Pringles, Calendars, Whiskers on Kittens

Pardon my sour-cream-and-onion breath: I’m eating Pringles. NO it is not even nine o’clock in the morning, WHAT OF IT. Also, the tube concept is basically a failure: after a finger’s-length of the stack has been removed, the rest of the chips are inaccessible unless there is Tipping and Shaking. Also-also, there is a typo on my can, because it says there are 7 servings in here.

I had a good holiday, did you? I didn’t get the child-safe tranq-dart gun I asked Santa for, but apparently the elves can’t make sophisticated stuff like that, or anyway that’s what I heard about the eyebrow piercing I wanted in high school.

Do I seem a little STRUNG OUT to you, and is “strung out” the expression I want? Maybe I mean “stir-crazy.” I have been in this house with five children for….well, I don’t know how long it’s been and perhaps I should start making chalk marks on the walls. During some of this time, a child has been barfing, and then another child was barfing. The barfing has stopped for now, but who knows which mole will pop up with it next?

I have been just DYING to SHOP, and I was SO dying to shop, I took all five kids with me to Target on Monday. It was not a total fail, but it was not a relaxing opportunity to acquire comforting consumer products, either. Instead we bought diapers and….I don’t remember what else. Nothing fun. Oh: more laundry soap, because of all the barfing.

And my parents babysat one evening so Paul and I could escape the drudgery of our lives go out for my annual calendar-shopping trip. (That link will take you to a Milk and Cookies post about which calendar I ended up buying, and I do hope you’ll leave a comment over there telling me which one you have this year. I don’t know why I find calendars so interesting, but I just DO.) Other than that, I’ve been trapped trapped TRAPPED!

Can we do a little post-holiday survey?

1. When do you take down your holiday decorations? My tree seems to mock me with what once looked glorious and celebratory and now looks tacky and pointless.

2. Do you get “post-holiday blues”? If so, how blue do they get, and how long do they last?

3. Do you buy holiday stuff on clearance for the next year? I love getting gift wrap at 90% off, but I have to use some self-control this year, as I already have lots of paper bought at 90% off (why no one else wanted the glittery purple wrapping paper I’ll NEVER KNOW). Last year I risked some fabric ribbon at 90% off, and it is so gorgeous I’m definitely going to try to get more of it this year.

4. When do you incorporate all the new stuff into the household? We still have boxes and laundry baskets all over the place, each containing a person’s new possessions. I half-heartedly started to put away my new stuff, but then I accidentally “put away” (IN MY MOWF) a Lindt Santa and there went my motivation. I’d like to avoid what happened last year: when I was cleaning for my mother-in-law’s autumn visit, I found the children’s stocking bags still sitting in their rooms. That was in October.

41 thoughts on “Pringles, Calendars, Whiskers on Kittens

  1. Lindsay

    Yay you are back! I was worried you were still Reuwwing.

    1. January 1,without fail. Sometimes I fail to put them up though, like this year.

    2. No blues. I used to get the holiday blues. But no post holiday blues.

    3. No but I would hope I do one day. I am very inspired by your buying super cheap clothing throughout the year and bins operation.

    4. It is incorporated now, latest would be Jan 1 since stuff can hang out under the tree until then.

    Off to the calendar site. Happy New Year!

    Reply
  2. Pickles and Dimes

    1. The day after Christmas. Right now the only thing we still have up are the outside Christmas lights because they are frozen to the deck railing.

    2. I get the blues during the holiday, because we have SO MANY places to visit, it stresses me out. This year, we said no to one visit and mentioned how next year we’re going to eliminate two more (leaving us just 3 Christmases to celebrate instead of SIX) and I am SO GLAD.

    3. I usually don’t buy marked down Christmas stuff because I hate shopping right after Christmas. But if I do, it’s usually Christmas tags or wrapping paper.

    4. We incorporate the new stuff as soon as we get home. If someone got a gift they’ll never, ever use, we’ll toss it or put it in the closet to donate later. (I KNOW. It seems tacky, but trust me, SO MUCH better than holding onto it for 6 months before disposing of it.)

    Reply
  3. stephanie

    1. Usually I dawdle and want to leave everything up forever. This year I wanted the tree down at 8am 12/26. It’s still up, however, and we’ll take it down tomorrow. I want my living room back!
    2. Not this year. I’m READY for 2009. Crazy, exciting and baby-filled 2009!
    3. I was all set to do this this year, but I srsly have barely been out of my HOUSE since Christmas. Nasty cold. The best I’ve done is save all our gift bags for re-use next year.
    4. Our gifts are still strewn about EVERYWHERE, including in the car. I definitely hope to have everything put in its new home by Sunday night. Stuff usually straggles about until the very last winter decoration is put away. So, you know, April.

    Reply
  4. Jiff

    Survey SAYS! Sorry. Had to.

    Um, 1. Usually the day after Christmas on the tree, etc. The Christmas lights on the house stay up til New Year’s. This year we were renovating the house so we didn’t get our tree up til a week before Christmas, so it’s all staying up til tomorrow. :)
    2. No. I’m thankful for that, too.
    3. YES. I spend all my Christmas money on it. It’s retarded because I could be halfway to my dream camera by now, but noooo… had to get gift labels, fabric ribbon (I get it too. :) ), bows, etc. I also start buying for my husband’s family bingo for the next year.
    4. Immediately. We’re nerdy like that. Organized and whatnot. But there are only 4 of us. We have a 9 month old baby and my stepson is 6 and only lives with us part of the time, so I guess only really 2.5 of us. :)

    Reply
  5. Jess

    1. Early January, depending on the quality of the tree. This year’s still looks healthy and new and I love it, so we might keep it another week or so. If it were drooping and losing needles all over the place, we’d get rid of it sooner.

    2. No, not really. I don’t get too excited about the holidays to begin with, so I think that’s why I don’t get down when they’re over.

    3. Sometimes gift wrap and ornaments. Not usually.

    4. We always go away for Christmas, so usually what happens is that we come back and everything sits in the suitcases until we finally clean. This usually happens when we have guests. As such, we cleaned last night and will clean more today and then everything will be incorporated. I think.

    Reply
  6. Kelsey

    Glad to see you back!

    1. I leave our decorations up until at least the Epiphany, which may be a Catholic thing. We’re basically decorated from the weekend after Thanksgiving until the week after New Years, not having a real tree makes this possible. I’m almost one of those crazy people who wants the holiday stuff up year round, because it makes me happy.

    2. There is a lot of post-holiday let down because we have birthdays right before Thanksgiving so mid-November through December is just one long succession of celebrations. Then we have a l-o-n-g dry spell. This year it will be a little easier because Michael’s birthday is in March, something to look forward to in a sort of dreary part of the year.

    3. I always intend to buy holiday stuff on clearance, but we travel the week after Christmas so I miss some of the opportunity.

    4. We get started the day after Christmas because we are also usually packing and I HATE coming home to massive piles everywhere. I get what’s left sorted pretty quickly when we get home because I just can’t stand stuff all over and no place to put it away.

    Reply
  7. desperate housewife

    1. I took the tree down Sunday this year. So… Three days after Christmas? The latest it has ever stayed up is New Year’s Eve. It depresses me, exactly as you said- everything looks tacky and pointless and… sort of limp.

    2. I do. It gets worse each year. Lasts from a few days to, oh, a MONTH. But eating lots of marked down chocolate has helped in the past. This year, I’m hoping that exercise will help instead. Or at least, will counteract the chocolate so I don’t then get post-holiday letdown combined with post-holiday weight gain.

    3. I have, but I get overwhelmed with the large array of stuff.

    4. I am always twitchy until the new stuff gets incorporated, so I try to as soon as I can summon the energy. And there is always more and more of it each year. I about had a breakdown this year trying to find ROOM for it all.

    Reply
  8. Hillary

    1. Usually Jan. 1, but this year the tree came down early because it was turning into a fire hazard, and we didn’t want to tempt fate during our New Year’s Eve party with two little munchkins running around it. The Boy left it alone, but I had visions of two little kiddos knocking it down and breaking all my ornaments.
    2. Some years, but not the years (like this one) where the end of the holidays mean my MIL GOES HOME!
    3. No. Sadly. No storage.
    4. As soon as possible. I am a tad obsessive about things being in their places. When we moved into our house, I couldn’t sleep until all the boxes were unpacked.

    Reply
  9. Betsy

    1. Probably January 2nd. I’m hosting dinner on New Year’s Day, so the decorations stay up for that.

    2. I changed jobs this year and now work for a school. We started vacation on December 19th and don’t return until January 5th. So this year, there are no blues, just blissful vacation time!

    3. Absolutely. I hit the Target sale at 50% off on Monday and have been shopping ever since.

    4. This year, I did it immediately. It feels good not to have stacks of stuff lying around.

    Happy new year, Swistle!

    Reply
  10. Jennifer, Playgroups Are No Place For Children

    Oh Swistle, you made me chuckle heartily today. Hoo boy, you are full of the funnies today.

    Onto your survey.

    1.I’m currently taking down my tree, but you distracted me. Sometime on Christmas day, I get an overwhelming urge to GET THE FLIPPING TREE DOWN RIGHT NOW I HATE, HATE, HATE IT, but I usually wait until NYE for the sake of…well, I don’t know, it just seems wrong to take it down Christmas day. Which leads me to…

    4. (I’m skipping ahead because this seems like a good time to discuss putting away new possessions.) I can’t get the Christmas tree down between the 26th and the 30th b/c I’m too dern busy finding room for all this stuff.

    2. I have the post-something blues. Holiday, moving, feeling sorry for myself blues. Blah.

    3. No. I suck.

    Reply
  11. Mairzy

    1. January 6th, the “Twelfth Day of Christmas.” We hold an Undecorating Party to ease the shock for the kids. I’d be happy to get that tree down right NOW, but don’t want to risk the emotional scars for the kids.

    2. It helps that our church sings Christmas songs and celebrates the Christmas season until after New Year’s, so the letdown is easier. But I hate: the Monday after Christmas and the Monday after it’s All Over With.

    3. I can’t bring myself to buy Christmas stuff after Christmas. Then again, I hardly bother with elaborate wrapping. I’ve been known to sew simple cloth bags to avoid wrapping.

    4. I always hope to have the loot in circulation by the end of January. As in: whatever’s still in the living room and not being played with gets thrown away. But that’s just with three children. I envy you not the loot for five.

    Reply
  12. Eleanor Q.

    I find with the pringles that you think it will be less messy to eat them since they are in the can but then you enough that they become hard to reach but you think you can still get a few more before the tipping and shaking so you stick your hand in there a bunch of times and lo, its all greasy.

    Chanukah ended on Sunday and our dining room table is still full of stuff. I hope to have it put away by the weekend.

    I try to incorporate the new stuff as quickly as I can but I totally prioritize the absorbtion by how much I like the loot.

    Reply
  13. Elizabeth

    I think I’m going to try to get rid of the Christmas stuff today because it’s just getting on my nerves at this point. And they pick up the dead trees tomorrow and I don’t want it out on the curb mocking me (“You paid $45 dollars for me three weeks ago!”) for a week.
    I don’t really have the christmas blues but I would say I have the christmas annoyeds. I tried so hard to get into it this year despite the fact that it came from nowhere and it just didn’t work and now it’s gone and I never got there. Eh.
    Usually we try to incorporate as much stuff as we can the day after christmas.
    and I don’t buy discount christmas stuff because it just depresses me. And I have no where to keep it. I wish I could keep the christmas thing going long enough to want to buy sale christmas stuff but by December 26th I am just DONE.

    Reply
  14. Lippy

    Oh, so sorry to hear the barfing came to your house. Our couch periodically emits low grade vomit odor just to make me panic.

    1. I usually hate the tree on th 26th. We took our down on the 28th.

    2. I don’t get the blues, I get the “let’s throw everthing away, by shelves and organize for 20??”. Pregnancy turns it into “lets burn the crappy house down and start with new stuff that isn’t already dirty”

    3. I usually try to stock up on paper and whatnot. This year didn’t get much of a chance, but I did buy half price tins for cookie gifts next year, and a few tablecloths.

    4. See number 2. I threw out/donated a bunch of kitchen stuff to make room for the new mandolin slicer!!! The kids will be at grandma’s tonight so we will eliminate unused/forgotten toys to make the integration smoother.

    Reply
  15. the new girl

    Hi SWISTLE! I feel like I haven’t seen you for AGES.

    1. It varies. I, too, feel the tree is mocking me but I hesitate to lug all the shit out to put it away again.

    2. I think so. I don’t know. It’s hard to say but I DO feel kind of MEH.

    3. I always buy one or two very cool, expensive ornaments for half off for the next year. I have so many cool ornaments now, from doing that forever.

    4. There’s not too much to incorporate this time around. I was SNAPPING AWAY moments after I got my new CAMERA. Whoo hooo!

    Reply
  16. Clarabella

    1. Immediately, if I even put them up.
    2. No blues; I am usually just relieved as hell that the holidays are over.
    3. No post-holiday shopping, unless it’s for SHOOOOEEESSSS!
    4. I incorporate immediately, just adding to the pile.
    Wow, I sound kinda like a Grinch. I’m going over to Milk and Cookies now since I had a calendar crisis JUST THIS MORNING!
    (p.s. word notification is “matern”)

    Reply
  17. Erin

    THERE you are! I was missing you.

    We take our decorations down the morning of Dec. 26. I’M NOT KIDDING. My husband is neurotic about it, but it totally eliminates the post-holiday blues.

    No blues here.

    I love to buy 90% off lights, but rarely to they have any left of the kind I want. I always look, but rarely buy for that reason.

    Incorporation never really ends.

    Reply
  18. Firegirl

    1. My mother always said it was bad luck to take the tree down prior to New Year Day. I’ve bucked that trend and it was gone on Saturday. Mocking is the word I would use to describe a post holiday tree.

    2. Depends on the year if the blues make a visit. Usually it’s a meh feeling: a let down after a series of birthdays, anniversaries and such.

    3. I usually browse the holiday aisles and pick up *something*. I always buy Christmas cards on clearance.

    4. Our stuff usually gets immediately put to use. We’re a little OCD so they go the way of the Christmas decorations usually. With the exception of a bulletin board that Kevin HAD TO HAVE and now is taking residence in the mudroom. Bitter, me? No….

    I haven’t chosen my calendar yet this year! *gasp*! I must go shopping!!!

    Reply
  19. Mama Bub

    1. Normally January 1 but, um, they’re already down. We started with just a few things, and got carried away. It’s kind of a relief.

    2. Yes, still blues-y in fact. It starts as soon as we start lugging in the gifts from the car.

    3. Love the post holiday sale shopping. I will have to hold back this year though because we are OVERLOADED on the gift wrap. But, if they have the Hershey’s mint minis 90% off, then I will buy every last one.

    4. The new stuff is already incorporated. Some of Bub’s new toys are out. Some are on the shelf in the garage for slow incorporation (usually on a day when Mommy needs a new trick to keep from losing it.) Husband is VERY organized. I would still be eating candy directly from the stocking in February if it were up to me.

    Reply
  20. Rolling Off The Edge... Together

    1. When do you take down your holiday decorations? It is down and most everything is put away. We generally do it the day or two after but my husband and son went out of the country this year so I was alone with the baby. I had more time to do it leisurely this year but I finished it up last night b/c they are home today SOON!

    2. Do you get “post-holiday blues”? If so, how blue do they get, and how long do they last?
    I do not get post holiday blues. I used to but no longer. I just gave up on the whole consumerism of the holidays and just enjoy the time together ect. I used to hide out and eat a ton of found and sleep and read but I cannot do that any longer. Kids, they demand so much time!

    3. Do you buy holiday stuff on clearance for the next year?
    We hit Target the day after Xmas and it was 50% off and we got some great deals. I cannot fathom thinking about holiday shopping any more beyond that honestly!

    4. When do you incorporate all the new stuff into the household? It is incorporated. I generally do it quickly so I do not have to deal with it. But I only have two and one is a baby so I can tell her what to do and also see question #1 (son and father gone for a whole five days) No one could tell me NO but I am pretty much one of those annoying people who hates clutter and wants it done and gone as fast as possible. Anal like that… How annoying do I sound to you after this comment. DANG.

    Reply
  21. annenahm

    You are so living my life, I just got a prime directive from you to break out the Doritoes. Damn.

    On the other hand, “spirate” is my word verification. I will use it often to indicate I am a drunken pirate with a lisp.

    Reply
  22. Secret Mom Thoughts

    1. We took down the tree 2 days after Christmas to make room for all the stuff.

    2. I get the blues for a couple of days. It is hard for all the fun to end.

    3. I love bargains. I try to buy ornaments on sale.

    4. we still have stuff all around the house too. I find I have to retire some toys to the basement or at least rotate to make room.

    Reply
  23. Omaha Mama

    I’m glad you’re back – I was thinking how sad it would be if Swistle just suddenly stopped posting!

    The tree will come down the weekend after New Year’s, that’s usually what we do. So Saturday, I hope.

    No blues. Except that I’m a teacher and going back to getting up at 5:30 and going to work every day can be a bit of a shock after two weeks of jammies.

    I bought stuff at Kohl’s the other day at 75% off. I was determined to get a few generic trinkets (some nice plates for cookies, a few ornaments) for host/hostess gifts and teacher gifts for next year. I usually pay full price the year of, so am feeling all smug and smart right now. ;0)

    We still have a laundry basket and one suitcase to get unpacked. The stuff we got the kids were add-ons to toys that they already had, so that was easy. One toy from my parents for each of them and a video game from the other grandparents. So we didn’t have all that much to deal with this year, which is really nice…and not at all helpful to you.

    Reply
  24. Cherish

    Everytime I stopped by and saw your reeuuuuuwwww or whatever it was, I had a laugh. Also, the mole popping up thing had me spitting my tea..

    My stuff is all down this year because well, I feel about the same way as you so I get rid of it ASAP.

    I dont get the blues and I usually pick up a few christmassy things this time of year, if I see them.

    I usually get as far as putting everything into it’s appropriate room but it takes another month or so to really get it all put away.

    Reply
  25. Alice

    ha ha! a typo. heh. hee.

    1. WAY too late, when trees are dead and it’s like freaking mid january.

    2. not really… short attention span helps here.

    3. YES! and i haven’t yet! it’s making me nervous!

    4. um. this is a hard one. october’s a pretty legit guess, though.

    Reply
  26. Ilana

    I was at the Target the day after Christmas buying our tree for next year. (Our littles pulled the one we have now down so many times that half the lights don’t work. it’s really beautiful.) and all of our poinsettas are dead. but they’re still up. beauty is everywhere in our house. I’m with you on the stir crazy though, perhaps that’s why the dead plants are still on the mantel. They kind of symbolize how I feel. Mehhh. Everything is so sparkly before the big day and afterwards well… i don’t think i’m ready to let it go yet. or i’m just lazy. could go either way.

    Reply
  27. shygirl

    One of my New Year’s resolutions is to delurkify myself and post comments on my favorite blogs when called for! So here go my answers:

    1. It’s always been the tradition in my family to take down the Christmas decorations on New Year’s Day. Taking them down on any other day does feel sort of depressing and worn-out, but doing it as part of the New Year’s Day ritual gives me a nice fresh-start feeling, clearing out the old season and welcoming in the new one. I like it :)

    2. I do get the post-holiday blues, but in recent years I’ve learned to combat them by getting myself all psyched up for the New Year and all the new fabulous things I want to do/accomplish/experience (although I almost never accomplish most of what I fantasize about–the point is to daydream and brainstorm rather than be all pragmatic and serious). This strategy works well for me because the New Year isn’t just one day, so you can carry along your psyched-up-edness to buoy yourself through the post-holiday blues as long as you need it, or until ordinary daily life intrudes on you once again, with its inevitable barfing or whatever.

    3. I did this last year for the first time, feeling very pleased with myself about it. However, I was crushed to find myself in the holiday section of Target on December 15th, looking at all the supercute gift tags that were SO MUCH CUTER than anything I’d scored last year… sigh. Can’t win with this one.

    4. It takes a while for me to incorporate the new stuff. I have an “out of sight, out of mind” problem, so I can’t put away any new books until I’ve read them, etc. This often results in Christmas presents still sitting out in random places by, say, summer. However, the Christmas candy is always, ALWAYS incorporated (into my mouth) within 48 hours max.

    Reply
  28. MamaK

    Christmas decorations go up anytime between the day after Turkey day and Christmas eve, depending on our travel schedule. They come down after Epiphany (Jan 6). We do a little something on Epiphany, and are starting to do a little something for St Nick day (Dec 6) which kinda spreads out the whole holiday thing.

    No blues. Unless you count not having the storage space to buy up all those Christmas clearance deals.

    Which I buy only if I have a place to hide ’em for the year. This year- not so much. Tempting, though.

    Stuff gets incorporated anytime from Christmas to Valentines. Hubbys’ stuff sometimes gets put into a drawer until Easter-ish.

    Now, Swistle – a quick survey for you…

    1) Do you ever get tired of folks telling you how funny you/your blog is?? I imagine not, but maybe it’s wearing?

    2) Is there an official ‘swistle fan club’? It seems to me you could charge yearly dues and then send ONE mint brownie to each fan some random time during the year…

    3) If someone gets you socks, are they called “swistle-toe”? HoAre you tired of hearing bad puns/jokes?

    Reply
  29. beach mama

    1. I took the tree down yesterday.
    2. I was sad about that…but the toys EVERY.where. were out of control and I figured getting rid of the tree might alleviate that. It didn’t. But otherwise no blues.
    3. I am going to get out at some point when the Baby stops coughing. I want to get some outdoor decorations for next year. Cheap.
    4. As soon as I can.

    And my calendar is that ‘Mom’ calendar that has the names on the top and the days down the side. It’s my first year having it and I am not sure if I like it yet. I’ve used it for about 2 weeks so far. I usually get a NJ calendar with beautiful snapshots of places in NJ that make you realize that we really don’t live in a stinky dirty state…oh I forgot I am supposed to comment over on that other site…here I go.

    Reply
  30. Swistle

    Mama K-

    1. I do special strength-training exercises to build up my tolerance for it.

    2. Hee! I’m picturing squashing the brownie flat and squeezing it into an envelope.

    3. *groan*

    Reply
  31. Mimi

    1. The tree starts looking bad to me immediately after Christmas is over, so I usually take it down pretty quickly. This year my little one pulled it down on himself the day after xmas, so that’s when we got rid of it.

    2. Yeah, I get the blues. Winter just seems so long and BLAH after the holidays are over.

    3. I resist post-holiday clearance stuff mostly because I don’t live around any decent stores. If I did have a Target or something nearby, it would probably be a different story.

    4. I have a hard time incorporating all of the new stuff into our daily lives. Usually takes me a bit (even when I really like the stuff).

    Reply
  32. Beth A.

    1. Growing up, we put the tree up fairly late, so it was usually down by Epiphany (Jan. 6). This is actually our first Christmas at home, so that is my goal, but we’ll see if it actually happens. The tree is in an area we don’t use much and it’s fake, so it has the potential to linger.

    There was the year I was living with several slacker housemates where we got a real tree and put it up in a mostly unused room and then proceeded to keep forgetting to take it down. And then it was so dry we couldn’t face the thought of taking it down the stairs when every single needle was going to drop on the way down. So my brother finally suggested we push it out the window, which we did (it was, um, March at that point). It turned out to be a lot more fun than if we had been timely and responsible.

    2. I used to, particularly when I was in school and started to get bored in the second week of vacation. Since I got married, we usually have more than one Christmas, so the Christmas season is extended to the point that I’m a bit glad for it to be over by the end. I guess that was part of the point of doing 12 days of Christmas.

    3. I always mean to, but rarely get around to doing it except for calendars. I use them right away, so I have a much bigger motivation there.

    4. Well, my daughter does an excellent job of distributing her new toys around the house, so the get incorporated naturally in the process of cleaning up. Books often get shoved in a pile onto a bookcase right away to await being read – I won’t comment on how long it takes for them to actually be put in their proper place on the bookcase. Other items probably linger for a week or so until I get sick of them.

    Reply
  33. Michelle

    1) I will be removing them on Friday or Saturday.

    2) No, luckily. I just like to try to take my time after the holidays… and there’s still football!

    3) Absolutely! And if you don’t need that purple glitter wrapping paper…. ;) I got great Christmas serving dishes last year. Nothing yet this year.

    4) It’s incorporated slowly over time. We’re working on it. The candy though? I still have some from last year.

    Reply
  34. Susan

    I LOVE surveys! (Swistle Surveys, that is, not telephone political surveys!)

    1. I take down decorations as soon as possible after Christmas. They seem kind of SAD to me once Christmas is over. However, I do leave up some wintery things (holly wreath, anything snowman-themed) until spring.

    2. Yeah, I think I DO have post-holiday blues. They aren’t specific — that is, I don’t think “I’m so SAD now that Christmas is over.” I just feel WAN for a few days. It’s the same after my dear cousin has been here on a visit from MN and then goes home again.

    3. Yes, I LOVE post-holiday clearance sales!

    4. Incorporating stuff goes right along with putting away decorations. However, there IS a goodie bag with stocking things sitting in my closet as I type!

    Reply
  35. Melissa

    Tree? I stopped getting a tree when I got a cat (no kids here) and he loved to destroy everything while I was out of the apartment.

    Now that he is old and I have a BRAND NEW BOOKCASE from my late November birthday he is happy displacing cards (havent filled it with books yet).

    Blues? I get PRE Christmas blues. I am happy when it is over. And it will be over as of tonight at approximately 9pm (hopefully) when the last and most unwanted guest departs. Not sure who drives me more nuts, her or her hyper-active fetal alcohol syndrome son. Or the fact that she still has custody of said son.

    Reply
  36. thefrontroom

    When do you take down your holiday decorations?
    I took it down Saturday, but it depends on time etc.

    2. Do you get “post-holiday blues”? I do get them, they are at least indigo and they start about noon on Christmas, and last at least a week, sometimes more. Just not much to look forward to in Jan.

    3. Do you buy holiday stuff on clearance for the next year? I try not to, but I usually do. I often misplace the things I buy on sale.

    4. When do you incorporate all the new stuff into the household?
    We pile it all under the tree until we take the tree down. Easy access for using new stuff, and I find most of it gets used and put away kind of organically by the time the tree comes down.

    Reply

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