tis the season: deck the halls

i'm gonna be honest...decorating has been a tough thing this year. i lacked my normal motivation and christmas spirit. the thought of certain decorating tasks felt like....well, tasks! i wanted our home to feel like christmas with the warm glow and scents, like it always does. but executing it was a different story. add in to this that our floors were being redone in the middle of december...on the main floor of our home...where most of the decorating is done...yeah, that really helped with the motivation. 

so, i took a more minimalist approach...focused on the things that bring happiness to our little crew of four. things moved more slowly than normal, but eventually we got to a point of a decorated home, though much less glamorous than past years. 

 

coleman had this tree in his room last year but didn't pay it any mind. but this year, i decided to put it on a small chair at his level (rather than on his bookshelf). i gotta give myself props...good move! it made all the diffference. he was so excited and proud of his little tree that he decorated all by himself. it didn't matter that there were trees in the house nine times as tall as his, with sparkling lights...all that mattered was this was his tree. 

 

earlier this year, i lucked out and finally found the fisher price nativity scene (even got it for a great price at target!). i was a tiny bit worried that maybe coleman was getting too old for it. but that was unnecessary.  he loves it. our windowsill in the breakfast nook is the perfect toddler-height spot for it. 

 

after a long day of decorating...these two were pooped out, apparently (but i pressed on!)...

 

these lights here...they have been the heartache of the season. the garland on the stairs was stripped of its old lights and restrung. this photo was taken right afterwards when all was working. it didn't last for long. the bottom half went out first...and now, as i type this, the garland is completely burnt out. and i don't have the "umph" in me to restring it. again. 

the pre-lit fake tree upstairs...similar story. multiple parts of it were no longer lit. matt, spencer and i all struggled to fix it. we tried everything we could. no luck. ultimately, i restrung the top portion of the tree so it would look presentable from the entrance of the house and left the rest (the only way you'd see the back of the tree is to go into coleman's or our bedroom). but alas, another portion of the tree has sense burnt out. needless to say, this normally gorgeous display of twinkle is looking pretty dim this year. 

but let's move on to more positive things...

  

coleman was totally into putting ornaments on the tree this year. it's nice to have an enthusiastic helper again. (spencer still plays along but his heart just isn't in it like it used to be!). 

and this photo just makes me smile...this is an empty reel (designed to hold christmas lights) and a pot holder destined for good will. he insisted on playing with them both and kept saying "it's a party". cracks me up. 

 

and proof that spencer does still help with a smile...here he's putting the ceremonious first ornament on our live tree. 

 

and here is our posed picture. every year we make matt hang one ornament...and he has to do it slowly so i can capture a photo. future generations will have false illusions that matt actually participated in the christmas decorating activities.