I know! I know! It is still September! Though, in fairness, it is almost October. And, to be honest, around the first of July, I start thinking of Christmas. It dawns on me around that point that we are officially closer to the next Christmas, than the previous one. That is an exciting time for me! I love Christmas. I love what it stands for. I love the music. I love the lights. I love the presents. Getting them is great, but I LOVE finding, or making, the perfect gift for someone. I love that our family figures out how to get together and celebrate, even if we have to do it in shifts, because it is the In-Law’s year to have Christmas day. I love decorations. I love decorating. The only thing I don’t love about Christmas is having to take it all down!
A few years ago, when B was preparing to retire from the Air Force, we were planning to move to NC to build our dream house on the family farm. While we waited for that to happen, we were going to live with my parents. Part of that was that we were going to have to get rid of a lot of our extraneous stuff. In the end, we did not move. We realized just how bad the housing market was, and we decided to stay put for a few more years. However, in that preparation, one of the sacrifices made was about 1/2 of my Christmas decorations. Because, honestly, if I was going to be living with my parents for a few years, I could certainly merge my decorations with theirs, and get rid of a lot of the duplicates. I sold or gave away a ton of stuff. You know those giant plastic bins? I emptied 3 of those! Aghghg!!!
However, last year, I started rebuilding the stash. I started with lights. Lots of lights. Because I am not kidding when I say that last year, the tree had wads of lights, that did not work, shoved in the back, because I did not have enough complete working strands. We were broke, and B was not down with spending money of Christmas decorations. This year, there will be working lights.
This year will also see participation from B. He is typically not into Christmas. Sure, he likes opening gifts, but that is about it. He has no use for the songs, or the decorations, or the shopping. However, last year, we struck a deal, and I held up my end. So, his end was that he would start participating in Christmas. I feel certain that if he will just participate, he will have fun!
Thanks to Pinterest, here are some of the things I have on the brain to make or decorate with.
From A Diamond In The Stuff.
I am not sure either of my dogs would sit for this, but it would be so cute for a Christmas card! This picture is from Natural Pet Shampoo on Etsy.
I want these iced branches all over my house!
Thanks to Make Them Wonder for showing us how to make them!
I am looking forward to spending a couple of days making my house all warm and cheery this Christmas. And, I will probably take them down before spring!
Happy Christmas planning!
J.
Brady Life 