Have you downsized Christmas decorations?

I have. I don't have little kids here. Mine are 25, 22 and 19. I do have my tree, stockings, nutcracker collection, Grinch stuff, a few pretty ball ornaments in a bowl and my nativity. I do my wreath outside. If someone wants to do lights, I let them but I don't pressure them anymore.

With all of mine out of the house it is just DH and I to haul it from the playhouse storage to inside. So I just use what makes me happy.

This year we didn't put out my grandmother's huge nativity set. It's a big ordeal to get it packed away because they are very old and fragile. So we just said forget it this year.

On the years I don't host I cut way back on what I put up but this year I'm hosting and going all out.  I can't wait to get the tree up so I can setup my Christmas train set I found in an antique store this summer.

I didn't decorate at all last year because we were in the middle of a major home project, the year before my DS hosted and before that my mom was in a rehab center over the holiday.  I owe myself at least one more major all out decorating session.  

There was a few years that I just put up the basic tree, deco and wreath. But now that I have grandkids, I want them to have Christmas memories of coming to my house. So I try to do something "special" so that they can remember.

When my ds got married, I gave him & ddil a big tote of all of the decorations that were given to him over the years.  Then when I move a few years later, they got my tree & decorations.  I asked them before they picked up the stuff.  That tree with the lights is still going over 10 years later.  So pretty.

They also selected the stocking holders that sit on a ledge and various other stuff.  I really enjoy seeing the tree and all the other things that my ds grew up with. 

I still have a lot of stuff and need to clean out some of it.  Some of my ornaments are glass blown from Germany and some are hand painted from the inside. 

I find it exhausting. We travel for Christmas the first few years I still decorated then the boys didn't care if we had a tree since we were not home most of the month. This is our first year we are staying home in over 10 and I was thinking how fun to bring it all out again but nobody else seems to care so I guess just a tree. Time to also clean out the bins and donate.

I never went overboard. I grew up with parents and grandparents who put out a bunch of knick-knacks for Christmas. During my teenage years, I was the one who was putting the year-round crap away and putting the Christmas stuff out and then vice versa. Not because I wanted to, but because my mom deemed it my job. She had window clings that I liked and that was about it. They had a fake tree that was one of those insert branches in the matching slots and guess who had to sort and assemble it. Me. I swore I'd get a fake tree that was as simple as possible to assemble. Christmas decorations in the house consists of the tree, a pillow, a table runner and the stocking holders. I did have a bunch of candle holders and other crap and realized I got tired of putting it all out and away. They're all gone now. I have 4 totes - one for lights, 2 for ornaments (my snowflakes are separate from the rest), and one for stuff like the stockings, the holders, the tree skirt, etc. I just pulled out three items from that last tote that will go into a yard sale.

My Dad had a mantra of less is more when it came to lights and only put lights that outlined the roof and windows. I prefer that look. All we put out are icicles lights along the porch railing and some snowflake ones in the big front window where the tree is. No colored lights, just white.

I don't even decorate for other holiday/seasons anymore. Just enough of Christmas to make the month of December feel festive.

My parents are finally downsizing their stuff. My Mom keeps asking me if I want their decorations. I keep telling her no. I hate those blow-ups. I don't like the plastic mold ones. I don't have a garden flag (although I keep looking for one I'd like). She keeps asking me if I want other knick knacks and I keep saying no.