Decking the Halls Tests Survival Of Holiday Spirit

The outdoor Christmas decorations are up. Its not a winter wonderland out there, but it does look nice.
I wanted to hang evergreen garland to frame that front door and put lights and red ribbons on it. I’ve seen that done at other homes. It looks so pretty, but we couldn’t figure out how to hang the garland.
The molding around the door is metal and the house is stone; therefore, it isn’t easy to find a place to hammer a nail. I wasn’t going to let something like a stonewall keep me from creating the look I had in mind, but it did.
My next idea was to hang the greens around the garage doors, but the garland was too short. So, I opted for the living room windows. Patrick hung it and placed a wreath in the middle. I loved how it looked but thought I needed to make the house appear more symmetrical.
“We should do the same thing over the dining room windows.” I told my son, who also is my assistant.
“We should,” he agreed. “Why don’t you buy some more greens, and you might as well get some more lights. I can’t get those others to work.”
That was easy for him to suggest since we weren’t spending his money. I went to the nursery and ordered the length of garland I needed for the dinning room windows.
“Can you use a few more feet of greens?” the salesperson inquired.
“It’s more reasonable per foot to buy it by the roll.”
“Sure, why not. I’ll find a use for it.” I replied. I also purchased wreaths, the lights and yards of wide red ribbon to make bows. I thought the pre-made bows were too expensive, and I could save a couple of dollars by making my own. Of course, that was before I tried to make them.
I did find a use for the roll of greens. It was much more than I needed for the dining room so I put it over the garage doors, which left the dining room windows looking neglected. I hung one of the wreaths over the windows. It looks OK but still needs garland around it.
I hung the new lights over the garage door. I wanted to light up the wreath, too, but I was out of lights that worked. So I sat down on the floor near an electric outlet and tested the bulbs until I found the culprit that was keeping the whole strand from lighting.
As we worked, I was bothered that there were so many leaves still in our bushes and flower gardens. I wanted to get a rake and clean them out, but Patrick tried to discourage me. I think he was afraid I would make him do it.
I got the rakes anyway and while we raked I reminded him, “We haven’t put the lights in the oak tree yet.”
“That’s Dad’s job,” Patrick said. “He likes to get out here with a ladder and stick the lights way up on the branches. He always picks the coldest day to do it and he has me help him.”
“Well, it’s all part of getting into the Christmas spirit,” I told him.
“So is roasting chestnuts on an open fire. When do we get to do that?”
“Just as soon as we finish decorating,” I answered. “Now do you think we can run an extension cord out to the mailbox and set up those computerized bells that play Christmas carols?”
December 11,1989