Have Yourself a Cheesy Little Christmas

One of the things we’re continually doing to prepare for the trip is to get rid of stuff.  It’s amazing how much “stuff” you accumulate.  We’ve had garage sale after garage sale, and yet we still have more stuff than we need!  My theory has been that I have to love it to keep it, and Christmas decorations were not exempt from that policy.

 

I have made real progress, but one thing I couldn’t part with was my container of ornaments.  Our tree isn’t beautiful and ornate - it’s more a hodge-podge down memory lane.   Whether the ornaments remind me of different stages in or son’s and daughter’s lives or they remind me of the Gift of Life my husband was given thru organ donation or they represent a special tradition we have like decorating cookies, each ornament has a special meaning or memory attached to it, so those will definitely be stored away during the trip.

Having said that, I have gotten rid of a lot of Christmas decorations.

As I unpacked the remaining Christmas decorations this year, and we purposefully placed them around the house, the kids noticed many items were missing and kept asking, “Where’s the snow globe we always shake?”  (Never mind that they didn’t shake it once after the initial day we set it up) or “Where’s the fish with a Santa hat that says ho-ho-ho?”  (Hmm.  That one just disappeared) or “Where’s the nativity with the cardboard stable?”  (the one with chubby, little people made for toddlers.) or “Where’s that spinny tree?”  When I replied that I had sold it, they groaned in shock and disbelief and asked how I could sell the spinning tree that played music when you wound it up?!  

Of course, my first feelings were of guilt, how could I be so thoughtless and cruel??  Have I scarred them forever?  Will they ever recover and lead normal lives when I’ve sold all the cheesy Christmas decorations they loved so much?

Guess I’ll have to shake the green and red “Christmas” Magic 8 Ball and find out… you just can’t get rid of that.

-Mom