Positivity Corner: Decorate Early for Christmas
Image by Lynda Hinton on Unsplash
Rita Mock-Pike
As a kid, I wasn’t allowed to start to decorate early for Christmas but had to wait until the calendar ticked over to my oldest brother’s birthday on December 11. I always felt kind of cheated on that, so I started decorating my room for myself when I became a teenager. My grandmother gave me her old Christmas tree, which helped, as did acquiring family ornaments from my Mom when she decided she no longer cared for them. My tree was pretty bedraggled, but it made me happy nonetheless.
Now, as an adult who happened to marry a man equally Christmas-crazy as myself, I decorate early for Christmas, not when it’s “normal.” I put up the Christmas decor in October.
You read that right: October.
Some may scoff – my Dad certainly would have! – but I delight in this.
Having Christmas lights and Christmas trees up around the living room and my office brings a little bit of joy to my world, especially in challenging times like we’ve been experiencing the last several years.
On Halloween in particular, I get out all the remaining boxes and start really going crazy with the Christmas decor. More spots around the home get decked out with Christmas lights. Christmas nicknacks go onto shelves. Stockings get hung. Resin snowmen find a home on bathroom counters.
It might seem silly to some but decking out the whole house with holiday cheer helps to brighten my spirits. And, yes, we keep the decor up all winter long.
For anyone else who experiences seasonal affect disorder (diagnosed or otherwise), you might want to try this out, too. I’m telling you – if you decorate early for Christmas, it can truly, wonderfully lift the mood and help to soften the blow of wintry months and dull, gray skies.
So, pull out that garland, those Christmas lights, and that tinsel, and get to it! You might just find life is a little bit better.
Editor-in-Chief of The MockingOwl Roost, Rita Mock-Pike is the granddaughter of aviatrix, Jerrie Mock, first woman to pilot an airplane solo around the world. Rita has found inspiration from her grandmother’s life and flight and pursued many of her own dreams in theatre, podcasting, novel writing, and cooking up delicious food from around the world. She now writes on food, travel, pets, faith, and the arts. She’s happily married to Matt, and faithfully serves the very fluffy kitten queen, Lady Stardust.
1 Comment
[…] day. It’s amazing how one little drink can change my mindset for the day. What is your favorite seasonal […]