Nothing beats somebody else’s home for Christmas
- Laura Moore: Housebroken
- December 25, 2022
- 543
For years, getting our house decorated for the holidays was more than just a bit overdone. There was a tree, a good-sized one usually, strung with lots of lights, decked out with all sorts of ornaments and ribbons and then finished off with way too much tinsel. On every table in the living room were figurines of Santa, reindeer and cute, little animals.
Our children loved it, but when it came time to pack away all the decorations, those kids disappeared. That exhausting chore of de-decorating was left to their dad and mom.
Once those children were grown and on their own, Taller Half and I decided take a more minimalist approach to holiday decorating. We got an artificial tree — not too big — a new wreath for the front door and one or two candles to put on the dining room table. Our house might have preferred the more elaborate decorating of the past — houses all love being dressed up — but she is learning to live with it. Now once the holidays are over, it takes much less time to pack all that stuff away — big plus!
Of course, our children are critical of our new, less elaborate decorating choices, but they don’t live here anymore. They can run amok in their own places if they want, but not in our house. In fact, we will visit our children’s homes during the holidays to enjoy their festive decorating.
This year the holidays should be most enjoyable. We will compliment our kids on their decorating ideas, admire what they have done to celebrate the holidays, enjoy having dinner with them and then we get to come home. We can then relax, knowing once the holidays are over, undecorating our place will not be a strain. And our lovely house will get a new rug for the living room as a reward for being so patient with us.
Happy holidays everyone!