Christmas ornaments

No Christmas Tree This Year

Backstory

Christmas has an important role in the process of downsizing. When 17 tubs of holiday decorations come down out of the attic, it might just be time to lighten the holiday load. Years ago, you may have had half a dozen kids and friends helping with the joy of decorating for Christmas. Now, there may be just you, or just you two. So surely there comes a time when you consider losing the Christmas tree and affiliated decorations. I had that urge, this year. Here’s the story.

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No Christmas Tree This Year – #469

This year is the first time we are going to have no Christmas tree. We planned to leave our home, up north, just before Christmas to spend the winter in Florida. So why bother dragging out all of those ornaments and lights and stuff. It would be so much easier this way.

Of course, I did love looking at the sparkling angel that topped the tree. A gift received long ago from a dear friend who is no longer with us.

After the holiday last year, I packed the Christmas ornaments into boxes, labeled with the names of each of my kids and grandkids. I included in each, a list of who made each ornament, or why it was purchased or who had gifted it – even how it was found at a yard sale or a craft sale. Opening each of those boxes this year would have brought back so many happy, sometimes distant memories.

Well, I can just remember it all this year without all the fuss. No tree. No trouble. Make sense. Who needs it.

I thought of the lights flickering different colors on the tree branches and the tree skirt made by my sister surrounding its base, barely visible with all the gaily wrapped gifts that usually cover it.

On the other hand, it IS only once a year. And we WILL be here for most of December. Ah shucks, we can do without a tree NEXT year. For this year, bring it on. Christmas, I am yours!

P.S.

So that urge wound up the same way that many downsizing plans do; postponed! Well gee, just because our central family is smaller now doesn’t mean we need to remove all the gala of Christmas; just the work. I invested in a tall, skinny, pre-lit tree that glistens and sparkles. The full workload consists of plugging it in. That’s now my kind of Christmas decoration. Go for it!

[Show #469]

Ornaments and Memories

Backstory

For decades, ornaments have been accumulated for the family Christmas tree. Today, they are out of sync with modern holiday culture. See what happens to the boxes of ornaments displayed in garage or estate sales. Glitzy, home-made, delicate glass or practical plastic, these ornaments once meant a lot to someone. But they’re usually left behind by the bargain hunters. They find themselves un-owned, unprotected and unwanted. After fifty years of dealing with my own collection of ornaments, it was my time to face their future.

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Ornaments and Memories – #516

Do you remember the Christmas tree decorations of yore? The delicate colored and painted glass ornaments, those made out of clay or paper by school children, the special anniversary ornaments commemorating a new baby or a wedding or some other special event. For years, I decorated our Christmas tree with these ornaments, remembering the story each ornament held.

Today, the style in tree decorating is different. We may choose a certain color scheme that all the ornaments must match. Or the giant seven-foot tree may be reduced to a tabletop size in a downsized home.

I was in that position. So, one year, I packed the special ornaments into an orange crate that had a separate cubbyhole for each one. I took the crate to the holiday family gathering and put it on the table after dinner. We all got to share the memories conjured up by those old ornaments and touching was definitely allowed.

This year, the orange crate will disappear. I’m going to give the ornaments away. Each child and grandchild will get at least one, and some will be set aside for future great grandchildren. It’s my way of keeping the memories going. Whether the orange crate tradition lives on through the next generations, or goes the way of the choo-choo train under the Christmas tree, at least I’ve done my part for this year’s Merry Christmas.

P.S.

It was gratifying to see how well received my bundles of ornaments were. Recipients recognized many, welcomed others and gushed over the really special pieces I had highlighted. Whether or not they actually get hung on a tree has yet to be seen. But at least for now, they are in loving hands and seem to have a bright future.

[Show #516]