had our whole lives together ahead of us, to make many happy holiday memories. On the day after Christmas that year, we went shopping and bought what became two boxes of Hallmark ornaments.

A few years later, in 1999, we were anticipating the birth of DD in January. We had an extremely busy Christmas Day because we were hosting the family gathering. I got sick on Xmas Eve night, but felt better the next day. (I guess I shouldn't have waited until the last minute to do so much cleaning.) I wondered what it would be like to celebrate the following Christmas, our first Christmas with DD.

In 2000, we went all out on the house, putting up lights on the front and back porch, a new stocking for DD (even though she was not quite a year old yet), and gifts galore.

As the years have rolled on, my collection of Father Christmas figures has grown. We don't even bother with those two big boxes of Hallmark ornaments. Last year, DD made some ornaments at school, and those are displayed prominently this year on the tree. We put up minimal decorations this year. Somehow, the holiday season seems to have snuck up on us. But DD was hugely excited to get the tree decorated. DH put the tree together, and DD and I decorated it. We hung the stockings by the chimney with care, and DD is having fun with the Advent calendar, counting down the days to Christmas. She was thrilled today to count that there were only twenty more days until Christmas. Some decorating was easy this year because we never did put away the nutcrackers or the lighted garland on the mantel last year when Christmas was over.

DH also put up some lights along the fence and sidewalk. He plans to put up a few more on the porch sometime this week. Neither of us has felt particularly motivated to decorate this year, viewing it as a chore, but for DD's sake, we managed to muster up some holiday spirit. Like I said, it seems to have snuck up on us somehow.

I love to look at other people's light displays. They always bring a smile to my face. Usually, before Christmas, we take a drive through town to look at all the different decorations. I love doing this. It wakes up my holiday spirit, which is sometimes in short supply.