I love to decorate for Christmas, yet by the standards of most homemakers my decorated house is still kind of minimal. My favorite lights are these cascading snowball lights from IKEA that I hang in my windows.
My neighbors each made a trip to ask me about the lights because they’re so unusual (but easy to hang over drapery rods.) I’ll also be hanging a few ornaments that are too fragile to be on a tree from ribbons and trim (I got the idea from a local shop displaying antique ornaments) and I can’t wait to show you my tree.
We’ve never put up external Christmas lights on our house in the three years we’ve lived here, but this year I was determined to try. I tried to put them up at 10pm on Saturday night. Don’t tell me you’re not jealous at how awesome my Saturday nights are. I’d bought the clips for the gutter and several hundred icicle lights. When the clips didn’t fit the gutter, and to be perfectly honest I couldn’t quite reach the gutter even on the ladder, I jimmied a system for hanging them from the eaves. It took me two hours to hang them along the front of the house. When I got to the end, I went to plug them in….and realized that I’d put them up the wrong way. I was holding the female end. Argh. I had to climb down the ladder and give up. I nearly had a Christmas light meltdown. I’ll redo them another day. Maybe.
In the meantime, my snowball lights are up, I have garlands to hang, and great decorations to display.
Just don’t come over any time soon because getting out all of Christmas means there are 1,000 boxes, string lights, Rubbermaid boxes, glitter everywhere, metal hooks waiting to destroy my vacuum, kids arguing about putting a train under the tree, pine needles, a toddler un-trimming the tree, and a giant used car seat sitting in my entryway. Don’t ask.
Tell me I’m not the only one whose house is a disaster when the decorations go up (or down.) It’s such a hassle I only decorate for Christmas and if it weren’t for a stern pep talk from my husband, it probably wouldn’t come down until March.
How are your holiday decorations coming along? Or have you just decided to bag the whole thing?
Other Christmas Decorating Ideas:
The Mama’s Guide to Christmas Recipes
Christmas. All the things. Are you ready? One of the most exciting aspects of Christmas is the food and treats. We have the recipes we love. The recipes we don’t. We all have our favorites and make no mistake, the foods and goodies we surround ourselves at Christmas time enhance the Christmas spirit and make this special holiday memorable. Today’s Mama wanted to share all of the Christmas recipes, tips, secrets, and hacks we’ve come to love and enjoy. To learn more about why we love Christmas and the foods it brings, check out our extensive guide to Christmas recipes.
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