Ghosts of Christmas Past

Many of us shook off the turkey-induced lethargy and began decorating for the holidays. That was when we ran into those ghosts of Christmas past: the tangled lights, the broken nativity figure, the hastily packed boxes of decorations and the boxes of decorations that have not seen the light of day in years.

Those decorations that have not been used in a long time fall into several categories. Only a few of them are in the “oh, my gosh, I forgot I had this beautiful object!” category. Most of them fall into the “what was I thinking when I bought this?” or the “this gift is sooo not my taste!” categories. Give yourself a head start on organizing your decorating for next year by donating those unwanted things to a charity and you won’t have to keep rejecting and re-packing them.

The other possibility for unused decorations is that you have downsized your space, your decorating activity, the size of your tree, or all three. Why not share treasured items you no longer use with others who will enjoy them? There is a television commercial running now where a young mother shares with her family a box of decorations from her youth. How thoughtful her parent was to give her such a gift. Just box up those memories and put them under the tree for those you love. It is the very best kind of re-gifting.

As for the things you do use as decorations, consider putting them away in boxes grouped by the room in which they are displayed. Next year, you can just plunk the boxes down in the room and decorate at your leisure. While you are putting things away this year, also take time to make small repairs and discard broken items. That will make for merry decorating next holiday season.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net