Christmas Decorating

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Now that Thanksgiving is past, it's time to decorate the house for Christmas.

This means bringing all of those boxes up from the basement. It's odd - I don't mind bringing them up at all because I'm so excited about setting everything out. But bringing them back down after Christmas is over - that's just not fun.

Some of my favorite decorations are the ones my daughter made in elementary school. I always hang these in the kitchen, where we'll see them every day. The wreath made from her little hand cutouts is just the best.

Then, there are the "interesting" gifts she's given me over the years as a little girl. There's the papier mache Santa, who looks like he's doing the splits after slipping on the ice. And the big Boston Bruins stocking - we're not necessarily Bruins fans, but she liked the big "B" since that's what OUR last name starts with. I treasure these and put them out every year.

One thing I love to do as we put up the Christmas tree is to remember where each ornament came from as I hang it on the tree. If my daughter is in the room, I usually tell her the stories, too. In fact, she's seen me do this so many times, that one Christmas she gave me a scrapbook and called it "Ornament Origins" so I can put a photo and story on each page about each ornament. That way, the stories won't get lost. What a great kid!
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