I did something radically different at my house this year. I did not put one ornament on my Christmas tree. Instead, it’s covered with 800 white lights and 2 boxes of tinsel. Just lights and sparkly icicles … anyone who really knows me, understands how extreme that is. The tree is probably my favorite part of the holidays. It’s almost like a scrapbook. There are ornaments from vacations I’ve taken with my husband, things from my childhood tree, gifts from dear friends and every year for Winter Solstice, my husband and I exchange an ornament. I spend many hours each year admiring the tree and all of the treasures on it.
So why the big shift?
I decided early in December that I was going to celebrate ALL of the holidays this December. They are all really about celebrating the light in a dark time of the year and I got excited about celebrating and bringing more light into our lives right now. My husband was on board and was even more excited about the extra meal planning – who says no to Brisket and Latkes? I ordered our Menorah and started researching Kwanzaa. In keeping with “everything is different this year” and wanting more light, we created this bright, sparkling tree that takes my breath away every time I look at it. It’s impossible to capture just how it twinkles and glows. It is definitely a bright spot in the darkness right now.
Making a radical change can feel a little nerve wracking. There was some hesitation. We had a back up plan in case we hated it. But it has left me feeling . . . light. It felt really liberating to do something different, to celebrate in a different way this year. It has been so much fun learning about the other holidays that we don’t normally celebrate. That brightness in the dark in our living room reminds me to look for more lightness, especially since things can feel really heavy right now.
The ornaments will be back next year. I think this was probably a one and done. But by stepping out of the box, we’ve created something light, bright, fun, meaningful and something we will never forget!
