Two Reasons . . .

There are two things that my house has in common with the North Pole:

1. It is freezing here today. At least, that it what my in-laws told us when they came over for Thanksgiving dinner. Troy and I haven't actually left the house at all. This is one of the benefits to hosting holiday meals
2. We are currently 90% decorated with Christmas cheer. That's right, I even have Christmas music playing on our laptop as I type, and I am loving every single second of it. Once Troy's parents left our home, I waited approximately five minutes (this is a rough estimate and could quite possible be even less time than previously stated) before I went out to the garage to get our Christmas tree out of the attic. Quite honestly, that is a record for me considering I generally decorate the weekend before Thanksgiving since we are usually out of town. This year we hosted the turkey dinner (which was fabulous, by the way) so I couldn't decorate as early as I wanted to.

Our house is only 90% decorated for another two reasons:
1. I have not yet put the ornaments on our tree because we have two little, furry friends who are curious as most cats are. Molly has already sat under the tree a couple of times, looking up to the top, probably wondering if she can climb it and how long it would take her. And I am still waiting for Olivia to knock the tree over as she does at least once or twice a year. For this reason, I usually wait a day or two to put the ornaments up in hopes that the novelty of the seasonal climbing wall wears off.
2. We are currently renovating our bathroom (which will soon be the topic of a completely different blog) and since we are going to be lugging a new bathtub, vanity and a few sheets of drywall up our stairs, I can't put our beautiful, pre-lit garland up on the banisters, which is a crying shame. I patiently waited for them to go on sale at the after Christmas sale at Target two years ago. Last year I put the up and loved every minute of their radiant glow winding up our staircase. But this year I have to wait . . . (sniffle).

We are fake-tree people at the Carlson Christmas Casa. I know that for some this is blasphemous. I think there have been times where I have actually offended people by admitting this. Apparently these individuals are involved in the Merry Christmas Militia or something to make them feel so strongly. In some ways, I can see their point. I mean, I claim to be a Christmas aficionado and here I hang my precious and memorable ornaments on branches of lies. You need to hear me out though, we have a fake tree for yet another two reasons:

1. I can keep my Christmas tree up for much longer than if I had a real one because eventually the needles all fall off, therefore allowing me to keep the title of a true Christmas aficionado.
2. One time, my parents heard about a woman who bought a real tree and there was spider's nest in the trunk. When the tree was in her warm house, the eggs hatched and there were spiders everywhere!! EEK!! Even hearing that story second hand was enough to freak me out and I don't think I can even go chop down my own tree now.

So, here I sit, enjoying my lovely Christmas decorations, in all their fake splendor. This really is the best part of the holiday season because today I know that I have all this time to revel in the Carlson Christmas Cheer spread throughout our house. I am far away from the saddest day of the year. The day that I have to say goodbye for now to all these wonderful decorations, put them back in their boxes and up in the cold attic to sleep until next year. Today, I get to anticipate the whole Christmas season.