Combatting the post-Christmas {decorating} blues

I love decorating for Christmas, each and every ornament holds special meaning, a moment in time to be savoured. We don’t subscribe to a Christmas with a narrowly defined and carefully orchestrated colour scheme. In this house we celebrate in full colour with all the noise and mess that goes with it - our tree star is never straight!

The tree before Xena began removing one decoration at a time.

But…packing up post-Christmas is definitely not a favourite activity. You know it’s time when there are more pine needles on the carpet than on the tree and even the cat has given up her daily foraging for decorations.

Yup, can’t ignore it anymore, so begins the collection of Christmas stuff from around the house. The bell on the door, the bells hanging next to the door, the garlands decorating the family room. Even the family of reindeer get evicted.

It really is a bell, not a spoon on a string as Rob insists.

But still…the tree. You feel its presence every time you enter the lounge room. It lurks in the corner mocking you with its many decorations and complex lighting arrangement. But still, you refuse to acknowledge it, viewing it out of the corner of your eye as if it is some alien being from Dr Who. Still, surely but slowly it wears you down. You know what you have to do (after all its poor naked corpse needs to be thrown out on the street for collection in two days’ time).

It’s horrid being guilty of a love/hate relationship especially when your tree knows it’s being taken advantage of. 

But still you hesitate, taking time to arrange the reindeer around the Christmas cake. Even the cat looks at you in disapproval but you are amused with your delaying shenanigans.

In the cool dawn, reindeer big and small come to feast on Christmas cake.

You know the time has come, the tree must go. 

And then inspiration strikes! You select the best ever Christmas collection on You Tube and the undressing begins.

Re-creating that Christmas feeling courtesy of You Tube.

Singing along to jingle bells and frosty the snowman, the tree is getting naked. We take it slowly, the tree and I. Each decoration has its own story, a dragon from Hong Kong, a Babushka from Russia, a magpie from Bowning, a pickle from Germany. And of course the handmade ornaments, survivors from another time when the kids were little and Christmas was crafty. 

I’m in the zone now, down to the star on top, bead garlands and lights. And then suddenly, I’m done. I circle the tree checking for missed decorations, heaven forbid I throw away a small wooden Santa or a glass star.

Nope nothing to see here, just a disrobed tree that is a little worse for wear but still smells divine. Suddenly, I can’t wait until December when the Christmas Tree Truck makes its next delivery!

But wait! What is this? A lone survivor of the de-decorating? Buying that huge string-covered reindeer seemed like such a good idea at the time and, admittedly, he looked very cool presiding over the table but how on earth to store him for the next 11 months? 

Surely reindeer are inter-seasonal decor?

Judging by his reading material, Rudi has no intention of being stuffed into a plastic bag!