Seasonal Transition Day

I worked like mad today, putting all the Halloween decor into bins, cleaning house and putting up some Christmas decorations.

Somewhere amidst the full day of labor, Ellie said gleefully, "I told EVERYbody in my class that the day after Halloween, you were going to take down all the decorations and put up all of our Christmas trees."

Oh great, that makes me sound totally insane. I wish to justify my actions.

I have my reasons, you know.

And it's not like we have nearly as many Christmas decorations as we do Halloween stuff, since we have a Halloween party for kids, but we see Christmas as a quieter, family holiday.
The coffee area needs more work... Anyway here is why I decorate on November 1.

1. All the stores are decorated throughout November and December. It's much easier to share the spirit of cheerful decorations if I am decorated at home too. Otherwise I find I want to buy things that catch my eye, without remembering what I had in my boxes.

2. It's easier to put the Christmas stuff up on the same day as I carefully box up the Halloween stuff. I dedicate the day to transitioning the house and get it all done at once.

3. I'm not hosting Thanksgiving. I don't like to decorate with turkeys, which I think should be set free. I do eat turkey on Thanksgiving; but I feel bad about it.

4. Decorating now lets me do other things throughout the season. I don't want decorating to be something to check off on my list as the season grows busier. I'd rather spend my time sewing, baking, playing with the kids, or... the dreaded time sucker... wrapping gifts.

5. If you decorate as you go, things get cluttered. Today I took out all the books from a bookshelf so I could use the shelf temporarily for gifts. I hate putting all the gifts on the floor because we have heated floors, and the cat can get to them, or the kids... Not to mention we don't have the "real" Christmas tree until after Thanksgiving. So having a dedicated gift area with a mini tree lets me get in the mood as the season blossoms, while keeping my early shopping safe and clean.

6. I like to enjoy the full season. The kids seem to like it too. Mixes things up and sets the tone for the next two months.

So there you go. I really don't think it's "crazy." It's just early planning.

Now that it's November and all this work is done, I can hopefully get back to a quieter schedule of sewing and exercising during my moments where I am not required to do Mom work for the family.