HOPE E. TREMBLAY
I’m one of THOSE people. You know, the ones who watch Hallmark Christmas movies and start decorating for the holidays early.
I saw a meme on Facebook the other day blaming THOSE people (AKA me) for any snow that flies in November because of early Christmas decorating.
Typically, I don’t start until we have at least eaten our Thanksgiving turkey. We have an artificial tree — ok, we have numerous artificial trees – and I usually start putting up the main tree in the living room Thanksgiving night, while watching Elf, of course.
This year, I agreed to participate in the WOW Holiday Home Tour, so I started decorating a wee bit sooner than usual. Currently there are four trees up and decorated as well as several smaller trees with lights.
I do some themed trees, but our main tree is what I call the family tree. This tree is where the sentimental ornaments are hung. Here you will find two of the seven dwarfs that belonged to my grandparents. They are covered in glitter (I hate glitter in case I’ve never mentioned it) but they look quite good considering they date back to the 1950’s. I also have a brass stocking with a cat peeking out of it that has my name embossed on it that is from the 70s, as well as a pink crystal ballerina angel my grandfather bought for me on a visit to the Christmas shop in Hadley decades ago. There is the crystal butterfly ornament, which is also owned by several family members to remind us of my Aunt Ginny who died of breast cancer at age 37. There is the choir bell ringer that is missing an arm, but I just can’t toss her away because she came from my grandmother.
Then, of course, there are my priceless ornaments made by my children. There’s a wooden mitten painted and adorned with a decal that my stepdaughter, now 23, made when she was eight. There are several ornaments made from construction paper with a photo of each of my children, painstakingly laminated by their preschool teachers, Miss Busby and Ms. Hiner. There are ornaments from each of their first Christmas years, some made by my cousins when they were young and some that remind us of family trips, including the snowmen couple purchased on our honeymoon, a Santa wearing flip flops from Myrtle Beach, a wooden buoy from Cape Cod and a Big Apple, from, well, you know.
I hesitated to put these up this year. I wondered if they would “show well” on the tour, but it just wouldn’t be Christmas without them, and my house wouldn’t be my home without them. So there they hang, ready to be admired for their beauty and their backstory by strangers who, I hope, will notice they are part of my history and hopefully part of my children’s future traditions.
Do you decorate early? What are some of your family traditions? Share them with a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].
