Christmas starts with a “C” and Columbus Day starts with a “C” so why not talk about Christmas in mid – October?
It is 81 degrees at 9 am in Southwest Florida and I am writing a post about Christmas? Seems strange, doesn’t it! It really isn’t as strange as it sounds though when you consider my background as a flower shop owner. Those of us working in retail or the creative fields are always thinking in the future. I also have a background in accounting and banking where we worked a lot in the past (think prior month) so it is amazing I have any idea what day it is!
Has anyone starting thinking about their Holiday decorating for this year? Dave usually thinks I am weird when I start talking about what our Christmas decorating theme is going to be. After all this time together, I don’t know why he is shocked by anything I say particularly if it is related to decorating! However, this year, he is actually encouraging me to start going thru the Christmas totes.
Sorting thru the Totes
I did quite a bit of sorting when we were getting ready to move to Florida . I had tweaked my collections down to what I thought was a carefully curated collection. When we got ready to decorate for our first Christmas in Florida last December, I discovered that several totes got left behind in Illinois! Those totes finally made it down to Florida this past July. That is part of the reason Dave wants me to go thru everything again. Storage is definitely an issue in the Florida house!
One of the things that made the cut when I was originally sorting thru Christmas decor was this battery operated Santa on a Reindeer. My Dad bought it for me one year when he came to see me when I was living in Cincinnati! It may seem like an odd thing for a Dad to bring his adult daughter but Santa and I go way back!
You are probably thinking, “What’s the big deal? We all sat on Santa’s lap when we were children!”. Family legend has it that after I got back in the car that day , I looked up at my Mom and said “Santa has green eyes like my Daddy!” Turns out, Santa was busy that day and couldn’t make it to Bement so he asked my Dad to sit in for him! Dad got asked quite frequently over the next several decades to sit in for Santa!
Vignettes for the Holidays
The Planning Process
Since all the Christmas totes are finally in Florida, I will probably start going thru them next week. I may even start decorating in small amounts before Halloween so I can have some pictures that will hopefully inspire some of you!
The battery operated reindeer that my Dad brought me may have been the muse for the Retro makeover of the lanai for the Holidays. You can read about it here:Let’s Refresh The Lanai for the Holidays with a Retro Feel
[…] This battery operated reindeer was a gift from Dad. He bought it for me when he came to visit when I still lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. I shared the memory in A Christmas post on Columbus Day? […]