by Deidre Mcdowell

Created on: July 24, 2008

Every year, as soon as Halloween passes, I start getting excited for Christmas. I'll admit it, I'm one of those people who secretly relishes the holiday displays that find their way into the stores earlier and earlier each year. I have absolutely no problem with a Christmas display that sits right beside a row of jack-o-lanterns at the local mall. My excitement grows until the day after Thanksgiving when, you will find me, rummaging through my attic, pulling out my ever-growing stack of Christmas decorations.

My husband, who has a better memory than I, does not relish this day. Besides the fact that his morning will be filled with trips up and down two flights of stairs, arms laden with decorations galore, he remembers the reality that accompanies this tradition. For once the goodies are deposited to me, and I begin my fastidious placement of them, chaos will surely ensue. This is a fact, because in a household with two young children, decorating for Christmas can slowly unravel into a nightmare.
After months of anticipating the decorum that will surround my home for the holiday season, I always get a little rattled when my daughter and son decide they want to take over the decorating this year. Inevitably, the tug-of-war with the tinsel will begin as they fight over who gets to put it on the tree. If the fight over tinsel hanging seems to be the equivalent of a mini battle, then the decision of who gets to put the star on top is all out war. At some point I will carefully place just the right Santas and snowmen on the mantle, just in time for my daughter to scream that this year she wants the prettiest snowman in her room. This will only lead to my son insisting that if she gets a snowman in her room, then he better get one in his too! Let's not forget the all important window clings I can not help but buy each year. Each child must have the exact same amount on his or her window or I will never hear the end of it. By the time they have put all of them in place and rearrange them numerous times, they seem to dangle limply from the window, all holiday charm missing.
On and on this will continue, until the decorations are scattered, the kids are yelling at each other, I am yelling at both of them, and my husband, go figure, is no where to be found. Since he remembers year-to-year the true moodiness of the day, he makes sure he is outside hanging lights until it is safe to venture indoors. Since the house may not actually be safe to enter until the middle of

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