Decorating for the holidays reminds me of my great-aunt Lucy. Her Christmas tree was a running joke in our family. Aunt Lucy had a very unique approach to decorating her Christmas tree … she didn’t.
Well, maybe I should say that she decorated it once.
Aunt Lucy had a large artificial tree set in a large ceramic pot. When she purchased it, she decorated it with all of the ornaments that she had at the time. Every year, after the holidays were over, Aunt Lucy would move it from the living room into her spare room intact, ornaments and all, to be stored for next year. She usually moved it around Easter, because, as she said, “It’s not bothering anyone there.”
The next holiday season, Aunt Lucy would trot out the Christmas tree, intact with its decorations, to be enjoyed again until Easter!
Looking back at what was a family joke, perhaps there was something brilliant about Aunt Lucy’s approach to her Christmas tree. She used that tree and all of its ornaments for many, many years. Plus, she never had the stress of decorating or “de-decorating” it. She simply stored it in her spare room where it stood decorated and ready for its place in her living room the next Christmas. So easy! A great way to take some of the stress out of the holidays.
Maybe my great-aunt Lucy wasn’t so crazy after all!
Feature image by Josh Willink from Pexels. This article was originally published on December 11, 2019.