Here we are several decades now into our holiday decorating and preparation stage of life and that old joy and excitement seems to have faded like the poinsettia flowers we bought at the Five n’ Dime stores back in the day. The current versions of the “dollar” stores (correction $1.25 shops) just don't compare and will never stand the test of time that our collections have.
Baby Boomers are and will remain clearly front runners regarding the decorating themes from back in the day with one exception. Have you seen the daily YouTube decorations posted that clearly beat out our tinsel decked trees?
Anyhoo, back to us. We’re still personally purchasing freshly cut trees each year.
The thought of purchasing an artificial tree this year would mean no one gets a gift ..the prices of those trees that are bedecked with lights, songs, snow frosted limbs and movable bases…I asked the sales person if they came with a set up person…he laughed.
That used to be enough to welcome in the season set in the corner of our living rooms. My husband's family never set up the Christmas tree before Christmas eve. We, however, were excited to get that tree up two weeks in advance.
NOW, we barely have blown out the last jack-o-lantern candle and poof, snap, we’re moving the furniture in our great rooms to prepare for the 12’ wonder of the forest.
Typically, next on the list of preparations, was pursuing the old recipe cards mostly faded out now but still viable to make one of the family favorite cookies to distribute in old tins for our families.
It seems these versions have now been modernized with additions like dried orange peel and such. However, new considerations have to be at the forefront regarding “gluten free" issues and allergies. It gets exhausting trying to figure out just what to make anymore.
Gift purchasing and giving has also become a trying task.
We’ve received recommendations regarding elimination of plastics from items we purchase. OK, that’s fair. But I’m not getting that kind of cooperation from Mattel.
NOT to mention, character identification being totally confusing and mostly unheard of in my world. K-Pop ? Does anyone care to define this one?
Simplicity was the norm back then…it’s definitely not that any longer.
So we’ve decided that we’ll draw upon what gave us joy and carry those memories forward. There are movies that we can still watch (with a bit of research on streaming services) like “It’s still a wonderful life.”
(I added that word…you can too).
Sugar cookies, just a batch, with some milk…
A gift or two that reflects a simpler way of living…a deck of real cards, jax,
A jump rope and hopefully a slinky.
Church on Sundays. Christmas, greatest hits, by Bing, Nat and Brenda Lee for the two weeks before the 25th…and candy canes.
Reflections can mean a lot…I think we’ll always come back to those times for as long as we can remember them.
Pat Larsen is a syndicated columnist and author.
Feel free to contact her with a story you’d like to share.
518-275-8686
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