Okay, so, on an earlier post I hinted about how this was gonna be The Year Without a Christmas Tree and nobody bit, but guess what? I'm gonna tell ya anyway.
Every year I do a tree. A couple of weeks before Christmas, I go buy a tree (live, OF COURSE) and haul it home and set it up and spend the whole afternoon decorating it and at some point disaster ensues but it doesn't matter because it's beautiful.
A couple of weeks ago, I realized I was going to have SIX CATS in the house this December. My three boys, and three kitten fosters. And I decided not to do a tree. And honestly? I was RELIEVED. It's kind of a pain in the ass, to tell you the truth. And I started thinking about that old SNL skit where Mary Catherine Gallagher (who I couldn't STAND, honestly) does that soliloquy from some old ABC AfterSchool Special, "The House Without a Christmas Tree", and that cracked me up.
Jason Robards was in that movie. Is he still around?
Anyway. No tree. And then two of the kittens were adopted, and the third moved on to another foster home, and all of a sudden I was back down to the three permanent cat residents. Hey! I thought. I could do a tree!
HELL NO.
Tinks is a climber, and Pony's favorite place to hang out is on the window bookshelf which would have to be moved to make room for the tree, and
Nope. No tree this year. Call me Scrooge.
I DID put up the outside lights. And the wreaths. And the mailbox decorations. And I've got my mom's ceramic Christmas tree which she made, like, forty years ago, displayed in the living room, so my house is not totally devoid of Christmas. Keepin' the spirit alive, right here. Ha.
Do you decorate for Christmas? If so, how much? Have your decorations lessened or expanded over the years. Just curious ...
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6 comments:
I have no decorations, haven't since Jay died. A wreath on the door, or candles in the windows, would say "Cheerful Welcome", but much beyond that is showy excess, wasteful, and a slap in the face to those who have nothing or no one.
Once upon a time I did decorate a bit, but one day it occurred to me that I was doing it under social pressure, not because it had any meaning to me. So I stopped.
I have 2 trees up in the attic and scads of truly great decorations. Nothing this year except the wreath on the front porch as we are painting. A few years ago my family situation became too nasty to deal with so Big Daddy and I started going out of town for holidays. I did not decorate for a few years, too much trouble with no one home.
In China when you ordered restaurant delivery the service gave you a free cheap tree with tacky decorations and you could buy lights for about a quarter. Tree was about 20 inches tall. Hilarious.
So, ~~Silk, I should dress in sackcloth and ashes because somebody else might be depressed? Nah.
and fmcetc., I love the idea of a Chinese takeout tree.
I've always liked the ornament part of Christmas trees because ornaments are so personal (or they should be anyway). As a kid, we had ornaments from when my parents first got married. They were old and scratched and weird (one was a giraffe wearing a scarf). Over the years, we've done ornament exchanges in my family, so we've all accumulated fun and quirky ornaments.
Last year, my first year in this apartment, I didn't put up a tree because I don't have much room, but I strung some lights and hung my ornaments off the lights. I haven't done that this year, so I doubt I will now, and I admit it seems a little dreary in here.
I have, and put up, lots of decorations - 2 trees, nativity, outdoor lights, garland, nutcrackers...you name it. I feel so much better after recovering from surgery and they all make me smile. Merry Christmas to you all as we all enjoy things differently and at different times in our lives...but I enjoy you all so much! Thank you for such great blogs.
Kris
Kate, hanging the ornaments off the lights is a cool idea.
and Kris, thanks for the good wishes!
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