Decking the Halls... or Not

Christmastime... Family, friends, food, music, lights, decorations, nativity scenes, Christmasy, wintery scents -- I love Christmas. I love everything about the Christmas season (well, everything except the commercialization). 

As a child, there was little to no tradition in my home (though, I s'pose having no tradition could, in a sense, be considered its own sort of tradition). As a result, establishing our own family traditions with my husband and children has been important to me. 

We have a dozen or so family Christmas traditions. One of these is decorating our home for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. For the last three years, my first-born, Branden, has been away at college, so we've decked the halls without his effervescent personality bouncing around the house (and missed it greatly). This year, he was home for Thanksgiving and able to join in on the fun, which made me a very happy mama. It also made this mama acutely aware that all my kids being home for decorating will become rarer and rarer as my kids continue spreading their wings and leaving the nest. In fact, in all likelihood, next year my second-born (and only daughter) will be living her life-long dream of residing across the pond. And so, as each one of my kids fly away, the cherishedness of these traditions, as well as daily life in general with them, becomes even more cherished.

An ornament a year for each one of my kids
adorns our tree. When they move out and
have their own families, they'll have their
childhood ornaments to hang on their trees.

So, with the added joy of #1's presence, we began decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. We got as far as the tree, which is pretty far. A few days later, I hung the stockings (hey, it's harder than it sounds). Then I started thinkin', as much as I love the rest of the Christmas decorations that normally adorn our home, I may just be done with this whole decking-the-halls process for 2012.  

I assure you, I wasn't Scroogin'. I just wasn't sure I wanted to dedicate an entire day plus to the decorating process. (Not to mention its inevitable, not even remotely fun companion: entire day plus of UNdecorating.) I'd much rather spend that time playing games with my kids, reading Christmas-type books to them, watching Christmas-type movies with them and baking Christmas-type goodies with them. I thought.

It's not like I was thinking it has to be one or the other: enjoying time with your family OR decorating. I wasn't. It's just that, in that moment, somehow this year didn't feel like a both year to me. 

As I shared my all-but-made-decision to not decorate the house more with one of my sons, Chandler, he said in his tender, sweet voice, "Mom, it doesn't feel like Christmas until our house is decorated. It's so cozy when it's all Christmasy." And that was it. That was all it took. Hearing my son say tradition was important melted me, and I instantly became a decorating machine. Day plus, schmay plus. Bring it!

Now before you get all, "Lady, Christmas is far more than a decorated home. It's about JESUS!" on me. I know that and this post is not even remotely meant to minimize the main and plain of that fact. And yet, our family traditions have given our kids something that is also dear to their hearts: fond memories to carry with them as they grow; a sense of belonging and family identity; a sense of simple times in a sometimes hard, cold, complicated world; a sense of cozy, warm-by-the-fire togetherness and love. There's something to be said for cherished family traditions our kids can pass on to their kids as part of their legacies. 

So, it's ended up being a both year after all. We're all decorated, and now as I sit to play games, read stories, watch movies and bake with my family, I do it in our warmer, cozier, more Christmasy home. Gotta tip my hat, or in my case, flip my hair, to our Chan-man for speaking up and saving me from my sometimes overly-practical self. Way to go, Chandler!