Every year we have several family Christmas get together’s with immediate family, extended family and friends. I love this. I love the Holiday’s, the music, the decorations and the magic. It seems the day after Halloween it is all pushed in our faces and then promptly ends at midnight on Christmas night. It is that sudden halt that makes me crazy.
I hit up a few stores for sales and returns in the days after Christmas and it seems the Grinch had been there to visit. Christmas decor was hanging by a thread from store walls, some lay trampled on the floors. People tapped their feet in those return lines while rolling their eyes at the long wait. Manners were lost, people were head down, pushing along, dragging over-tired children behind them. That Christmas spirit was quickly forgotten. Where does all that good-will go so quickly?
Honestly, I just find it sad. Wouldn’t it be great if that Christmas spirit lasted a bit more through the year like the carols say? Not the cold and the money spending that goes with it but just the general cheer.
This past weekend I hosted our last Christmas get together of the season and yes, our tree was still up past my normal New Years Day deadline. I spent the extra nights soaking up the lights from the Christmas tree along with the last lingering smells. I was ready to take it down on Sunday and get back to a calmer schedule. There is always that feeling of emptiness when there are no longer lights casting a glow on us in the evening but I don’t have to vacuum up the tree needles any longer. I’m just hoping I can carry a little bit more of that Christmas spirit with me until next year.
Through My Mistakes 
There is something magical about the holidays that goes away so quickly after they end, isn’t it? I am so glad you had a good extended holiday! XO