I'm one of those people that hates taking down Christmas. It's not even the effort I mind, though admittedly our post-Christmas bouts of the flu wiped me out and postponed the take-down. Grant teases me and sings, "I cry the day that I take the tree down" to me, and it's true ... I always feel a little sad when Christmas is officially over and we have to take down all the lovely things of the season. But like I had to tell Eliot and remind myself, "that's what makes Christmas special -- that it's here for a little while and then we get to wait for next year."
I always miss the tree the most once it's gone. I love the lights and all the ornaments that bring back so many wonderful memories. We always get a new ornament each year -- something Grant and I pick out during our anniversary getaway. It's usually something to remind us of that trip or something special about that year. We have ornaments from the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii, a Willamette University ornament, a Portland temple ornament, a 2002 picture frame with a picture of us as newlyweds inside ... our tree isn't the biggest or fanciest, but it's full of love and memories.
The nativity. I loved having this on the table at the top of our stairs. Every morning when I brought the boys upstairs, I would see it and think of the Savior and His humble birth. Eliot was so good about not touching "mommy's" and playing with his Little People one instead, but the one thing he could not resist ... the chain on the camel. Every morning I would find it stretched out the way he preferred it (and I would of course tuck it to the side, the way I prefer it!).
Santa and THE list. Too bad our kids' names aren't Frank or Sally or Joyce. Maybe that's the bad list?
My other favorite part of the season. I love getting Christmas cards. I love seeing pictures of college roommates, mission companions, Oregon friends, high school BFFs, former co-workers, etc. and their growing families. Our favorite card this year (if it's okay to pick favorites!) was my cousin Becky's and her picture with Mater. Eliot squealed with delight when we opened it!
The mantle. One of the things I will miss most about this place will be the awesome fireplaces. They're especially cozy and inviting at Christmas.
Last but not least, Eliot's decorations. Once again he brought home such fun crafts from preschool, so of course we had to display them. My favorite is the Christmas bell that had a chain leading up to Christmas (the last "Christmas Day" link was yellow and meant to stay on the bell, and the other links were red and green). When I picked Eliot up the day they made the bells, his teacher told me, "Eliot is the reason I do crafts like these!" Apparently he was so thrilled with how his turned out and kept declaring how excited he was about his bell and how he couldn't wait to show me.
My big dilemma about Eliot's pictures and crafts has been how to keep them. I don't want/need to keep all of them, but I always feel guilty tossing them. I found a great suggestion on BabyCenter today:
— Alisha
I loved this idea! What a fun idea to make a photo book of your kids' creations -- cuts down on the clutter but still documents all the fun things they make! I'll probably still hang on to my favorites, especially the ones with little hand/footprints and things that show how little they were. I'm a sucker for things like that.
Our house is now officially de-decked of all the Christmas decor, and I have to admit, it feels NICE and clean! My favorite quote of the whole process was Eliot stating in a very somber voice, "Mom, the gingerbread house has to go buh-bye." Yep, all of the decorations went buh-bye. Until next year.
4 comments:
Snapfish photo books are the only way this sentimental mommy can keep her head above the mountain of amazing art creations Rosie Goon makes. Lets us preserve the memories of the awesome art without keeping every little thing. Also a very cool way to see the progression of their developmental abilities! And--for the best of the best pieces that are kept, there are cool frames that open to store 20-ish (I think?) pictures/painting/etc & then you can just rotate which one you have on display while also preserving the others.
I'm so glad my card was a hit. I had something else planned but I saw Mater and knew I had to have a picture with him.
Everything is down over here, except I still have my cards on the inside of our front door up and the outside wreath. I just can't take them down yet. Maybe one more week....
I'm always sad to see it all go too, especially the glow of the tree/lights. That's a really sweet detail about you and E rearranging the camel's strap.
Post a Comment