Sunday, November 25, 2012

If You Give Them An Inch ...

Before we had kids, our Christmas tree was a huge, fake beauty adorned with white Christmas lights and all things glass: Glass globe ornaments, glass icicles, glass figurines. If we put lights on our house, they were white and uniform, simple and clean.

Then, our family grew by one, two, three, to equal FIVE.

Now the outside of our home is decked in strands of colored lights that the kids picked out, with a walkway lined with twinkling candy canes, that the kids picked out. And our tree, chosen from a local tree farm (also by the kids) is short and squatty with colored lights and homemade ornaments, as the (breakable) glass globes and icicles become fewer and fewer as they slowly make their way to the back of the tree.

And every year I fight the Mom urge to maybe usher them to this larger, taller tree! And look at these pretty (albeit boring) white lights! Let's use those! But their little eyes light up with joy as they stand in front of that short, squatty tree (possibly even shorter than last year's short, squatty tree) and I shrug and acquiesce.

I mean, I had my run. I had my season. My season of perfectly placed Christmas decorations that went untouched (HA), viewed by those who attended Christmas parties I hosted, and now .... now we're in a new season. A season of early bedtimes, a smaller social calendar, and little kids who have a particular affinity for the sparkly over the stylish.

And I still have my things. I pick the door wreath and the Advent wreath and my table decor and the mantle. I have my spaces. I've just waved the white flag with the others.

And, oddly enough, I wouldn't change a thing.

What about you? Do you have a preference in your home? Do the kids get one tree and you get another? Has it changed over the years?

Have a lovely day.

2 comments:

  1. Our tree used to have a theme...and all those breakable ornaments. Now, everything is plastic or fabric...and homemade from school or craft time at home. We also may have 10 ornaments on one branch right at a 4 year olds eye level. ;)

    I love it. It may not be 'perfect', but it's 'ours' and it has meaning.

    I still have 'boring' white lights though. Although, our outdoor trees are lit up with rainbow lights! ;) Give a little...

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  2. You'll get your turn again! My sister and I quashed the childhood decor and colored lights on our parents' tree about 10-12 years ago and got our mom going on the pretty tree streak, with white lights, ribbon and shiny ornaments. If I ever have kids I'd feel similarly conflicted, but probably end up reserving my pretty Christmas decor for other areas, too :)

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