Christmas and Holiday Decorations

 

It’s a new year; a time for reflection and planning the road ahead. For me, it’s also a time to take a

deep breath and renew after the month-plus chaos of Christmas shopping, holiday events, and visits with family and friends. It was challenging, yet fulfilling. Waking up with my family and not having to rush out, movie time (on DVDs and at the theater), binging on sweets, having Christmas dinner with extended family, watching happy faces as presents were opened, and much more, were all part of the spirit of Christmas.

*****

 

It starts the day after Thanksgiving for many. Those who aren’t seeking the bargain on Black Friday or vegging on the couch are putting up Christmas decorations. The intense people have it done by Sunday. The moderates get it up over a series of weekends and the slackers manage something by the 20^th or so. (I don’t recall decorations going up so early when I was a child; or maybe I didn’t pay that much attention to the dates.) Either way, lights trimming the angles of houses, porch railings,  post lamps, trees and bushes entice even the unenthused people to look as they drive through neighborhoods. The inflatables, deer, sleighs, presents, nativities, wreaths, bows, and Santas line the streets creating a barrage ofcolor and illumination. I like it.

I also like when it goes away…  in my yard.

The disassembling begins on December 26 for a few, followed by another group on January 2 - those who consider New Year’s Day the last of the holidays. And then there are those who light up until January 6, the Epiphany, recognizing the 12 days of Christmas. Most years, we shut the lights off on January 2, however this year it was later because we had visitors on the 4^th.

“No… you can’t take it down today,” my daughters told me on Tuesday; “We’re having company on Friday and we want them to see the lights.”

“Oh… right,” so I left it up; however, on Sunday we began the transformation back to its everyday look.  I’d had enough of our beautiful “outside” white Christmas tree that wore an array of primary colored lights and our three presents on the porch.

As I traversed the neighborhood today, remnants of Christmas adorn many houses. A few are still in full regalia.   The picture below is the door of one of my besties, taken in late January last year. I think it stayed that way into February.  She has the same decorations now; I’m going to monitor her again this year.

Years ago, I stepped into my sister-in-law’s house and there was the 9 foot, fully decorated tree standing in her family room; also in the month of February—or was it March? She laughed and so did I. She had a young child then—who has time? In my mother-of-young children days, I missed the memo, too—once or twice—and found myself laboriously taking down the tree well into the new year.

It’s not just Christmas that warrants decorations nowadays. Easter has pastel eggs hanging from trees and Halloween is over-the-top with orange light trimmings and skeletons galore. The one in the picture below was in the bestie’s yard. By the way, I took the picture on December 3.

 

Stuck in the tree and they couldn't it down... so they said

There are lots of reasons for the various time schedules of decorating and un-decorating, I suppose. A house not far from mine is a candidate for the Tacky Lights Tour every year. The family has to begin the process right away. It appears to be worth their effort because people in cars stop to gaze at the finished product. Somehow, they get it all down relatively fast, unlike others who still have Santa on the front lawn.

Another friend told me that her husband has to insist they take their decorations down; otherwise, she’d leave it up indefinitely.  She says it’s pretty and it makes her feel good, which is perfectly understandable since she’s an Interior Designer.

What is it about “the holidays?” Whether you celebrate or not, everyone is impacted in some way by the decorations, among other things. Everyone has an opinion.
      

What’s yours?