The End of the Season

This is a traditionally rough week for me for a couple of related reasons.  It is the end of the Christmas season...at least as far as special events go, I have to eventually go back to work (first day was yesterday - BLAH) and all the decorations have to come down.

I love how our house is decorated during Christmas, and taking the decorations down is always kind of a bummer.  Sure, at first it is kind of nice having things "back to normal" and what seems like enough "new" space to have a little family kick-ball game in the front rooms, but after the first Hummel or priceless family heirloom is broken by a wide shot on goal, I start to miss all the decorations.

In the past, we've tried to adapt to this bummer by putting up special "winter" decorations, but there still aren't as many lights, or neat little figures, or even special music to create a similar mood.  We've even kept a 12-foot strand of lighted garland over the high bookshelf in our bedroom year-round...just because we like the lights.

It's still not enough.  I'd LOVE to just head out to all the home stores, craft shops, etc. and fill the place with "winter" decorations, then "summer" decorations, and then "fall" decorations, but there never seems to be enough time and/or money to pull this off.  Perhaps we'll get just a couple of more things this year, which would be nice, because Sunday - after we celebrate Epiphany at our church - we'll come home and start taking down the lights and decorations.

Do you look forward to the removal of your Christmas decorations (if you haven't already) and how do you deal with the ensuing empty house syndrome?

Comments

[christy]

This is the first year I've had my own tree. We'll take it down, along with the scant decorations around the place, but I'm likely to leave the colored lights around the post and archway between the kitchen/dining room/hearth room area all year, just cause I like them.

[Kim]

We just moved so we didn't have a lot of decorations. We hung Maddy's stocking, I put out my mom's music box that plays Silent Night, and we had the memorial tree. It was kind of bittersweet dismantling that tree, and re-reading the ornament tags and remembering why people had donated them. I kind of wanted to leave it up all year, but it was a real tree and already starting to, uh, crumble.

[Kathy G]

Hit Goodwill or any other resale store if you want to get "seasonal" decorations. It will take a couple of years, but you'll soon have a nice collection.

I have artwork with snow and winter scenes, which gets put away in the spring when the next set of stuff comes out. In early November, I swap it out with fall decorations (more pumpkin/harvest than Halloween; it can stay up longer). When Thanksgiving is over it's time to put the Christmas stuff up again!