Decorating for the Holidays

 I have a confession to make... I certainly won't speak for everyone who works in the floral industry but for years and years, when it came to the holidays I could have been called a big ol' Scrooge. Years ago before my husband joined me full time in the flower shop I remember coming home from work during Christmas and having a complete melt down when I walked in to find that he had put on Christmas music for us to listen to while I cooked dinner. The poor guy, he thought he was doing something nice and I was a total bitch. I just could not listen to anymore music. I was on music overload, especially Christmas songs. At that point I just wanted a glass of wine and the TV. 

Another story to prove my point is when my dear Mother-in-Law Arlene retired from her full time career and joined us in the flower shop. It was so wonderful to add her to our team and she did a fantastic job. The very first Christmas she worked with us was pretty eye opening for her. I was such a jerk about the holidays that she did called me a "Scrooge". I remember telling her, just wait, just you work through a few crazy holidays and you'll dislike Christmas too. Honestly, I think that did come to pass and she wasn't quite as excited for holiday music and decorations either. Luckily, once she retired completely from working, her joy for the holiday returned!! 

Speaking of family, while I was growing up my mother and father loved Christmas. Even though our house was small we always had a huge tree and there were always lots of presents. We celebrated Christmas Eve at my Aunt and Uncles house and Christmas day was spent being buried in toys and torn up wrapping paper. 

Years later my brother hosted Christmas and when Kevin and I started dating, his family joined with mine. Once my brother moved away, hosting Christmas Eve fell to Kevin and I. We really loved it but when work kept us at the shop late, we often left a key under the door for family to go in and get started without us. Weird, right!!? 

But as can happen with many families, once my parents were gone, the holidays did not hold as much joy for me. Understandable because by then I was working really hard during the holidays and to make matter worse was my father actually passed on Christmas Eve, which had been his favorite day of the year. Yikes, that could put a damper on any holiday. 

What made me think to write this post was that I posted a picture of my Thanksgiving Tree last week and a non-floral friend on Facebook friend commented "I'm guessing you are sorely missing decorating the store for the holidays". It got me to thinking, did I miss it? I had to really search my soul and the answer was no, I did not miss decorating the store. 

What had been missing was the joy I used to have of decorating my own home. When Kevin and I were newly married I took decorating for the holidays very seriously. He still teases me about the time he came home from work to find our tiny apartment looking like the inside of a Whoville House. I had tinsel, gaudy garlands and lights plugged in everywhere. I was lacking in taste back in those days!! The poor guy, he had to struggle to tell me it looked nice.

When retirement was looming, I kept telling myself that I'd be able to get back that holiday spirit and during the first set of holidays I thought maybe I was wrong. I decorated like normal but I wouldn't say that I was happy about it. 

I've now learned that I only needed to give myself a little more time. This year I decorated quite a bit for Halloween, way more than previous years. 

This year I had a grand idea!! Instead of putting up the Christmas tree right before Thanksgiving, why not make it a Thanksgiving Tree? At first Kevin thought I was crazy but soon he and I were scouring the internet for turkey themed ornaments and fall colored balls!! We even made a trip to Home Depot which just a few years ago, we certainly would not do. We even oohed and aahed over the Christmas decorations and promised ourselves we would keep to Thanksgiving this trip but would return to fill in any gaps in our Christmas decorations. My holiday mojo was back!! 

Last week when Kevin and I took a small trip to Maryland to visit some friends and do a little sight seeing, we stopped in a small town for lunch on our way home. We stumbled upon this huge antique - second hand shop and I had the grandest time looking for Thanksgiving decor. It's a holiday I've never really decorated for so I was starting from scratch. I was so excited when I found this adorable little ceramic turkey for my table along with these sweet pumpkin salt and pepper shakers. Even though we've been trying to thin out items in our house, I'm happy to add to my holiday decorations. Getting rid of things we don't use and making room for things that will make our holidays more festive is certainly worth the space!! 

So there you have it, my confession, I don't miss decorating the shop. No matter how much I loved my career, it was my job.  I sold things that made other people happy and that's a hell of a career to have but it wasn't my whole life. When I think back to the job I did, how my shop looked and how we became a part of peoples holiday season, I'm proud. Damn proud and I sincerely hope that everyone looks back onto Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co's 34 years with positive memories.