Christmas Confession

I have a confession to make. Last month I wrote about decorating for Christmas and said that I “had” decorated after Thanksgiving. The way that my deadlines work, I actually had to write that column before Thanksgiving, fully intending on decorating the house the weekend after Thanksgiving so that by the time you read my column, everything would be as it should. But it wasn’t. We spontaneously decided to update the flooring in our kitchen and dining room, which began with the weekend of Thanksgiving spent tearing out hardwood flooring. Because of that, the dining room table and china cabinet made their way into the living room, where they stayed for about 3 weeks. As you can probably imagine, there was no room for a Christmas Tree and no motivation for decorating. This flooring project also turned into something like falling dominoes. Once the floor came up, we realized that some drywall needed to be repaired. And since we were going to be repairing drywall, we thought it was time for that huge bank of cabinets to be downsized, which showed a large spot on the ceiling that was cause for ceiling paint. And while we were painting, shouldn’t we change the color in the powder room? Changing the paint in the powder room means that dated wallpaper boarder needed to come down. And once we saw the powder room without a vanity in it, we decided that a pedestal sink would look really cute in there. Which brought us back to the flooring. Why would we put hardwood down again in the bathroom? So we decided to add some tile accents. As all of this took place, my Christmas decorating got pushed further and further into December. After all, besides the misplaced furniture, the house was a dusty mess. In mid-December I had given up on doing any decorating, other than the outdoor lighted stuff. Fortunately, my husband was not going to let us go without at least a Christmas tree. To my surprise and delight, one day he came home with a small potted tree, which we put little decorations on and placed in the living room next to the dining room table. As Christmas approached, things got back to normal as we picked away at the renovation project. Stockings went on the mantle and the table returned to its rightful place in the dining room. But our sweet little tree remained as we celebrated the season with our kids. The best laid plans don’t always come to fruition, especially when it comes to newspaper deadlines, but at least I came clean with you, which makes me feel better. Happy New Year!

When does Christmas Begin?

Here we are at the start of December, staring down the barrel of Christmas, which for me means decorating the house. Which has been met with less and less enthusiasm as the years progress, especially since we don’t have children in the house anymore and very few visitors. So who am I really decorating for, anyway? I was talking with a coworker who, with her young son, put up the Christmas decorations the day after Halloween. “I just love Christmas!” she said “I love the lights, the decorations! I love all of it!” I used to feel that way and I miss her excitement. I personally think that decorating before Thanksgiving might be jumping the gun a bit. I still like the fall oranges, yellows, and reds. I try to leave the cute fall swag that my niece made on the hearth through Thanksgiving so as not to mix holidays. But for me the tradition of decorating for Christmas begins the weekend after Thanksgiving. Call me a traditionalist, or a purist, but I just tend to think chronologically which means that Christmas comes after Thanksgiving, which comes after Halloween. But I understand her logic. If you love Christmas that much, only having the decorations up for 3 weeks really isn’t long enough, especially if you have a lot of decorations. I have a friend who used to even swap out her dishes. And let's face it, there are stores that start putting out Christmas inventory in August. That doesn’t annoy me anymore. Even when my favorite radio station, Mac FM, started playing Christmas music right after Halloween, I simply stopped listening to it and will resume after Thanksgiving. It’s kind of that whole idea of “If you don’t like it, don’t listen,” (or look, whatever). So in keeping with my own tradition, Christmas went up after Thanksgiving. The tree is smaller. There are fewer decorations put out. I minimalized my Christmas collection from 4 totes to two. But one thing remains true. When my kids come home for the holidays, they will have Holiday. There will be a tree, garland around the banister, and front yard lights. Perky the Christmas Penguin will be lit up out front, the giant wreath will be above the front door, and the stockings will be hung by the chimney with care. But it all happens after Thanksgiving and comes down in early January. Except the giant wreath, which usually stays up until the snow is gone and only because we’re lazy. I really do think it’s great that people stretch out the holidays because for me Christmas is so important to my faith life, and who am I to take that joy from someone else? It reminds me of where my spirit is grounded. It brings my family home. And it all takes place after Thanksgiving.