Decorating for the holiday and simplifying

We downsized last year and I got rid of a ton of decorations. I don’t miss them at all.

I got all of my stuff out and sorted out the ornaments and decor that was truly my jam, and the rest I boxed up and sent to my niece who is getting married next week. I knew I had some things I didn't want, and when I asked if she would like any of it, she squealed that she would take any and all as she had virtually nothing. Win win.

I need someone like this in my life

myboysnme she is a treasure.

I grew up with a ton of decorations in a small house. I had to clear off the top of the entertainment center (that stood about 4 ft tall but 8 feet wide) every November and put out my mom's Christmas decorations. The rest of the time, it was covered with her owls. Packing up a bunch of little owls and unpacking a bunch of Christmas stuff killed any desire to have a bunch of decorations.

Lights on the porch railings is enough for me outside. A tree and stocking hooks inside is enough for me. I tried a wreath. The space between the storm door and main door is too small for the one I liked best. I don't have surface area for other decorations. I see stuff I like but can't bring myself to buy it and decorate with it. I don't host parties or large gatherings so there's no one but us and my parents to see it.

I do want to find the fake garland my mom used a while ago and put it on my stairs. That will be the only other decoration besides the tree in the house.

ETA- my mom is finally downsizing her Christmas stuff. She's gradually putting out less and less. She also doesn't host anymore. She still has a whole wall in the basement of boxes for Christmas stuff, some deemed "collectible." She'll probably leave it there until she dies.

I did this a few years ago. My house is in upheaval right now and I'm going to do very little as far as decorating. I told the kids we are not putting up a tree if it's a mess. It's not all their fault, but some of it is. I've been storing basement stuff upstairs til we get the mold issue dealt with. DS worked on the basement some yesterday.

DS19 cleaned and cleared the living room while I was out yesterday. I'm having ds12 work on the playroom today. DD and I will work in the kitchen/dining area.(It took me a good full minute to find the backslash key on my keyboard. Seriously?!)

The Christmas before I left the marital home, we divided the decorations and while I was entitled to take half, I only took the items that were meaningful to me.  

Last Christmas, I was in an apartment with a busy kitten.  The only decorating I did was hanging up the cards that I received in the mail.  

This Christmas, in my new home, I have still have a busy cat, and have very little inside.  (a tree with one ornament that holds no sentimental value, so if the tree were to come down, none of my meaningful items will be destroyed, a few Christmas towels, soap dispensers)  

Outside, I have a nice wreath for the front door, and 3 wreaths with a large red bow on my windows facing the street.  I also have a large red bow hung near one of my outdoor lights.  It's pretty minimal, and you know what?  I think it looks nice and I like it.  

If you're constantly going through and re-packing things that you're not using, get rid of them.  You're not going to miss them.  

I did it last year. Went from ten totes to four. I haven't put up the inside stuff yet (waiting for nap time) but I'm hoping it is easier. We moved earlier this year so we'll see how it goes and how everything fits in the new house. Will get rid of anything we won't use.

Every year, I try and purge whatever I'm not feeling the love for...we still have too much and not enough space to put it all up. I think the Christmas books will be my focus this year - we have a HUGE tote full of them and my youngest is 10 - we read a couple each Sunday of Advent but we have more than enough for that.

There are some things I could get rid of but most of my stuff I still like even if I don’t always put it all up. I have enough ornaments for three trees easily. Last year I did three trees only because I needed the two fake ones for my Christmas photo shoot of DD. This year I loaned one of my fakes to a friend to use for the season. DD and I decorated the real tree in our family room yesterday and there are still so many ornaments that just didn’t fit on it. Real trees are quirky that way, some years I can get a lot of them on and other years not so much. I think once we can convince DD to get rid of her Lightning McQueen train table thing there will be room in front of the bay window in the formal living room to set up a second tree there. I don’t think I’ll set up my other fake tree this year, but I will still get a real wreath from Costco for the front door like I usually do.

I also have a couple of small tabletop trees that I’ll probably drag out and let DD decorate how she wants.

DH is all about minimalism. He plugged in his four Star Shower Laser Lights in the front yard so he feels like he’s all set, LOL.

ETA: Some of my snowman stuff stays up year round.

This is our first Christmas with our lab puppy! Which means my decorating will be very minimal. We will put up our tree downstairs, as she isn't allowed down there. The main floor and upstairs will have virtually nothing for decor. I tried to put a fresh wreath up on my back gate and she had pulled about 1/3 of the greenery out of it in about ten minutes. Sigh.

About 4 years ago we left a cult that didn't celebrate Christmas, so now I go all out. I say every year I want it to look like santa threw up in here. I shop year round. So far we have 4 full size trees. Two are for the kids. Their homemade ornaments, the pet ornaments, (yes even the pets have ornaments) cartoon character ornaments. One is in the parlor in the middle of the room with gold and red ornaments. The other is in the dining room. That one is my favorite. It's special to my 9 year old daughter. We decorate with pink, silver and blue and it has a princess theme with white lights. We have four mantles and they all are decorated. Some people might think it's excessive but we love it and we want to make it magical for the kids.

I did this too after my divorce. There is a genuine joy in just keep the few things that truly are meaningful.