I’m not one to step out of my box when it comes to routine or tradition but this year I’m gonna step out, way out. When I started getting my Christmas decorations out of what Greg calls the Christmas closet I had a moment. I sat in the floor looking at all the boxes and stacks or organizational systems with loads of Christmas stuff. My first thought was “oh my what the heck is all this stuff”. My next thought “I gotta go through this now before Christmas and down size”. So that is what I did. I discovered something about myself I have a desire to simplify my life. In order to do that I have to step out of my comfort box and step into a new box. Just typing that out makes my head hurt. One thing I’m sure of its time for a change and in order for there to be change there has to be a purge.
Box after box I went through years of Christmas things. Some things brought tears and memories, others my thoughts were where the heck did this come from. Never the less I gave a few things to my daughter and gave the rest to charity. It felt good to purge and let go of things that I unpack and pack every holiday. Most of it I haven’t put out in years. Some of it was so worn out it needed to be tossed out. I love vintage but broken and vintage ain’t so pretty for holiday decor. My tree is something I take a lot of pride in every year. My ornaments tell a story of the lives of Greg, myself and my kiddo’s. Each ornament was purchased to tell the story of our lives that year. Some of my ornaments are special because they were gifts from students. Never the less I cherish them all. Last year I packed up a few of Heather’s special ornaments when she moved into her new home. I was gonna do that this year for Dallas but I think I’ll wait until Lyla Mae is a bit older and not on a mission to destroy the tree.
I love my tree right down to the skirt at the bottom. I put up my tree really early so for a few weeks there are no gifts. The skirt makes it pretty and gives it a finished look. For the past 3 years I have struggled with a tree skirt. Little Miss Cherry decided it was her own personal puppy bed. She rolled around on it, dug around on it, scratched on it and buried things under it. My skirt looked terrible. I started out this year looking for a new one. Overtime I realized it doesn’t matter which one I get she will just do the same thing to it as well. So I decided it was time to “Break my Tradition” of a tree skirt. I had a great idea so off to my storage unit to claim my new tree skirt/stand. I had these great galvanized buckets in my storage and it was perfect. I didn’t want the tree to fall over so I weighted it down with weights. It is perfect and I love it. I made sure the advertisement on the bucket was facing out to give it the vintage shabby chic look.
I’m in love with my newest tradition and will continue it from here on out or until I decide it’s time for a change. I kinda like giving myself permission to change things, to make new traditions and move in a different direction. So many more changes to share, more purging and more simplified holiday’s. We are day’s away from Christmas and I can’t wait.
