Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I too can get into the Christmas spirit.  It begins with the annual decorating of the inside and outside of the house, which if you have kids, you quickly realize is one of the many highly anticipated events of the holiday season.  Mine have been bugging me to trudge up into the attic and drag out the Christmas boxes ever since the turkey platter went cold on November 23^rd.

We were out of town this year for the Thanksgiving holiday, and we seem to be behind on our holiday puff and fluff.  Since we missed a weekend to get started, our family has been pulling out a few things each night in an effort to get “caught up” and transform the house into a warm and cozy Thomas Kinkade painting for the upcoming holiday season.

It starts with the tree.  We are “artificial” people, as the thought of our eighteen year-old cat nuzzling against and destroying a fresh-cut Frasier fir does not sound pleasing or festive.  Luckily, after a few sniffs of the artificial one each year, our feline spinster tends to leave well enough alone.  Our tree is also pre-lit, but has been slowly dying over the years, forcing us to add additional strings of lights to ”fill in” the areas that remain dark after plugging it in.  We place our tree in the front window, easily visible from the street, and once all of the lights have been adjusted and rearranged just so, it casts a warm glow across the entire living room.  A sliver star adorns the top, casting a decorative glow on the ceiling above.

We drag out the ornaments, boxes of memories from years past, rekindled each time we open them.  Glass balls, ceramic figurines, homemade crafts, and family heirlooms (like my first baby booty) are inspected, broken ones repaired following a year of storage (with a little strategically placed super glue), and each one is hung with care on the tree amidst animated conversation (and being a family of girls, a little arguing as to perfect placement).

Once the tree is complete, the mantle over our fireplace is decked out in greenery, more decorations, and lights while homemade stockings for each family member hang loosely, just waiting to be filled with goodies from jolly old St. Nick.

I’ll place single candles in the windows, wreaths on the doors, and garland will decorate the front entrance and window sills.  Other holiday knick-knacks will fill shelves, adorn table-tops, and hang from the walls.  Each has a story to tell – a reminder of a past holiday, a gift received, or a memorable shopping trip.

We have other decorating traditions as well.  A Lego Christmas village fills the dining room table, our “Elf on the Shelf” still makes an annual appearance (although he tends to remain stationary throughout the Advent season), and a worn pair of Santa slippers is placed by the television.

Sure, this all takes time and effort every year, but once it’s done, I love to revel in the holiday splendor.  Nothing beats curling up on the couch on a cold December night, surrounded by twinkling lights, red bows, and gazing at neatly wrapped holiday packages under the tree.  The sounds of the “Nat King Cole” Christmas album fill the air, and all is right with the world.