Planning for Next Year's Christmas

Every year, I drool over Christmas decorations in decorating magazines, on HGTV, and on Pottery Barn's website. I long to have a cozy house filled with spicy smells, lots of glittery lights and wonderful decorations outside. But, this year--just like every other year--I put up our tree and decorated it with red and silver ornaments. I hung the stockings (five this year instead of three). I curled the simple three strands of lights outside around our door and railing.

This is the last year that I will do that. Probably to the dismay of Tim, I plan to hit it out of the park next year with the Christmas decorations. I will not be my mother who has about 50 angels and Santa Clauses oozing from every nook and cranny in the house. I will be me, but the me who's been looking at decorating magazines for years. Why not this year? Well, the girls are ten months old, they won't care. They enjoyed watching me put up the lights, but they barely even notice the tree.

Next year, they'll be nearly two years old. Starting next year, I get to live Christmas through the eyes of my children. I get to talk about Santa Claus and elves. I get to hide gifts and stuff stockings. I get to truly enjoy putting up the decorations instead of just wishing someone else could do it so I could imagine it.

And just like with nearly every other thing I do in my life, I must begin planning. I'm planning so early because this is the perfect time to buy decorations for next year! I just have to really decide what I want to do.

I'm definitely moving the tree down a floor so it's by our lovely fireplace. I also want the outside to be bigger...with lights along the walkway and in the bushes by the house. I definitely think outdoor ornaments would look nice and be an inexpensive, simple way to dress up the outside (over-sized ornaments always go on sale after Christmas). The rest is still up in the air. Hopefully I still have this blog going next year, and I can show off the new or improved decorations in 2011.