One way to save time and effort…
Don’t put up a Christmas tree.
There are plenty of alternatives to the full-size Christmas tree laden with decorations.
- a single bough
- use a tree in the yard and festoon lightly with tinsel
- a miniature tree
- no tree at all?
I heard a woman call in to a radio station. She was boasting that she had bought 5 artificial trees, along with 5 sets of themed decorations, some years ago. Each year she assembles and decorates a tree, then simply throws the whole lot out after Christmas. Am I the only one who thinks this is slightly mad?
PS: All the shortcuts are merely suggestions for the overwhelmed, an invitation to look at traditions a little differently. Some may work for you, and some may not.
I agree about throwing it all away. I certainly don’t have the budget for that.
The year we had a pet dog and a 1 year old child we didn’t have a tree. I couldn’t handle the stress of keeping them both away from it. We hung a tension rod in the front window and strung our favorite decorations from ribbon on that instead. It was very pretty and sometimes we still do it.
What a great idea Jen! Thanks for sharing that tip.