So Christmas is over and my house is back to normal. I love decorating and I can't wait to pull down all of our Christmas goodies from the attic the day after Thanksgiving. I get so excited to put up lights, hang our wreath, and buy our tree so the house to can start smelling like Christmas. I love lighting fires in our beautiful new fireplace, baking cookies and goodies for friends and family, and I love braving the crowds to find amazing deals on gifts (and this year I found some ridiculous deals.) But about the week of Christmas, as the tree turns from decoration to a fire hazard, I am over it. I want my house back. I am sick of vacuuming up needles, the glitter from my beautiful ornaments and sparkly trees is all over the house, and I hate how grumpy people get the last few shopping days before the holiday.
I love to open presents and to give my gifts to friends and family. I love fighting over a $10 gift card during our annual white elephant gift exchange. But secretly, I am most excited for the morning after Christmas when I get to take back gifts that didn't fit, buy new Christmas goodies at 75% off, and to take down the decorations! This may be sick, you may call me a Scrooge but I am so happy that the tree is in a dumpster somewhere, the lights are down, the poinsettias tossed, and the ornaments are once again tucked neatly in the attic waiting for next year. Christmas is over!
Where did this all stem from? Well, my brothers birthday is today (Happy Birthday Mike). My mom always made sure that his birthday felt like a birthday, not an extension of Christmas, so every December 26th Christmas made a speedy exit. I love that, Christmas IS over. I also refuse to be the house that still has Christmas lights up and ON in the middle of January, really?!?!? Christmas, although wonderful, is done.
On top of the normal crazy I posses about the Christmas timeline, this Christmas was an emotional roller coaster. Being the first holiday season since my mom passed away it was also filled with missing her, trying to create new traditions while bringing along a few old ones, and putting on a happy face during the gift exchanges that I could have cared less about. There were many moments of numbness, followed by streams of tears. It was wonderful spending time with all of my family but that makes it even more obvious to me that my mom is missing. So, although there were some great new memories and things that happened this Christmas I will loudly and triumphantly say "Adios Christmas 2010."
I get that this is not for everyone but I feel so refreshed knowing that my house is once again clean and clutter free. I also understand that most sane people leave their decorations up until New Years (which in my opinion is a new holiday and deserves its own decorations, not Christmas leftovers) but to each their own. When do you take down Holiday decorations? Am I the only obsessive person that treats Christmas decorations like an unwelcome guest December 26th?
I do hope you all had a wonderful holiday celebrating with loved ones and enjoyed your decorations thoroughly! A belated Merry Christmas to you.
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