I have just recently put out my Christmas decorations, or as I like to call it, ‘Christmas threw up all over my room’. Now if you were to see my room regularly, it is usually the cover photo of Pintrest (or so I’ve tried); yes there are refurbished mason jars everywhere. I am the type of personality that I like everything in its’ place. Even if I am running late for work and there are 50 miss-matched outfit attempts thrown over my bed, I will spend the extra 5 frazzled minutes hanging them up. But Christmas decorations are in a whole different category.
I never decorated my room last year; I was, “too old for that”. Well, one year older and I decorated the metaphorical pants off my room. Since moving into our new house, nothing is quite familiar yet, which is why I made the decision back in June that I would break out my childhood Christmas box and have a whirl!
As I was decorating all I could keep thinking was, “wow, all of this stuff is really ugly”. Did that stop me from putting a Christmas scarf on my ceramic pig statue from Urban Barn? You bet your eggnog it didn’t! The more I dug into my Christmas box, the more the memories flooded back. The familiar comfort I felt when seeing these items and remembering how many years I had put them up for was joy enough.
There are many people that don’t have the privilege of going home for Christmas, and that crushes me. I am quite the homebody, especially on holidays, I could not imagine not being able to see my family on Christmas morning. Even moving houses was enough for me to miss the familiar holiday comforts I’ve always been used too.
If you’re not home for the holidays, it’s important to surround yourself with things that remind you of that special time, no matter how small they may be. It could be as simple as a song that reminds you of your mom dancing as she bakes cookies or that always played in the background as your dad struggles to put the Christmas lights up as he shouts more colourful words than the lights themselves.
As I picked through smashed play dough reindeer and a toilet roll Santa in my Christmas supply I ended putting out almost everything, no matter how old and destroyed it became. It was a comforting reminder of a metaphorical bridge between the memories I knew for 21 years and the new ones I will make from now on.
So, as I write this and my wrinkled 90’s window decals slowly peel off for the 500th time, I smile. I smile at the memories that will forever fill my heart with warmth and at the excitement as I think about the memories that will be made in this house.
I hope your holidays are as warm as the Bailey’s in my morning coffee.
Cheers,
Brianna
