In my family, we have always set aside a day to get together and decorate for Christmas. It’s a tradition that started when I was a girl. With Christmas music playing, we would get all the boxes down from the attic and spread them out on the living room floor. As we opened each box, it was as if we had missed seeing the decorations from the last year. They were new again and we were reminded of our favorite ornaments and of memories from past seasons. I’m sure there were some adult beverages (hot chocolate for the kids) involved in the process. We made a huge mess and the décor wasn’t perfect at all but it created such a warm feeling inside (possibly from the beverages) that I kept the tradition going in my own family when I had children.
When toddlers are involved, you never know how things will turn out so I’ve never had “the perfect tree” but it was always adorned with love. Now that my kids are old enough to join in having those adult beverages with me, the tree is still a little less than perfect but we do what we can. There is no perfection sought. Even though I know it makes for quite a bit of work to do all of this, I still look forward to the tradition each year. It’s not exactly what Normal Rockwell paintings are made of but it’s my own quirky family and I love ‘em.
I want to encourage all of our readers to attempt to let go of trying to make everything perfect during this hectic season and focus more on making good memories. Slow down a little and enjoy your family and friends. It will be OK if you don’t bake the perfect cookies or have the perfect outfit, hair and nails to go to that fabulous party. And I promise, nobody will notice if you have too many red balls in one area of your tree!
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