Posted on by kimhaynesjohnson

November Noel No-Nonsense Nonet

I used to laugh at those memes where families come home from trick-or-treating and put up the Christmas tree. I used to remind myself to give the turkey its day in the spotlight. I’ll admit it: I used to judge those folks, those ridiculous early decorators.

No, no, no, no, no! Not anymore.

The older I get, the more I realize I need to pace myself in decorating. It takes moving a chair to make a space for a tree, unboxing the Nativity set, and spinning a fresh bow for the year-round wreath on the east-facing front door (I love the way it frames the early morning sunrise through the door glass from my living room chair). If my husband and I are going to do all this decorating in our sixties, we need time to recover and to enjoy it before it’s time to take it all down again.

I’m firmly in the camp that if I’m putting it up, I want six to eight weeks to enjoy it. Anything less is too taxing on this body.

There have been years we didn’t decorate at all – – those years we went places and knew no one would be here to celebrate since we’d be in others’ homes in other states. But as grandchildren visit and we gather with friends and other family who often come on different weekends between now and the first of the year, we’ve come to understand those silly home-from-Halloween-now-let’s-put-up-the-tree memes.

Even though we decorate simply and minimally in the quiet shades of nature when we do, we realize it’s all about creating a Christmas ambiance that welcomes visitors who drop in anytime during the holidays. A simple burlap and twig tree, a box shrub wreath, a Nativity set and we’ll be ready to welcome the season. Come see us!

November Noel No-Nonsense Nonet

the older we get, the more we see

we need to decorate early

to recover from the work

(pacing is not enough)

dare I admit that

our Christmas tree

is going

up this

week????

Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers for providing teachers a space to write and share

23 Replies to “November Noel No-Nonsense Nonet”

  1. I’m with you about the timing!– decorating is a LOT of work if it’s going to be up for a couple of weeks! I’m not sure I can get behind holiday decorations before mid-November, though. I give you a lot of credit.

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  2. Kim,

    Nope! I’m not putting the tree up early. I am gonna push Ken to get the lights on the house while the weather is nice, but I have fall decorations up until after Thanksgiving. It will be a rush to get Christmas decorations up as we leave Dec 1 for Japan. My son, however, is already decorating for Christmas.

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  3. I just asked about “favorite Christmas symbol” for embroidering in advance on a towel, and my son poo-poohed it because of the turkey day holiday.

    But an in-person delivery will save me postage costs and ensure that it will be ready to use whenever the spirit moves. I do give Christmas decorations as Christmas gifts, while bemoaning the fact that the season is waning before the gift is received. A conundrum!

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  4. Oh, Kim, this is the encouragement I need. Hubby is having knee surgery on Dec. 1st, but I was going to wait till the weekend after Thanksgiving and do it all at once. Your post changed my mind. It is too exhausting and, obviously, Hubby isn’t going to be much help this year. Your voice definitely come through and you easily take us through your change of heart. My favorite line is, “Even though we decorate simply and minimally in the quiet shades of nature when we do, we realize it’s all about creating a Christmas ambiance that welcomes visitors who drop in anytime during the holidays.” I will keep that in mind as I use “quiet shades of nature” to create a holiday home. By the way, I love your nativity set…I’ve always wanted one like that.

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    1. Thank you, Rita! My mother started me on that set and added to it each year until she died, and it keeps her close at Christmas. I hope your husband heals quickly with his surgery. Maybe the lights and decor will help him enjoy the calm and peace of the season. Happy decorating!

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  6. Kim,

    Makes sense to me. My mom, who passed away last fall, would have loved this. She loved Christmas and put up many different themed trees, mostly with her beautiful homemade ornaments. As she got older, she began pacing herself and putting up her trees in October! When she was diagnosed with cancer just after Labor Day several years ago, one of the first things she did was to start decorating for Christmas, knowing that she would not have the energy once she had surgery and chemo and also knowing that decorations would keep her in good spirits while she recovered.

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    1. Sharon, I love this so much. I’m sorry your mother had to go through all of that, but I know that just having the decorations up must have been very comforting to her. I have been reading on my feed today that the theme so many decorators are going with this year is “nostalgia” and a return to homemade ornaments, including paper chains. Sounds like your mother knew the importance of trees with deep meaning.

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      1. Thanks, Kim! She did suffer a great deal unfortunately, but positive attitude and her focus on gratitude helped her. And so did her trees.

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  7. Love your nonet… and the title is brilliant. We’ve always had fresh cut trees with their spiders and wonderful scent. Two years ago, I purchased a very real looking tree with lights. The company sent me two trees. So now we put up two trees. The year I bought the trees, we enjoyed their lights–no decorations. I had heart surgery the middle of that December and didn’t get home until a month later. I was so glad we didn’t decorate. We left those trees up until the end of February. I was so glad they weren’t real. I spent a lot of time on the couch and in my easy chair and thoroughly enjoyed those trees and their lights in the dark of early winter evenings.

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    1. Alice, there is nothing like the peace of a dark room with nothing but Christmas lights, and you show why – – it brings such peace. I’m glad you got two trees and that just the lights were all the comfort you needed.

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  8. I loved that poem! As a Venezuelan who grew up without Thanksgiving, I’m used to early Christmas decorations (big and small, but mostly we go big!) so I fully support this. I’m now married to someone who values Thanksgiving, so we compromise on mid November, and then end up leaving the tree up until Valentine’s Day haha!!

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  10. My mother had a favorite nativity that she kept up year round. I understand the slow process of decorating. I love seeing that you are giving yourself permission to decorate when you can rather than when it is expected.

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    1. Margaret, I’m seeing now how those treasured family heirlooms mean a lot more later in life. Isn’t it interesting that all of my news feeds keep popping up with news that this year’s Christmas decorating trend is nostalgia and a return to days of old?? Some decorator somewhere must have gone through the same things we’ve been through this year, and the idea of cherished treasures has caught on.

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  11. OH KIM, your post spoke to my heart. Some years, after my family broke apart, I did not decorate at all because no one was coming and I just could get my head around all the work. Then, after the pandemic era, I decided LIFE was short and I needed to enjoy every minute – even just me. I decorate early and with gusto these days so that by Thanksgiving I am in full holiday prep mode. I put out a table runner that is red and green plaid already and the lights will go up on the next warm weekend! Decorating for YOURSELF is the real gift of Christmas.

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    1. AMEN, AMEN, and AMEN, Anita! Yes to everything you just said. You and I have been down some similar paths, and I couldn’t agree more. I, too, lost the sense of decorating for ME and did it only for THE KIDS when I went through my divorce. Now, though, after all the dust has settled and the phoenix has risen from the ashes, here we are – – valuing self care and doing things as we see fit. Good for you and me, friend! And thank you for reminding me that decorating with gusto is a good thing.

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