Decoration Deconstruction

The United States loves to celebrate Christmas. Christmas decorations are a way to enliven the long nights we experience this time of year in the northern hemisphere.  Even just just under three weeks distant from the shortest day of the year, one can sense the lengthening day light hours.  Christmas decorations involve the Christmas tree decorated with ornaments and lights, candles, greenery and lights, figurines, and lights, and creche sets and lights. Decoration at this time of year, near the winter solstice, has been around for a long time, as I noted in December 2015.   It is often more fun, than a chore  to decorate.  Decoration is often involved with some levity and excitement with the approach of  Christmas.  The more difficult chore is taking down the Christmas decorations--deconstruction, if you will.

Decorated Christmas Tree

The United States as a whole spent about 6 billion dollars on Christmas decorations in 2011, the latest figures I could find, which represented, according to the news article, an 8.1% increase over the prior year.  Of this, most is spent on Christmas trees.  One figure noted that about $3.4 billion dollars will be spent on trees for Christmas, with $2.6 billion on fake trees, and the remainder on real Christmas trees.  We purchase a real tree, and where we live the price on a cut-your-own tree runs from $45 to $60.  That is a lot of money, but it is usually up for four weeks.  Christmas takes a great deal of energy and time, but it is not like we have day light and overly nice days one can be working outside, so the energy goes into inside decorating for Christmas, and then its deconstruction.  

Christmas Tree with lights and ornaments removed
The creche set (right) is the last to be taken down

Energy goes into gift selection and purchase, but with the Internet the purchase is more the easy part, leaving gift selection as difficult aspect.  Some people are just hard to buy for.  Others not so. they make it easy, like me.  One example of how I make it easy is through writing this blog.  Showing that there are at two readers of my blog, last October I wrote on post on my use of chocolate chips.  This year, I received over 8.5 lbs of chocolate chips, all but about 12 ounces of which came from  mys sister; she also gave me a a container and a lock.  This year I will not have to hear my wife complain about my eating the chocolate chips set aside for baking.  I now have my own stash. For those that read that post, I also received two large jars of peanut butter from my sister to complement my use of chocolate chips.  This makes me wonder if I should go out and get some bologna to once again create my favorite sandwich as a child--bologna, peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Outdoor front yard decorations

While chocolate chips will over time be eaten, not all gifts have that quality.  Some will be used, and stored, like clothes, and others will get packed away until next Christmas season.  Packing away can present its own set of challenges, like finding stuff packed away in order to put up the Christmas decorations. There is also the challenge of packing the boxes on shelves in the basement, and my desire to pack as tight as possible, even taking advantage of space between the joists.  My spouse prefers that I wait for her to assist, but this year I did most while she was otherwise occupied.  Too early it turns out, as she had not pulled out all stuff packed for Christmas.  My spouse  also uses the decoration deconstruction to rearrange furniture in the house, particularly in the living room.  She does not wish to simply put the room back they way it was before Christmas, she needs to come up with a fresh idea and furniture arrangement.

Ornament

Our inside decorations are now down, but I will wait for some warmer weather before removing the outdoor decorations.  While, the day is nice and sunny it is cold, single digits, and I need not tend to electric lights in the cold.  The number of out door light strands I use is minimal compared to other places.  No massive light display choreographed to music at this house.  Yet, it still takes time to take down, and why do it with warmer weather anticipated for next weekend.  I did, however, cut off the branches of my Christmas tree to use as mulch on some of my flower beds. I am sure they also provide cover for some little critters, although hopefully not the opossum that occasionally lurks in our window well.  IN the spring they will be chipped for mulch for use around the yard.

Christmas Tree as viewed from outside

Decorating a house is what helps make it a home.  Decorations tell not only a cultural story, but give an insight in to one's tastes, interests, and self expression.  A colleague of mine at work has two large, like more than three feet in height, figurines--one of Darth Vader and the other a Storm trooper, both decorated with Santa hats.  And for the month that the train and tree was set up he also switched a beanie baby on the train that would make a journey around the base of the holiday tree set up near the front counter.  In that sense, decoration is not just for home. What we need to guard against is Christmas being simply a time for our consumer culture to spread the idea of excess.Think six billion dollars spent on decorations a year.  This poses quite a contrast to that first Noel.

Outdoor decorations in early morning sun light