Decorating For Christmas Is My Favorite Part Of The Holidays

When do you start decorating for Christmas? Is it when you first see holiday displays in the department stores? Is it right after Thanksgiving. Perhaps it's right after Halloween? If so then I'll bet you're among the first to put up Christmas decorations.

For me, there is nothing better than the very first day of December. The holiday season is my absolute favorite time of the year and I look forward to decorating for Christmas right after Halloween. If I were being really truthful, I'd say I start to look forward to it as soon as the last Christmas storage box is put away in January. I actually have to make myself hold off until the first day of December.

Once that day shows up on the calendar, I start the official thrill of decorating for Christmas. Notice I said thrill? I know many people that see Christmas decorating as a yearly chore that they dread. It's not that way for me.

I grew up in a household where Christmas was always a big ordeal. My mom decorated the entire house and some of the outside trees and bushes. Everything always looked like a page of a magazine. She loved doing it. I suppose I have the love for decorating for Christmas in my system because I definitely look forward to it every year.

I focus first on the outdoor Christmas decorations. I cannot stand when people decorate haphazardly and seem to just toss their Christmas lights on the bushes and trees. No doubt these are the people that dread Christmas decorating. Take a few moments to look like you are organized and have pride in your decorating skills. Have a plan. When I am decorating for Christmas, I want my house to look like my mother's used to - elegant. I only use the white twinkling lights in all of my decorating. I secure the outside Christmas lights to their chosen bushes, trees and front porch, and then tackle the inside of the house.

Something to think about when decorating the inside of you house is find a way to show off any special features you may have.

I have a gorgeous spiral staircase that I absolutely love decorating for Christmas. I wrap the white lights up the staircase banister. My husband loves when I decorate the staircase. We have made it a family tradition to pick out our Christmas tree. Last year, we decided to cut down our own tree and it turned out to be a memorable experience.

It was not an experience I plan on repeating. My husband, daughter and I decided to go tree shopping on an incredibly cold, snowy day thinking that it would further set the mood. Boy were we naive. Instead, we argued and froze for hours. Sure, we did find a wonderful tree but the entire day consisted of nitpicking and complaining. And we capped it all off with what felt like frostbite.

This year, we'll simply visit the local Boy Scouts tree sale lot and bring it home without any major hassles. The best part of decorating for Christmas is the tree. After the lights are perfectly placed, the fun begins. Ok, so that's one part of decorating I don't enjoy, putting the lights on the Christmas tree. It can be a bit of a hassle untangling the lights, no matter how carefully you packed them away the year before.

Each one of us has our own favorite ornaments that we have to place in the perfect location. Decorating for Christmas is not complete without the carols softly playing in the background. I can't help but love the holiday season.

Decorating for Christmas has been effective in not only being a seasonal hobby for me but it has also become something that my family looks forward to. It brings us together during the most wonderful season of the year. We all gather to make homemade Christmas decorations as well. The time spent draws us closer together. Each year we come up with our own Christmas craft ideas and see the project through as a family. I can't think of a better way to spend my time.