Okay, so it's the day after Christmas... and I'm doing an unofficial Survey of sorts about the Christmas Takedown.
It fascinates me how differently people react to the Holidays and the various aspects of each Seasonal Celebration.
You see, there seems to be two distinct Camps when it comes to Seasonal "Undecorating", at least that's been my observation over the years.
We belong to Camp #1 which revel in the Seasonal Decorations... we don't dread putting them up and tend to do it leisurely and with great Joy... and likewise we're in no great rush to take it down since we enjoy the ambiance Seasonal Decorating imparts.
It doesn't bother us to have Christmas Decor up until after the New Year Celebration in fact. Perhaps because we have Faith based Decor around our Home year round, it's a large part of who we are and Whose we are and Christmas just magnifies and signifies that Special and precious Relationship to us.
And then there are those in Camp #2, who are eager to take it all down and put it away... sometimes it seems before Christmas Day is even completely over. *Smiles*
I have Friends that were probably Undecorating before Lunch on Christmas Day. *LOL* And by this Morning there isn't a hint of the Holiday anywhere in sight and it's apparent they're relieved it's all over.
If I didn't manage to get over to see everything before Christmas Day, I'll have to settle for seeing it in photos, if they took any. *LOL* They're just not that into it... Or they were for a specified period of time that is now over and done with.
Of coarse there's no right or wrong way to do the Holidays... to each his own... whatever you have a Peace about is suitable and appropriate for you... but it is interesting.
Just as interesting and varied as when folks begin their Seasonal Decorating and Festivities... there is really no set time frame to do either.
And so my Friends... what Camp do you identify with? Do you keep Seasonal Decor up for a while and take it down 'whenever'?
Or are you eager, or perhaps even anxious to Undecorate as soon as possible after a Holiday has passed and get back to your 'normal'?
And perhaps you may even identify with yet another Seasonal Camp of folks that do not Decorate at all, for whatever reason, any Holiday that they do Celebrate, but choose not to put up the trimmings of?
I did meet and greet some folks at my Salvation Army Kettle this Christmas that shared with me that they weren't putting up a Tree or Decorating...
Sometimes they had a backend Story about why they chose not to this year... or why they don't ever do it...
And if a person's Story reveals a History that still negatively impacts their Present and Future condition it always deeply saddens me that the Past has scarred them so deeply that it still influences the Now and Future they could enjoy more fully without all the heavy baggage being carried forward.
Other times they didn't have a backend Story, so it may just be their habit and preference so it was more typical for them in a pleasant way that didn't evoke obvious strong feelings or sentiments that may have been unpleasant or painful.
I just wonder how you would make the day Special or different from any other day if you do nothing differently?
Our Seasonal Decorating always lends itself to our Decorating Style anyway and so it blends well with what we already have around the Bohemian Valhalla Residence year-round.
So it is an enhancement to an atmosphere we already enjoy and Live daily.
I Believe in Celebrating the Gift of Life every day and being Thankful to the Lord for it and so the Spirit of Christmas remains alive and well long after the actual day passes... and long before it rolls around again.
But on Christmas Eve there is an electric energy in the household that can be tangibly felt... in fact, the G-Kids don't want to sleep at all that Night... and typically outlast us... which they did again this year as Grandpa retired for the Night early and I fell asleep in his Recliner attempting to outlast them, to no avail. *Winks* And sometime between 4:00 ~ 5:00 a.m. ... which was probably only 3-4 hours after they finally went down... they were up again with the Joy of Jesus in their Hearts! *Smiles* Eager for Christmas Day to begin so they could get to those presents... *LOL*
And they plowed through them all before 6:00 a.m. ... it was still dark outside...
And when The Son finally rolled in at about 8:00 a.m. to the Main House from the Cottage on the back half of our property... well, he'd missed it! *LOL* "WHAT!!!!", he exclaims... well, yeah... if you weren't here before the breaking of Dawn {the Sun, not Me... but I was about ready to break too... smiles}... these kids couldn't wait any longer... they've been at our bedside asking us if it was Christmas yet since just before 4:00 a.m.!!! We couldn't put it off any longer if we wanted to maintain Sanity and risk them Short-Circuiting completely!?! *Winks*
And so... we put everyone to work attempting to unpackage all of the miniscule little bits that these modern Toys always have. Here's Grandpa about ready to have another Stroke trying to unpackage the 200+ adorable miniature pieces that accompanied Princess T's 'Lil Woodzeez' Bake Shop and Grocery Store and which the Manufacturer secures in such a way that you need to be Chris Angel to know the Magical Trick that unlocks it all... because it is indeed a Mind Freak?!
Though I must say this is just adorable and something Gramma won't mind playing with her because the details are impressive... the Confections & Breads in the Bakery look delish... *Smiles*
In fact I want to Live and Shop in Woodzeez Land... these are some great little Shops, No? *Winks*
And the Woodzeez Woodchuck Family are just as adorable... and naturally there are several different Critter Families that own and operate Woodzeezville... so eventually she'll want them ALL! After all, the Apple didn't fall far from the Trees... her Mom and I are insatiable that way too... *Winks*
And the big thing this year for the Boyz seems to be these Hex Bugs... and though I must admit they are pretty Cool too, we particularly like that they're also SMALL... we Heart small Toys because inadequate Toy Storage = The Bohemian Valhalla Residence looking like Toyland after the Apocalypse.
And since Prince R is really into Magic right now and on his way to being a Magician... I'm Hoping he can make any and all mess and housework Magically disappear... and let us also see if that Money Printer really works??? *LOL ~ DISCLAIMER: We are not printing our own Money here... I only Wish it was that easy to make a buck!!! Smiles* And you know the really Magical thing about these Chris Angel "As Seen On TV" Magic Kits... they did Save some bucks since they had them at the Dollar Store!!! Grammas Heart the Dollar Stores! *Smiles*
Thanks for joining us for Christmas here at the Bohemian Valhalla Residence...
Our Christmas Takedown will not take place until after the New Year... we will be enjoying it thoroughly through then... and allowing our Friends to enjoy it with us as we continue with Festivities to invite the New Year in with a flourish and optimism.
Dawn... The Bohemian