glad tidings

The first felt ornament for December 1^st is on the advent calendar. The tree is up. So are the stockings.

I come a little unhinged this time of year, with my utter love of walking past holiday decorations and storefronts, coming home to the smell of the tree, and turning the dining room table into a craft workshop for the entire month.

And I have come to think that the beginning of the season is the most special. Because every year, I reacquaint myself with the holiday ephemera of years past, and it means something. It means something that I have my childhood ornaments – that my parents cared enough to make them with us in the first place, and then save them for years beyond their life expectancy, and pass them along to each of us. It means something that the skirt I use under the tree is one of my very first sewing projects, with all the visible wobbles to prove it. And it means something that I made the advent calendar with my sister in Tahoe one year, as my niece sat on my lap.

Hauling out the Christmas box – with all these small, happy moments – is a highlight, every year. Here’s to much merriment and meaning this season, for you and yours.

so long, decorations

The decorations are coming down, and honestly, I’m not that sad to see them go. I love putting them up and basking in the glow of the lights when they’re up. But then it feels equally right to pack everything up after the hoopla winds down, and move into the new year feeling a little more unencumbered. Plus, we do get a last hoorah: we push our tree out the front window of our apartment and then drag it to the corner, which always provides a final little burst of joy.

You may have noticed I have a thing for hauling branches and fallen bits of trees inside. This one came home with me on a morning dog walk, and I set up it in a neglected little corner to arch over a doorway. The only other thing to do was hang some simple straw ornaments from Ikea.

And while I’ve been getting antsy to put everything else away, this is one that might linger (or not, I still haven’t decided). The bare, wintry branches are lovely to see when you come into the front hallway.

In this last photo, you might just make out the fuzzy silhouettes of paper decorations I made and hung to create a kind of curtain effect above the stairs. They added a clean, wintry touch and were super quick and satisfying to slice up one evening.

So long, holidays. It’s been nice spending time together.