It’s that time of year!
There’s just something about the magic of decorations, that just changes the feeling in the air. Put up balloons and streamers and suddenly a birthday feels more special. Hang some spider webs and flash some lights and a spooky Halloween comes to life.
Go nuts with various Christmas decorations and suddenly this entire apartment feels like it’s Christmastime!
I just love the holiday season. So many people are happy and smiley and warm and bright. Sure, there’s also the stress of shopping for your family, of getting it right, but that’s not what I’m thinking about this year. I’m just thinking about the happiness and the feeling of togetherness, even though this year should be celebrated apart (please please please follow your local restrictions due to the pandemic! Our hospitals will thank you for being vigilant!)
Anyway, today I want to show off some of the holiday décor that my family put up. Fair warning, I am a terrible photographer, and I couldn’t turn on any of the lights because mom works right in the middle of this (the lights are too damn bright and basically blind her. She has a small lamp at her desk).
Let’s start with the fun stuff.
We love stockings, and yet we don’t really have a place for them. So, they end up on the wall. The small red ones have been apart of my Mom’s family for years. Those two are the just two of four. The manatees were bought by my Dad when we moved to Florida when I was five, and we always hand them because they are so cute. The giant stocking was a gift from a family friend when I was like four, once the decision was made to move to Florida. At the time, I could almost fit into it with my whole body.
Other decorations include the garland we have hanging from the beam spanning the length of the main part of the apartment and the advent calendar from my Dad’s oldest sister (which remains the nicest thing she ever did for us – don’t ask). All of these, minus the garland, are decorations that we put up every year without fail.
I wanted to have some Christmas cheer of my own, so many years ago I went to Target and bought a tiny tree for myself. This is sitting in my room on the bookcase next to my desk, so I can see the lovely flashing lights all day. On another note, my window is also decorated, but unfortunately the complex is doing the monthly gardening today, so I can’t go out and take pictures of it. Boo.
So, while I have my own tree to look at all day, we also have our main tree. This is in the living room, currently covered in gifts. It’s a fake tree, which isn’t something my family normally does, but because of the state of the world, we felt it would be safer this year to get a fake tree instead of risking being around people and getting a live one. We also bought the damn thing before Halloween, so yay deals. All the ornaments tell a story, whether they be a piece of our love of fandoms or history of our family.
On the right of the hallway, there’s a paper chain I made in Kindergarten. Yes, 24 years ago, and we hang it every year. Each ring represents a day, and you’re supposed to tear a ring off daily. Well, Mom wasn’t about to let that happen, so instead we let it hang every year. Yay!
And finally, there’s one more piece of decoration that needs to be shown. Our Christmas town!
Every year, we try to set up a Christmas town. This year we didn’t do it nearly as big as we did back in Florida, so instead we went for buildings that represented our family. The tall building in the middle is the Custom House Tower in McKinley Square, Boston, Massachusetts, where Mom and I went on vacation in October 2004 (or was it ’05? Somewhere around there.). It was my first plane ride and everything. And it was cold.
The watchmaker in the second photo is Pepper’s, who was one of the dogs we had when I was growing up. The newsstand is there to represent our family’s love of reading, and Mom and Uncle’s love of history. The train station is for our love of travel… and riding the railroad every time we go to Disney. The hotel is there for the same reason. The bake shop is for friends, especially Mom’s best friend, who is a baker by trade. The weird house that doesn’t fit was the first piece bought by my Dad before they got married. The other building is a reindeer barn. Every one of Santa’s reindeer is represented (and so is Santa!).
The little people don’t really represent anything, but they are there to populate the world Though… I did buy the ducks so that I could have a vague Untitled Goose Game reference. Honk!
As for the last building…
This one has been in our village for years. But this year, I picked it as a joke. Nothing screams 2020 like a drug store, am I right?
Anyway, that’s our decorations for 2020. There are other little pieces around our apartment, but those I was asked to leave out of pictures. I hope you enjoyed this little peak into my little Christmas house.
Have a safe and healthy holiday season!
Until next time!
