Decorating for Christmas
Fireplace Mantel Decorated With Stockings and Garland
Christmas is my number one favorite holiday. The concept of peace on earth and good will to humankind has always resonated with me, as has the idea that people might just be a little kinder to each other during this time of year. And yes, I do believe in Santa Claus! If you believe, then he is real. In fact, yesterday at Michaels the salesclerk was talking to a little girl in front of me about Santa and the little girl loudly proclaimed that Santa isn’t real… hearing that made my heart sad. Never in my daughters’ twenty-one or eight years have I ever told them that Santa wasn’t real. As they got older, we as a group decided that perhaps we should let Santa focus on visiting the homes with younger children in them as there were so many more of them around the world. So as a family we agreed that we will take on the role of Santa for each other so he can focus on the little ones, thus the spirit of Santa Claus lives on in each of us and we are all able to still believe!
Antler Candlesticks, Santa on Skis and More Garland
The spirit of Christmas can come in many forms, good will towards others, Santa, Christmas music, tasty holiday treats and another of my favorites… Christmas decorations and the tradition of decorating one’s house for the season. This is a tradition that for me started with my mom, who has passed it down to me. In our house, the day after Thanksgiving is a busy one, we take down the Thanksgiving and fall decorations, give the house a good cleaning and bring out the Christmas decorations, of which there are many.
I’ve been collecting decorations over years starting in my earlier 20’s and have continued to this day! When I decorate, I primarily just focus on the first floor and all the rooms on it, including the bathroom and the mudroom! In our current house the windowsills play an important role as do doorways as both areas are adorn with green garland and draped with red ribbons, pinecones, and extra ornamentation for pops of color and texture. That is the decorative staple that runs through the house which helps to create an overall cohesive feel. From there I add specific decorations that I’ve collected over the years, many of which were given to me by my mom. This includes a collection of Santa’s in various winter attire, Nutcrackers, Christmas Fairies, miniature Christmas trees, candles, needlepoint Christmas stockings hung by the fire, and other assorted greenery strategically placed.
The Front Hall Decorated with Garland, Candles and Santa
Andy oversees decorating outside with white twinkling lights, wreaths, and more garland out front as well as around our fire pit and patio area. His favorite display around the pergola are icicles, the lights in them appear to be cascading down to their points. We also have a mini light show of dancing snowflakes that move across the side of our neighbor’s house at night. That is especially wonderful to watch when we are sitting by the fire with a lovely glass of red wine in the evening listening to Christmas music.
Andy has a rule that we are not allowed to listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving but I’m notorious for breaking said rule and pretty much start listening to it about the middle of November. Christmas music is my happy place as I have many wonderful memories of listening to it with mom while she decorated our Christmas tree when I was young. Jonny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and the more contemporary group Manheim Steamroller are some of my favorites!
It takes me about two days to decorate the house, three days if you include the tree. In the past, I’ve tried to get it finished in a day but that usually leaves me stressed out which in turn takes the joy out of it, so I’ve made a point of taking my time and enjoy the creative process. After the house is decorated both inside and out, we tackle the tree.
Growing up in my house, we always had a real Christmas tree, and this tradition has continued with my own family. Our go to type of tree is the Frasier Fir as the shorter needles makes it easier to hang ornaments. In the past, we usually wait until the first weekend in December to get our tree and then keep it up until New Year’s Day. This year however, there was a rumor that there was going to be a shortage of live trees, thanks to the ongoing effects of the pandemic, so we picked ours up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I’ve been able to deal with many of the things this pandemic has thrown at us and made many adaptions, but I decided to draw the line when it came to our Christmas tree! For 54 years I’ve celebrated Christmas with a real tree, and I was not about to stop now, pandemic be dammed! It might be a tinder box by the time we reach New Year’s, but I have my real tree and it smells divine! Interestingly and maybe even funny, perhaps ironic is a better word… I’m actually allergic to the tree! Doesn’t matter though… I’m allergic to my dogs and I wouldn’t dream of not having them and the same goes for my believed Christmas tree!
Putnam Christmas tree, Frasier Fir Decked Out In All Its Glory!
Once we have the tree up, we give it a day for the branches to drop and then begin the decorating process. Andy always starts with the angel, then proceeds to the lights. We have two different types of lights, blinkers from his childhood and bubble lights from mine. The next thing that goes on is the silver garland, also from my childhood and wooden cranberry garland. Then red, green, gold, and silver colored glass ornaments, also a staple from my childhood. After that all the specialty ornaments that we’ve collected over the years, some of which are Andy and my ornaments the others are a combination of Tessa and Bella’s. Every year since their birth each of our daughters gets a new ornament for Christmas thus starting their own collection of Christmas decorations of which they will take with them once they have a house of their own. As you can see, decorating for Christmas is a family affair in our house, although really I’m the one that totally geeks out on it, just as Halloween is Andy’s favorite holiday, Christmas is mine!
