The Christmas Decoration Chaos

I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to Christmas holidays.

When to put away the decorations is a moving target at our house. Most years I try to find any minute to pull it down and throw it helter skelter in the attic.

I asked David if he would miss the Christmas tree if I took it down yesterday and he nodded and said, "Don't you usually do that New Year's Day?" I called Sister to offer to help taking her decorations down and she had already done it the day before. Libby has taken some of hers down, but Carol waits until after New Year's.

So, of course, I called Mama. I asked if she needed help with her things and she said she wasn't really in any hurry. She said, "I have taken the Santa Claus things and the upstairs stockings down because you know, Santa has already come."

But, Mama says she likes looking at the decorations so everyday she just takes a few things down and puts them away and she keeps a little Christmas up to enjoy for the next day. Mama takes her time and enjoys the process. And her decorations are organized for next year. Like the tortoise and the hare, she doesn't get in a hurry but she finishes strong.

Jay is already back at school for basketball practice which started the day after Christmas. He called my cell yesterday and I told him about the conversations about when to take down the tree and Jay said, "Mom you'll know when it's the right time."

Yesterday just didn't feel like the right time.

So, I looked around the house and took the Santa Clauses away and packed away a few things from the kitchen and den to minimize the clutter. The apple tree on the dining room table was ready to go but I kept the tree and mantles and outside lights on to enjoy for a few more days.

When I went to the attic to find the Christmas boxes to pack away a few decorations, I realized that it was probably past time to organize the attic. Mainly because there was no where to walk without tripping over something.

Most years we have not packed away the Christmas decorations as well as we should. This is quite the understatement. I made a feeble attempt last year by buying some see thru tubs to replace the dusty, torn orange fruit boxes I had used for 20 years. Unfortunately, I didn't get rid of most of the boxes, but just left them in the attic with one or two broken ornaments in them.

David IV is home to help and so yesterday's goal was to tackle the attic and the Christmas decoration chaos. David knows how to work and he also knows how to hook up a trailer to his truck. So he pulled the truck and trailer to the front door and we began the dusty task of going through the attic. Talk about a trip down memory lane. We found pictures, plaques, furniture, lamps, luggage, halloween costumes, baby beds, a few special toys, and a few Christmas things that I couldn't find earlier.

David hauled away a trailer full of things and we stored the things we are keeping into an organized chaos. It's wonderful to have a good helper.

So - Hallelujah! - there are plastic tubs waiting for the ornaments and lights when it's the right time and even a space to put them back into the attic. We may actually be able to find everything next year.