How many times have you said to yourself, “This year I’m going to simplify Christmas preparations and stay focused on the true meaning of the holidays?”
If you’re like me, you’ve often had that thought, but still get stuck in the same old hustle and bustle.
“This year will be different,” I say — but then cram too many things into too little time and end up feeling frazzled and regretful yet again.
But this year things really were different at our house, not because I suddenly developed more willpower or improved time management skills, but because of a little furball named Meggie.
I usually get our live Christmas tree on Thanksgiving weekend. Thank goodness I was too busy to do so this year. When Meggie arrived at our house on Dec. 3, she quickly displayed a yen for live vegetation, nipping at every little weed or leaf whenever we took her outside.
It soon became obvious this was not the year for a live tree. Fortunately, when Dennis and I got married, he brought along with him an artificial tree that has lodged in our attic ever since. This was the year to get it out of storage and put it in the usual corner down in our man cave — or so I thought.
As it turned out, Meggie and the man cave are not a good mix. It has too many nooks and crannies for her to explore, causing us to try redirecting her attention or scolding her.
She especially loves scurrying underneath Dennis’ recliner and going after the electric cord powering the chair’s position changes.
She also likes to trot up the steps, then do a kamikaze-style dive off the stairway onto the sofa below. We resigned ourselves to not seeing much of the man cave this holiday season, so even an artificial tree became a non-starter.
When I thought about my usual Christmas décor items, I started a mental checklist and soon crossed off many decorative items that weren’t going to work with a puppy in the house.
Holiday-themed throw rugs were eliminated for the hard-surface floor areas of Meggie’s domain — namely our kitchen and adjacent dining room.
Gone were my padded mats in front of the stove and sink. Even doormats had to go, in spite of the increased traffic from muddy or wet feet and paws. (My holiday throw pillows didn’t make the cut for those two rooms either.)
I usually set out table displays of my various collections of little Christmas trees, snowmen, angels, sleighs and reindeer, manger scenes and Santas.
I treasure these small touches of Christmas scattered throughout the house, but I wanted them to survive for Christmases to come, so I had to rethink my usual plans.
I also suffered from a lack of time — puppies are very time-demanding little creatures in constant need of potty breaks, feeding, watering, long walks to tire them out and close supervision to see where they’re heading and what they’re doing there.
Perhaps you’ve seen cooking contests where the competitors are provided with a specific set of ingredients, then challenged to make a dish using only those supplies. That was the approach I took to my décor.
Instead of getting out my entire treasure trove of holiday knickknacks, I decided to adopt a “less is more” philosophy. I only retrieved from storage the items simplest to access and then figured out how to place them wisely.
For example, I usually set a pretty poinsettia on our high-top kitchen island and then surround it with some complementary décor. The poinsettia was eliminated because its leaves can sicken pets if eaten.
Instead, I made an arrangement using four small pastel-colored Christmas trees — not the usual dozen or so. I then added four alphabet blocks from my childhood to spell out “Noel.”
That kind of minimalism guided the rest of my efforts. I created an imaginary checklist of all the holiday tasks I wished I could accomplish and then started prioritizing what was necessary and meaningful versus what could be skipped.
Outdoor décor? I confess we left up the icicle lights on our second-floor balcony from last Christmas, because they make a nice glow for sitting out on the patio in the summer. Voila — we still have those blue icicle lights burning brightly and that’s fine for this year.
Cookie baking? I long to make some snickerdoodles, cranberry cheese bars and my mother’s magic layered bar cookies, but time is short and who needs the calories?
Wrapping? I haven’t done that in years; fresh pine greenery, Penn State Dairy Club cheese boxes and gift cards have made it unnecessary.
Shopping for a new Christmas outfit? I’ve been giving away my rarely worn clothes, so why buy dressy things that are destined to become rarely worn?
Which holiday traditions did I decide to keep? The “connecting” ones are what Christmas is all about.
I sent out photo Christmas cards with an enclosed newsletter. Dennis and I enjoyed singing Christmas pieces with our church choir during Advent.
We also continued hosting our traditional Christmas dinner for family members, even though it was hard finding room for all the extra groceries among Meggie’s puppy necessities — but well worth it.
“Less is more” might even have made this Christmas better than usual!
