to tree or not to tree?
Christmas is my absolute favoritest of holidays. (Look, I just made up a new word!) But every year, I am encountered with a dilemma. Do I decorate, or do I not? I spend Christmas Eve and Day (and sometimes the following day) at my parents' house, and they do the whole tree/decorations/twinkle lights thing, so every year I ask myself if it is worth the time and effort to decorate my own apartment.
Three Christmases ago, I lived with a roommate, and he went out and bought us a live tree, which we set up in the living room. I dragged out all the decorations I had collected during my years of working in a gift shop, and our place ended up looking pretty festive. But the next year, no tree, and minimal decorations. (Perhaps the lack of tree was due to the fact that after the first Christmas, we were remiss in our duties to dispose of the tree in a timely manner. Our eventual tree disposal method involved several garbage bags, a small saw, and my roommate's trunk.) That was the last Christmas I had a roommate, so when the next one rolled around, I was even less inclined to get a tree because I'd have to do the whole thing myself. And I lived in a 4th floor walk-up. Alone. With no good spot to set up a tree anyway. That year I didn't even bring out my pink Rubbermaid boxes full of decorations. As a matter of fact, those pink Rubbermaid boxes of decorations spent that Christmas in my family's basement. So very sad, it was.
But this year. THIS YEAR, I am living in an apartment that I am enamored with. Yes, I do still live alone, but it's much easier to imagine decorating when you love the place you live. I have a spot in my living room that I think would be perfect for a tree. It would require minimal rearranging of furniture (just a chair and an end table), and would be out of the way, yet in a highly visible location. I would still have to lug it up many, many stairs (What is it with me and the 4th floor?) and would probably need help with that and with setting it up in the stand. But this year I am seriously considering going all out with the decorations. Even though nobody will be seeing them but me. :)
As a side note, my apologies to Thanksgiving, which tends to get the shaft most years. If it makes Thanksgiving fans any happier, I am keeping my pumpkins and gourds on display through the end of November. :)
