Christmas memories + a little home tour

When the weather starts to get cooler and the days shorter, it’s a cue to start getting our house ready for my favourite time of year. Yes, we are those people on the block who start decorating a little prematurely, some might say. But there are few things that bring complete joy and enthusiasm more than adorning our house for Christmas.

It seems only yesterday that we would pile up in my Dad’s pickup truck and head to the local farm to pick the perfect Christmas tree. I can still hear my Dad with his predictable complaints about untangling and stringing the lights around the house. His poker face needed some work, because we all knew he loved it once our gingerbread-esque house could be viewed from miles away. I can still recall the fights about who got to place the angel on top of the tree and the mornings sipping coffee under the twinkling lights with my Momma. Christmas memories are some of the sweetest and the longer I can make those moments last, the better.

One particular Christmas the decorations held more weight than ever before. My one request prior to leaving hospital on the 10th of December 2005, was that the house was decorated for Christmas. This is the year I received the gift of life through a transplant. A pivotal year to say the least. After a few grueling weeks in the hospital I could think of nothing more uplifting than coming home to twinkle lights and smells of a fresh Christmas tree.

In a world full of chaos and laden with turmoil, despite the many challenges one might encounter throughout the last 300+ days, Christmas gives us a reason to come together to celebrate. Decorating our house for Christmas brings warmth, adds an extra dose of coziness + serves as a daily reminder of this special time of year.

Every year when I get out the decorations and begin to dress up our house I’m reminded of these things. With each decoration that’s placed into position the precious memories of Christmases before come flooding back. This time of year is so special, so worth celebrating, and squeezing out every last ounce of holiday cheer before January comes knocking.

And well, I’ll just leave this right here…