25 Days of Christmas ~ Light the Tree

I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl, and if you don't know that by now you must be new around these parts.

I've been planning to try to blog more and the days leading up to Christmas seem like such a great time to do that. I have to admit to feeling a bit out of my league now, (because I'm also a wear my heart on my sleeve kind of girl) There are plenty of blogs that have big retailer sponsors and a budget that is out of this world. I have neither and my Christmas is pretty simple, and since the wonder years are pretty much over for my kids, I'll be honest, sometimes I have a hard time getting into the decorating that I used to find so much fun. Can anyone relate?  But I think there is room for simple Christmas don't you? My Christmas isn't about the latest gizmo or getting just the right vignette in just the right place, I'll admit vignettes are not a talent I was born with.  It's about people, and sharing fun, and enjoying all the beautiful things that make Christmas so special.

So my tree doesn't sport a new theme every year, not that there is anything wrong with that! Some years I would theoretically love to start from scratch and see how creative I can be, and maybe some year I will throw caution to the wind and do that.

 

But this year, especially this year, as my babes have all but flown the coop, We opened the ornament box with a special tenderness and hung that pretzel ornament Lauren made in school when she was 6, who would have thought pretzels could last 19 years unscathed?

 The photo of Earl's parents taken on the night they eloped. Mom all shy and dad all smarty pants

 The photo of Earl as a little boy helping Gramps with the milking, holding buckets as big as he is.

 then drinking milk right out of the pail.

And the beaded can lid ornament Victoria made in "pretty school" (her name for pre-school:>)

With my first grade photo sporting the spit curls that my grandmother so lovingly put in my hair that morning.

We found the macaroni angel that one of the girls made in Sunday school, (one of my favorites), and of course, we filled in with sparkling stars, mirrored balls, ornaments sent from blog friends around the world, bead and wire ornaments made as a project when the girls were little and tiny toys that Earl and I have collected since before the children came along.

My simple Christmas comes with memories, like yours. It may be time to sit down and see what we need to change about our celebration, after all, our lives have changed, and at some point we all have to adjust to different circumstances that change the way we view the season.

I hope as you deck your halls, you enjoy the best of the past and the merriest of futures.

 

 I would love to hear how you have adjusted your holidays if you are an empty nester, or how you decorate. Is it the same each year? Different each year?

Simple Christmas or elaborate, do tell :>)