Christmas Decorating

I’ve been trying to get a good picture of our Christmas tree for years. The problem is the clutter that always surrounds it. There’s 4 of us living in a 1000 square foot space. It actually works pretty comfortably but the children have a hard time keeping their things tidy. And right now, with both of them doing remote schooling, it’s even worse. There’s school supplies all over the place, piles of books everywhere, and the kitchen is overrun with stuff. That’s why I stick to details. I guess there’s also the fact that our tree isn’t exactly designer worthy. It’s filled with ornaments that we’ve collected over the years. The oldest one was given to me for my 6th birthday… We pick out a few new ones every year and try to bring some back from our travels.

The taxi is my current favorite. I got it last year at a school holiday shopping fair. The rainbow cloud was bought at the same time. And then, there’s the stuff we brought back from Germany. That was the first international trip M and I took together, way back in 2001. And the eggs from Hungary and Romania…

Almost all our ornaments have a story. Sometimes, it’s just that I loved it and had to buy it but even then. There’s a couple plain old balls, bought in 2000 when M and I decided we wanted to have our own tree for our first Christmas together. We hardly had anything to put in it so it was just full of those shiny new Christmas balls. They look a little worse for wear now and they’re nothing special. I think we bought them at Canadian Tire… But they’re a reminder of that first year together.

So the new things like the paper snowflakes and the woodland Advent calendar may not have a story but, as they get pulled out year after year, they’ll eventually earn one. And for me, that’s the best part of decorating.