Some switch in my brain went off around the beginning of December and I’ve become intensely focused on making stuff for Christmas. I don’t know where these impulses came from. I don’t know why I keep indulging them. I do know that I used two different kinds of ribbons and a box of mini Christmas ornaments to decorate the stairs to our second floor.
I asked Kristian to boot me in the head if I get a little too Martha Stewart, but I think that he would be afraid to say anything lest he be assaulted with a glue gun and then festively adorned with feathers.
My sister likes to tell the story about a friend’s father who used Christmas as an opportunity to unleash the creativity that was stifled in his daily life. This friend apparently went to make himself something to drink and was accosted by his father who started yelling, “Use a Christmas mug!”
The story is a lot funnier when my sister tells it in person.
It’s also a lot funnier when you don’t own Christmas mugs.
That people had damn well better use.
I don’t think that it’s a case of my stifled creativity being forced to find its own way to the outside world. I mean, this is the year that I finally produced a full-length album. And I’ve been doing more and more photography. That’s gotta scratch the creative itch, at least temporarily.
No, I think that my Christmas craftiness is a combination of 1) a subscription to Real Simple b) my love of all things shiny and three) the fact that we are hosting the family for the first time this year and I would not be sad if we were to impress them with the way our house is setup.
Besides, I have been legitimately enjoying myself.
I think that the important thing is to have fun without taking yourself too seriously. I want things to turn out well, but if they’re not perfect, I won’t cry myself to sleep over it. I’ve always enjoyed putting together Christmas presents, but if some stuff doesn’t arrive in time (why oh why did I cheap out on shipping?), it will have to be opened a few days late. And I want our house to look its best, but I’m not freaking out over the fact that there are some rough spots on our kitchen and dining room walls. I mean, yes, if we still had big holes in the walls I might be a little…. ummmm…. not content. But our walls are now hole free! So who cares if they’re not painted?
Now where did I put those Christmas mugs…?
This post just begs for a photo tour of your Christmas-ified house. Or, uhh, I do!