Holiday Favorites

The day after Christmas . . . every year . . . I take down every single little decoration, ornament, wreath, candle, nutcracker, nativity, bulb . . . any reminder that my home was even decorated for the holiday . . . I put it all away. It is my ritual.

The first thing I do on December 26th is brew a pot of coffee and trot down to my basement and lug up empty bins to fill with my holiday decorations. By the time this day rolls around, I have had it with my house in disarray. The stained glass window that usually sits on my mantle moved to my dresser . . . driving me nuts and sending me into a panic everytime my children ran or jumped in my bedroom. My collection of Chinese artifacts stuffed in a cupboard because the nutcrackers needed their spot . . . I missed them.

Everything was put away . . . in record time. I was even able to get my husband to take down the tree and   that away (which he normally does not do for at least two weeks). I was ecstatic that my home was 'back to normal' by 11:00 AM!

What I do have are photos of everything . . . that remind me what a wonderful month we had. All my holiday favorites.