We hear it all the time. It is just stuff, clutter really, but as I contemplate putting all of the Christmas decorations away, I do wonder. Is this really true? It seems every decoration holds a special memory. There is the Santa I remember painting as a kid and all of the wood Christmas candy canes my step dad cut out for us and my mom painted. I bet we used to have 20 of them. We used to line our whole yard with them. We are down to two. They are starting to fall apart and they really should go. They will not!
There is the old mixed in with the new tucked into the tree.
There is the year we made the rule, gifts can only be homemade. That really was a fun year! (The three ornaments at top left were not homemade)
And then there are my favorites. They date back to our first Christmas. We did not have much, but Mary Margaret made Christmas magical, as always. They were part of Matthew's first Christmas and then, Joseph's first Christmas. Now, they are the center piece of our Snowman collection that greets our grandsons. 30 years these cheap Christmas balls have been a part of our traditions.
One day, Joseph and Matthew will find these in the attic, look at each other and say, "Why did they save these old styrofoam balls covered in cheap Christmas fabric and just look at those old bows!" It might be all clutter to them and that would be fine. We all need to create our own traditions, but to us, they are priceless. I am sure my boys will find something in the attic that they hold special even if these end up in the dumpster, something I have seen happen time and time again with my client's homes. Then again, maybe they will look at these humble, little decorations and say, "Mom always sparked Christmas magic, let's each take half." I am thinking that day is a long way off, but one thing is for sure, our boys will have a difficult task. There is so much stuff!
Merry Christmas and many blessings for the New Year to you and your family.
