First off, this article took four years to write. Nope, not because my writing skills have become so rusty, but as a mom of boys who seem to be growing up with lightning speed, I have witnessed our family go through so many seasons of life changes the past years.
I remember the days when bringing out the Christmas decors, cleaning it up, sorting the still useable decors from those that need retiring, and finally putting it all together to doll up our home was a major and much-anticipated event in our home. I took delight in seeing all my boys’ faces (yes, including the hubby’s!) light up as they come home to a brightly and colorfully decorated abode, adorned with the all-too familiar Christmas decors we have been using for years. How the glowing Christmas decors brought our family so much joy. My little one who was in Grade 3 then, would hover near the centerpiece, tirelessly appreciating the twinkling lights that adorned our happy tree.
Four years ago, with our older boys going to high school and college, and with the worsening traffic demanding that we take stock of our life, we found ourselves making the major decision of moving from the south of Manila where I lived all my life, to the north. The move turned out to be such a blessing as things started to fall into place. There was no turning back. Everything spelled a better quality of life, except for one thing…our place was so much smaller.
From a big house with a huge garden, we made do with a townhouse-size new home albeit with a much better location (read: no traffic!) The downside was that there was not much room for decorating. And so for four years with a less than ideal space leaving me uninspired to spruce up (my bad!), Christmas meant no tree, no twinkling lights, no beautiful wreaths and garlands. The only survivor was Mr. Santa, who hung on his parachute beyond Christmas and never bothered to land. LOL.
But as Christmas icon Mr. Jose Mari Chan sings, life is a constant change (and yes, I’m still big on ‘Christmas In Our Hearts’), and so after four years, we finally found ourselves a bigger Christmas showcase platform (hello new house!). Amidst the chaos of construction and before the new wall paint even dried up, I heard this clamor from my boys…”Mommy, can we now put up our Christmas decors again?? Pleaaaaseeee!? No exaggeration on the extended please, I was both touched and amazed at how much our boys wanted their Christmas colors back. “Did you miss it that much?” I asked. My youngest who’s not so little anymore, gave the strongest nod and added for good measure, “You don’t know how much it made me so much happier to see our house filled with lights and bright colors, Mommy.”
They even had a quirky request—please use the same old decors that we had in the old house, no buying of new ones. It apparently gave them comfort to see the same stuff from their childhood.
I tell you, there’s nothing like feeling the excitement of dressing up a new ‘baby’. Got so excited that as soon as the ‘ber’ months started rolling in, out came the huge boxes, items ready to be sorted, dusted off, and put up all over again!
It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas! Our new home which was predominantly painted in different tones of white certainly welcomed the deluge of happy colors. While I’m actually thrilled about how the colorful display of ornaments played out against the dominant backdrop of white walls, the colors of our tree inspires some house paint ideas. I’ve always been a traditionalist sticking to the conventional Christmas colors of red, green, and gold.
If you want a new look for your home, along with your Christmas decors, the easiest way to do it is to complement your decors with a fresh coat of paint, of say, on the wall where you intend to put up your tree. A predominantly green tree will look good against white or a lighter kind of green. A white tree will surely pop against a darker wall shade. Or maybe look beyond the tree’s leaf color and focus on the ornaments, and paint your wall a color that complements either the red poinsettia, the green balls, or the multi-colored candy canes.
I will make sure to keep these in mind for my future Christmas set-ups. For now, let me enjoy my white backdrop and colorful trimmings, and most importantly, my boys’ happy faces as we all bask in the return of our Christmas colors.
Merry, colorful Christmas! Hohoho! (Yup, Santa’s still on his parachute, lol!)
