Its February – Time To Take Down Holiday Decorations

For those of us who decorate with the seasons, Christmas is an especially delightful time of year. I pull out the old prints that denote winter or holiday celebrations, the charming plates with inspirational verses, candles and figurines that are appropriate. We still put up a real pine tree (just love the smell) and that has been long-gone. But it is hard for me to take all of the decorations down and even though I am longing for spring, I hold on a bit longer. But this is the weekend that things will change.

I have a gorgeous reverse-painted picture. The scene is of a church in the snow and the caption is “Christmas Eve.” I am not overly religious, but it has always made me smile and remember the church I attended when growing up and how simple it was compared to some of the large structures today. That will be replaced with a print with a spring scene with girls in a garden. It will make me happy because we still have lots of the white stuff around.

I also display the little snowmen that my husband got as a child. I put them under a dome in the bathroom with a ‘bobbing head”’ deer figurine on either. These came from my family, have Made in Germany stamped on their bottoms and are so darn cute. Those can stay for another few weeks, until we start to view robins in the backyard.

One of my favorite Christmas displays is a winter scene with a mirror for a skating pond in the center. The metal skaters and folks on sleds are also from my hubby and were set up around his train set (which we hope to get running one of these years.) My youngest granddaughter always asks “which one is my mom?” And I always respond with “the one doing the spin because your mom was always so graceful.” Now this is a bald-faced lie. Her mom spend most of her time in the warming cabin, rubbing her feet and drinking hot cocoa. But she does not need to learn the reality until mom wants to tell her.

We have a few small billboard signs around, these came from the scenes around the old train set as well. We also have a red, plastic outhouse. Funny, none of the kids ever ask what that is, probably assuming it is a little storage shed.

I have a few Thomas Kincade plates as well. They have winter scenes and a Christmas tree. I understand that you can leave these out all year but I have some Buzza mottos and verses that I prefer in spring since they are quite cheerful.

So, I guess it is time to get out the boxes, newspaper and prepare for the major transition. I smile as I put them away and recall doing this with my mom. We’d do it in February too, often leaving the tree up almost that long. My dear brother’s birthday was February 12^th, and we’d have a family party. Mom would leave the decorations up since she felt it was fitting. I wish she were here to give me a hand after all the years I assisted her. But the memories never die. Enjoy all of your holiday collectibles for as long as you can. But you’d better start shopping for the items that show that spring is on its way. Antique stores are famous for their floral pictures, garden items and bird books and figures. These will cheer you up after the doldrums of winter.