I love this time of year!
I always have. Since I was a child making cookies with my mom and sticking snowman stickers to every glass surface of my house, I have thought there is something magical about Christmastime.
When I moved out of my parents’ house and had my own space to decorate, I took it to a whole new level.
I was a journalism student (read: poor) so the furniture in my basement suite consisted of an old, dusty chair covered in holes that was “gifted” to me by my creepy landlord and a lawn chair for the comfort of my guests.
My coffee table was an upsidedown Rubbermaid container (recycled from holding all my worldly possessions when I moved in).
My “bed” (to use the term loosely) was the mattress from my dad’s 1970’s Winnebago motorhome, that I put on the floor.
If these were the permanent furniture fixtures in my home, you can only imagine what my first Christmas decorations looked like. They were homemade and they weren’t pretty but there were a lot of them.
Now that I have grown up and have a big, beautiful home with my husband, the quality and quantity of my Christmas decor has markedly increased.
Although I do not claim to be the Oracle of Ornaments my mother was, I will say my Christmas collection consists of everything from the traditional Santa, snowmen and elves to modern sparkly twigs, glass owls and high-heeled stockings.
Every room in my house has something festive in it this time of year, whether is a snowman-shaped soap dispenser or Santa towels in the guest bathroom or penguin pillows in the spare bedroom.
I realize about now some people are reading this and thinking “Give me a break!” There are those who, although they celebrate the Yuletide season, do not agree with decking ones halls to the extent I do.
I’m sure even my husband (who is a saint for not only tolerating all of this but actually helping me create my Winter Wonderland) has considered moving out for the month of December.
Allow me to explain myself: I feel I somehow have to take the family tradition of over-decorating for the holidays and run with it for two reasons:
1. As mentioned before my mother was Christmas personified. (Actually, she went a bit overboard with the decorations for every holiday but that’s another story.... Have you ever seen an Easter tree covered in pastel-coloured eggs? I have). In my house growing up, there was not just decorations in every room, they were on every surface, including the kitchen counter and couches.
I’m fairly certain you could see our house from space as there were hundreds of bright, multi-coloured lights and the elaborate “Santa and his reindeer” display on our front lawn was so detailed, I can clearly remember wrapping boxes with rocks in them so he could have something to carry in his sleigh that wouldn’t blow away.
2. My last name. Go ahead check out the byline... When your last name is Snow, everyone you know who has ever bought you a Christmas present will give you something with a snowman/woman/child/animal on it.
Instead of rebelling against the army of ice-beings that now occupies my basement for most of the year, I’ve decided to embrace it.
So my house becomes home to dozens of Frostys and Frostettes for the month of December.
All joking aside, I truly believe there is something special about this time of the year.
Of course I get frustrated with the packed malls and I’m not the biggest fan of finding the perfect gift for the impossible-to-shop-for relatives on my list, but Christmas brings busy families together.
The real reason I love decorating my home for the holidays is there is nothing better than putting ornaments on the tree with your friends and family, while listening to Christmas music with the fireplace roaring and a glass of eggnog in your hand.
Happy decorating season to one and all!
