Step Away from the Tree

I have defrocked the house with the exception of  the Christmas tree. It's always the last thing to be put away each year.  My mother has always said that it's bad luck to take it down prior to New Year's Day but I'm not so sure. 

This year I  just going to wait until the feeling of delight upon seeing it is gone.  If that's tomorrow or February, then I'm good with that.  (Kevin, perhaps, not so much)

Last year I decided that I was bored with our tree decorations.  We had kind of an old fashioned tree with country kitsch.  Many of the ornaments were gifts from the school, from either the families or the staff. 

Also, I have a few ornaments from our mutual pasts.  There is a pair of horses & a Christmas elf that was Kevin's before me.  I believe they were his mothers at one time.  I have a set of brass bells and the angel from my past life.  I like the blend of old and new.

However, my eye kept being drawn to the sparkly ornaments in the stores.  Michael's has a great selection as does Macys and JC Penneys.  It was fun to browse then hope that the ornaments were still there after Christmas.

So it was fun to open the box and discover the new ornaments I had purchased but not been hung yet.  I repeated the tradition this year as well.  Now I will have a handful of ornaments to discover next year. 

I've gone all Karma Chameleon with the new sparklies: red, green, and gold. Gone are the snowflakes, the gold ribbons, and random ornaments that don't match yet somehow go together. There is an ornament featured in a Hallmark movie that I really admired.  I kept an eye out for it or something similar and I finally found one from last years after-Christmas sales.

I believe I've reached the saturation point though.  I am not sure that I can fit another ornament onto the tree.  I might have to get a back-up tree if I keep this up; which is a shame because I've created a lovely tradition of buying an ornament on my birthday.  I also enjoy searching through the remnants of the Christmas shelves during the week of New Years to keep the after holiday blahs at bay.

Like yesterday when I finally purchased the church ornament I've coveted for years and the initial ornaments at Target that I never could justify buying. 

So, we'll see.  I might take it down tomorrow or I might enjoy it until it is eligible to become a Valentines Day tree.  Or, more likely, I find it in the yard when Kevin can't take it one minute more. (:-D

In the meanwhile, I think I'll just avoid the after-Christmas sales until next year.