HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS!

It’s Monday, just after a bittersweet weekend.   It was the last weekend of blasting my exterior house lights and we just completed celebration of “Little Christmas”, the Epiphany.  This is the final day of Christmas if you’re counting the Twelve Days of Christmas, the festive days beginning Christmas Day (December 25th).   This period is also known as Christmastide and Twelvetide.  The Twelfth Night of Christmas is always on the evening of 5 January, but the Twelfth Day can either precede or follow the Twelfth Night according to which Christian tradition is followed.  Twelfth Night is followed by the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th.  For most people this ends the Christmas season and they will begin packing away their decorations.  Last weekend, a Twitter friend said “There is nothing more depressing than the dying Christmas trees lining the streets of Soho” – THAT is the truth.  I am so saddened that the most wonderful time of the year is on “pause”, but instead of falling into depression I intend to keep the spirit alive all year!

I love the after-Christmas sales.  Usually the stores have leftover holiday items for the first few weeks of January and I always grab everything that’s on my list at 75% off.  I am so bummed… this year it’s all gone!  And not only do they have Valentine’s everywhere (although I love seeing red), they already have Easter stuff out.  I wouldn’t have a problem with it if the stores promoted Christmas items in September.   I was able to purchase two Christmas trees last week; surprisingly, I got them at Kmart; they are the Jaclyn Smith “Country Living” decorations product line.   I bought one that’s 8ft with pre-lit clear lights and one that’s  7ft (no lights) –  $177 for two trees!!  Two years ago I got one there that was reduced from $350 to $200 … it had lights that were never to go out and the tree rotated… I made it my “Disney Tree”.   Sadly, the lights DID blow out, so I needed to replace that tree, and I needed a “larger, fuller” tree for my office.  I also went to Lowe’s and got great things on sale such as storage containers (red ones!) and some stockings, bathroom rugs, and bows.  January is definitely the month to buy new Christmas items for the next season.   I also do all my organizing because it takes me weeks to put all my décor in storage; I make notes and lists as I go through this process… keeping the “Christmas Spirit”.

January is the month that it is still appropriate to wear “red”.  Of course, I don’t wear all my Christmas tee-shirts, sweaters and vests, but if they have snowmen, snowflakes or a “winter” design, it’s okay.  Often times, I go to Kohl’s or search on-line for the discounted Christmas sweaters (they are never ugly to me).

Another thing that I plan on doing this month is to convert one Christmas tree to a “Winter Tree”.  This will give me good reason to keep a tree up until March.   It’s just an artificial Christmas tree decorated with “winter themed ornaments” such as snowmen, pine-cones, snowflakes… you could use sleds or ice-skate ornaments… and keep the colors blue, white and silver.  See the image to the right for a sample “winter tree”.   You can even make a “winter-themed” wreath for your door and if you have any snowmen or winter decorations, keep them up.   I am going to start making mine and will share the photos… who wants to do it too?  Lets share ideas and have fun together!

Don’t forget… there are so many things you can do to keep the spirit alive…  watch your favorite Christmas movies (I just watched “Surviving Christmas” w/Ben Affleck – great, funny movie); also play Christmas music and try testing out some baking ideas.  I even start searching online for ornaments, bathroom and kitchen accessories or new additions to the outside setup.  You could mark the 25th of every month as a “day to remember” and do something “Christmas” … before you know it, December will be here [again].   Just because the season is over we don’t have to let our spirit go away… read, share and learn with me this year… let’s keep Christmas all around us.

God bless you all… stay Merry,