If you’re reading this… then it’s safe to say that I have put my Christmas decorations up the minute Hallowe’en passed and no, I do not believe it’s too soon. Last year I put my tree up on October 31st while watching a scary movie!
There are many reasons why I like to decorate early, and one of them is that I love to come home and bask in twinkling lights as if I’m in a Nigella Lawson Christmas cookery show, the other is that I need the glitter, sparkle and magic of Christmas as the cold, dark, wet nights draw in. It’s my way of hygge-ing and of saving myself from the misery of the darkness.
While I’m spilling the beans, I may as well tell you that I like to put up as many Christmas trees as I can, so there’s one in my sitting room, another in the dining room, and one in the hallway. So you see, my early decorating really is necessary! Yes, it’s a bit of work, but for me, it’s part of who I am and I schedule a couple of days in for doing the job; and seeing the joy on my family’s faces makes it all worthwhile.
It all starts in January when the decorations are being taken down. I splashed out years ago on plastic containers with different colour lids. Blue lids for the kitchen decorations, pink for the sitting room, and clear for the hallway. Every January I carefully store away my decorations, the newest ones, the ones that were my granny’s, the ones my kids made, and even the ones I swore I’d throw away this year. That’s the evening we have a beige food dinner aka fish fingers, waffles and eggs, because life is too short to worry about getting all your veg in every day, especially on a day when the sparkles are coming down!
Roll on October 31st and the midterm break and all the boxes come down and are stacked ready to go. The sitting room tree goes up first. She’s about fifteen years old and still as good as ever and hopefully will be for another fifteen years to come. Stand first; then fluff a layer of tree, add lights and repeat! The small baubles are placed deep into the tree for depth, with some larger ones dotted here and there. I use a lot of baubles, none expensive, in gold and red. They make up at least 70% of the decorations. Afterwards the decorations that I’ve collected over the years are added. I try choose a spot that has good lighting so the decoration will be highlighted and sparkle. Then it’s time to stand back, have a cuppa, and smile at your wonderful tree.
The next step is the mantelpiece. The greenery goes up and is dotted with berries and pine cones collected on walks throughout the years. I have some battery candles I picked up in Ikea, and rechargeable batteries that I use to keep the light and sparkle going, and a pearl garland that comes out year after year. Then I dot the book shelves with spare baubles, snowflake decorations and old snowmen figurines, leaving room for Christmas cards. I love Christmas cards!
Then I turn off all the lights, and sit down and smile at how the glitter sparkles in the lights. No matter how gloomy the sky outside is, or how high the electricity bill was, or how burnt the dinner was, my Christmas tree will always lift my spirits. Then I get to planning the Christmas movies we’ll watch… and how much pizza and prosecco will be needed for that event! Whatever way and whichever day you put up your decorations, I hope it brings you as much joy and happiness and love that mine do xxx Happy Christmas!
Written by Amy Gaffney (aka Cici Maxwell)