Holidays Are Over

There is one good thing about putting up fewer decorations than in years past - there is less to take down. I used to start putting up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. Even before we moved to the DC area we stopped getting Christmas trees and relied on branches and such from the backyard. But even without a tree there was something in every room and still a lot to take down. On Capitol Hill our space was so tiny there were limitations, but we made the best of it. We usually travel to central Virginia for Christmas but haven’t for the last three years. And we haven’t had guests in our house for three years. So whatever we put up it’s for our own entertainment. So we went to American plant and got some greens and I dragged out my Christmas box and went to work. The main attraction was the baskets on the balcony. The winter pansies and spikes had a variety of greens, sticks, berries and bows added and we faced them all towards the living room so we could enjoy them. Then the bamboo sticks in the large vase in the dining room were replaced with greens with our favorite Radko ornaments hanging from the large mirror above the sideboard. Here and there were scattered icicles, Santa, and red berry branches in the wall vases and above the TV cabinet. So as soon as the holiday ends the decorations come down. Out comes the Christmas box that houses all of these treasures. Everything is safely packed away for another year. It’s hard to believe how quickly time flies - much faster than I ever thought possible.