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spirit of the season
Dec. 5th, 2011 10:42 pmToday I went shopping for Christmas decorations for the first time.....ever.
Not that we haven't decorated in the past, but it was always minimal and D. did the bulk of it because I associated it with forced merriment while battling SAD and family stress. But recent gifts of ornaments demanded that I find something to do with them.
It turns out that the process of picking and putting up decorations doesn't make me cringe the way it used to, but that doesn't make it any less an odd experience. Part of this might be the specificity of what I was looking for: neither fake nor real greenery for aesthetic/safety reasons and nothing the cats could destroy or injure themselves with. That eliminated most garlands and wreaths. There was still a lot to choose from but there was so damn much it was overwhelming (tangential: I'm amazed at how much plastic crap manufacturers come out with for Christmas gifts/decor. Wait, no I'm not :/) I wasn't aware of all the little accessories needed to make it work - little hooks for the ornaments, brackety things to hang stockings from, lots and lots of bows and things to hang them with. I was kind of out of my depth.
I settled on a spiral of lights "tree" and an additional 24' of those tiny lights, also in white.
I get home only to find that D. got us a spiral tree years ago (also tangential: my memory sucks), so mine will be going back. It looks a bit odd with only 3 ornaments on it, but I never did do things the usual way. Huh.
Not that we haven't decorated in the past, but it was always minimal and D. did the bulk of it because I associated it with forced merriment while battling SAD and family stress. But recent gifts of ornaments demanded that I find something to do with them.
It turns out that the process of picking and putting up decorations doesn't make me cringe the way it used to, but that doesn't make it any less an odd experience. Part of this might be the specificity of what I was looking for: neither fake nor real greenery for aesthetic/safety reasons and nothing the cats could destroy or injure themselves with. That eliminated most garlands and wreaths. There was still a lot to choose from but there was so damn much it was overwhelming (tangential: I'm amazed at how much plastic crap manufacturers come out with for Christmas gifts/decor. Wait, no I'm not :/) I wasn't aware of all the little accessories needed to make it work - little hooks for the ornaments, brackety things to hang stockings from, lots and lots of bows and things to hang them with. I was kind of out of my depth.
I settled on a spiral of lights "tree" and an additional 24' of those tiny lights, also in white.
I get home only to find that D. got us a spiral tree years ago (also tangential: my memory sucks), so mine will be going back. It looks a bit odd with only 3 ornaments on it, but I never did do things the usual way. Huh.
