Christmas decorating, Christmas cheer

Although I started decorating the day after Thanksgiving, I didn’t really get things done until yesterday. And by “done” I mean as much decorations as I can display given my limited space. I keep getting ideas for more stuff I’d like to do, decorations-wise, but then I look around and realize that I simply don’t have room. My room and “my” parts of the kitchen are fully laden with all the Christmas I could fit, haha. I’ll show you pics of various parts of it all during the month.

Here is my tree, in my room. Barely. :) I’m running out of room on it for all my ornaments…not that I’m complaining about that. When I do run out of room, I’ll simply get a second tree. :-D

My roommate’s tree, in the living room. It’s her house, she gets a full-size tree. ;-)

My little pink tree and Rudolph figures. This year they’re displayed on my dresser. I love the pink lights!

I love being surrounded by whimsy and glitter and sparkly things this time of year. I’m playing Christmas music all the time, and I find myself humming/singing to myself when I’m not playing music. That’s a new thing for me; my grandmother used to hum all the time, random tunes she couldn’t even name, and I never understood it but it was such a comforting thing. Now that I’ve randomly started doing it, I’m not sure if I’m channeling her or just the ease & joy she seemed to have as she went about her tasks.

There is a tinge of somberness to my holidays this year. This is my first Christmas without my mom. Even though I had not actually been with her for many, many Christmases—she lived in Burnsville, NC, and I live in FL, and neither of us had been able to travel to the other in awhile—we’d talk on the phone constantly. So even though she hasn’t been with my physically for the holidays in awhile, knowing she was a phone call away made it not so bad.

With her passing last January, while I’ve been mourning pretty much all year, and now at the holidays I can’t really think about the fact that she’s not even a phone call away. I am playing the Christmas album I grew up with, Christmas with Conniff, one that she had forgotten about until I played it over the phone for her last year. It’s not Christmas for me until I hear that album, one she used to play over and over when I was a kid. I’m also planning to make her fudge recipe this year (pics & no doubt funny stories from the attempt to come), since that yummy concoction is yet another holiday marker for me. The music and the fudge will help keep my spirits up when my mind starts to remember just how far away Mom is now. I treasure all the little things I have and can enjoy that remind me of her.

She made this ornament for me last year. I have it prominently on my tree, so that “Joy” is a focal point. This resonates with me because I feel that my mom is so much happier now than she was in this life, and I also feel that she’s closer to me now than when she was miles away. I believe that she’s enjoying Christmas with me, probably rolling her eyes at my pink tree and insistence on watching every holiday movie that comes on TV. ;) But I know she’s loving the Conniff.

Despite the somberness, I’m content. The weather is finally getting consistently cool/cold here, there are holiday movies to watch, holiday recipes to try, and excuses to decorate to excess. Good start to December, I’d say. :)

I hope your holiday season is off to a nice start, too.