Keeping It Super Simple~ Christmas 2011

With life being somewhat out of order for the last eighteen months, the thought of decorating and preparing for Christmas was somewhat overwhelming. Last Friday I thought I would concede to putting up the garlands and the little lights at night are most relaxing and inspiring during the short, dark days of winter. It's a simple task as the hooks remain from year to year and it requires one bin and no thinking to accomplish.

Then I thought, why not use the tree that Joshua got off the side of the road two springs ago? It's tall and narrow and comes with its own lights and is already decorated with snow! As the tree is so very narrow, it fit nicely in the corner, next to the TV, taking up so little floor space.
This morning I remembered some glass ornaments I had picked up years ago and used elsewhere in the house. They add the perfect touch of sparkle to the tree. They had also been stored in a drawer not a bin of Christmas stuff so they were very easy to retrieve.
Over the weekend I got the gifts wrapped and tucked beneath the tree. You can do that when your children don't live at home. I like to wrap everything in the same paper as it makes things look nice and cohesive. I stopped using ribbon and bows a long time ago. They just get tossed anyway. No tags either, just a sharpie marker on the bottom with the recipients name.

Again, keepin' it simple.
I wrapped the railing with garland and lights too. There were a couple other small things I pulled out as well and I'll post them later.

Now, to the cards, and a little baking. This might be the most relaxing Christmas ever!