Less is more unless it’s Christmas. December marks the season for lavish everything. Gifts, parties, meals, events, and decorations. Being positive throughout the Christmas season proves difficult with so much to do. While it’s easy to get overwhelmed with Christmas’ over-the-topness, the more you do, the more you inspire the Christmas spirit… if you have the right attitude. It’s not about staying busy. Or meeting obligations. It’s not a stuff thing.
Christmas is a love thing.
Remembering that is the key to being positive at Christmas.
Negativity can run amuck if we’re focused only on must-dos and obligations. Instead, more than any other time of year, Christmas is a bold, brilliant, and sometimes extravagant expression of love. The cooking, traveling, gifting, chatting, eating, and decorating show our families and friends what they mean to us and give us warm fuzzies, too.
That’s why I love hosting Thanksgiving and houseguests, regardless of all the work that goes with it!
Take the Christmas tree, for example. It’s the loving spirit of Christmas on grand display. Every tree is unique to the home it decorates. And the more lights and ornaments, the better. No one wants a minimalistic Christmas tree. It’s a holiday centerpiece that holds meaning for the family.
Christmas trees are big, extravagant, messy, and delightfully special.
Me and Joe’s first Christmas tree together was sparse. We scored it on clearance at Rose’s—a robust six-footer for $50. We decorated it with white lights and cheap decorations from Big Lots and tried vainly to fill it up. Its height and girth made it look more barren, though. And on a tiny budget, there was only so much we could do.
But that tree was a hopeful reflection of our future together.
And each year, we added to it. My inlaws gifted us with an angel tree topper, and that sweet girl graced our tree for over twenty years (it succumbed to old age last year). The Rose’s tree cornered our living room for nearly fifteen years until its needles flaked, and a longing for a fancy pre-lit tree won out. Though stringing lights took hours and often fueled frustrations, I don’t think the prelit ones ever looked as good.
Or maybe that’s the nostalgia talking. Hmm.
Still, our tree upgrade showed our family’s growth and changed with us. Being positive about Christmas comes easy when thinking about the memories Christmas trees hold.
Like the former Christmas trees lining my parents’ front yard. My parents always bought live trees with big balls of burlap holding the roots. It was a work-intensive hassle. But after Christmas, they planted them in the yard. Those trees grew into tall, plump, and happy Christmas reminders that grew with us. Literally.
Can you even buy live Christmas trees with roots anymore?
That every family has their preference and style makes Christmas trees incredibly special. A recent tour through The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher and their Festival of Trees reminded me of the beautiful diversity of options and how fun they can be. One tree featured Japanese cherry blossoms and ornate origami. Another, classic Santas. There was even a Stranger Things tree, and however cool it was to see a tree decorated with cassette tapes, Rubix Cubes, and pics of the cast, I didn’t quite get the connection. Still, they were all gorgeous and fun to explore. They took a little limelight away from the sharks, gators, and sea turtles, but they seemed okay with it. (The otters still received plenty of attention.)
Our Christmas tree has come a long way since those sparse early days. Gifts, mementos, kid-created ornaments, and picture ornaments add up. Space has become an issue, and some ornaments get left behind, especially when some people in the house (grinches) don’t want it to get too cluttered.
Too cluttered? Ha! Impossible! Maybe less is more eleven months of the year, but not at Christmas! With all the must-dos the season brings, over-decorating adds joy, and being positive is reflected in the twinkle lights.
There’s always enough space for angelic gems like this!
Each ornament on the tree now stirs a loving memory. You can’t leave memories in the box! And seeing the painted paper plate ornament Abby made when she was three, Ethan’s first-grade nativity ornament, and two baby’s first Christmas ornaments always make me smile. The tree wouldn’t be complete without them. (Thank goodness ornaments for subsequent birthdays aren’t a thing.)
So, if you’re struggling with positivity this Christmas, enjoy the little things that mean something to you. And if you don’t have good memories yet, set out to make some. Starting with your tree, perhaps?
My friend Rachel is a Christmas tree artist. Her tree is so gorgeously full that it makes mine look like the spindly twig from Charlie Brown. She collects ornaments and adds more every time they travel. She has hundreds, and her tree centerpiece showcases beauty, love, and family history.
She inspired my love for beach ornaments, and now they get their own tree in my front window. A new tradition. I add to it each year. Last year, a gator ornament, which I found unique and fitting since they’re native to our area. This year, an otter for the new arrivals at the Fort Fisher Aquarium. Otters are so damn cute.
Bet you didn’t think I’d squeeze otter pics into a Christmas blog, did you?
Now, it joins the jellyfish, mermaids, crabs, dolphins, sting ray, starfish, and sand dollars already represented. I even have a sand castle (thanks to Rachel).
Filling the gaps in our tree with precious mementos brought me to a simple conclusion about staying positive during the holidays. Christmas is about loving extravagantly. Not spending extravagantly (though that often happens). But loving extravagantly. And decorating extravagantly if it brings joy. Decorating, wrapping, baking, shopping, singing, watching, eating, partying, whatever Christmasy things you do—they’re all about spending time together. So, less isn’t more—It’s Christmas! The more, the merrier. That includes ornaments.
And cookies… one batch is never enough. For a funny story about a teenager in the kitchen, read Christmas Cookie Mayhem.
And before you go…
What’s your Christmas tree like? Full and festive? Minimal but joyful? Does it have a theme? Share your tree thoughts below. I’d also love any beachy ornament suggestions for next year. I’m sorely lacking in sea birds.
For more on positivity and writing, check out my blog.
