Putting Away Christmas

The only holiday I decorate for is Christmas.  When Max was younger I used to do all of the holidays from paper Valentines on the windows in February to semi-scary looking witches on the front lawn in October.  Slowly but surely the joy of holiday decorating turned into a desperate need for a ride to parties in the burbs and an open palm for "spending money".  Without Max's desire to decorate I let it all go...except of course for Christmas.

Because I host Christmas Eve for about 30 guests each year, I feel obligated to make the holiday festive and that includes full on wooden soldiers, sparkling ornaments, huge fresh tree, Victorian elves and of course lights.  Painstakingly I unpack each ornament and relive a former Christmas.  There are the red threaded apples that my sister and I always hid in the back of our tree growing up because they weren't colorful or sparkly. There is the paper ornament with Max's photo as a three year old in a cowboy hat - he wore that hat for 2 years straight.  There is the ornate Madonna ornament Matty and I purchased our first holiday in Michigan.  I continue with each room.  Green feathered trees and silver beads for the family room;  red/gold ribbons with towering amaryllis for the dining room; Radko ornaments for the silk tree; old time Santas for the mantle, the boxes are everywhere.  It only takes a couple of days to put it together and I actually love the time sitting with a holiday cocktail admiring the effort upon completion

Then it is December 26th and I want it all gone. I find the decor unbearable. The soldiers take on an evil clown quality and the lights remind me of flashing strip club signs.  The whole house looks tacky and cheap.  How quickly it all changes.  It needs to be out of sight..the holiday is over and I am ready to start a new year - one without those obnoxious decorations.

How do you put it all away?  Boxes and boxes and boxes.  This time I don't wait until I am finished... I start the cocktail as I take down the first piece of garland. Seems so depressing.  I close my eyes and pray the holiday fairies will clean it all up while I sleep.  No such luck.  I must put Christmas away.  This takes the entire week between Christmas and New Year.  Mainly because I hate doing it but also because Matty would prefer the decorations stay up until Three Kings.  Ugh.  So I find myself putting away a little at a time so he won't really notice.  Pretty sad but by Jan.1 - the house is back to normal.

No time to write, time to put away more ugliness.  Be gone poinsettias; back to your cabinet wooden soldiers. With the decorations,  pack away the year.  But the bad in the box and store it deep in the basement.  Pour another cocktail and fill another box.