Obsessing About Early Christmas Decorating

My Christmas decorating obsession has kept me busy until a few days ago. Then, Christmas, birthday, and our anniversary came along. I usually have plenty of help from my husband, but for the last 2 and a half years, he has been ill. In fact, he’s been so ill, 2 years ago, we cut corners on our decorations... and last year, we didn’t have any. Since he’s better, we wanted it to be different this year!

I’ll admit it ... I’m obsessed with Christmas! It’s my favorite holiday because it brings back memories of childhood and traditions with my parents, brothers, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, and our family when they were children. We don’t have Christmas like that anymore, so I put my all into decorating.

The timing

I like to start decorations early. If it doesn’t interfere with Thanksgiving or fall, I start putting up Christmas decorations around the end of October, before the weather turns cold. As a rule, heat doesn’t bother me as much as the cold does. I cannot tolerate the cold, so anything that has to be done outside, I try to plan it for when I don’t have to suffer as much by being outside.

Well ... my husband is a stickler for not downplaying Thanksgiving, to which, I agree. However, we have different viewpoints on how we can put the Christmas decorations up without drawing the eye away from the Thanksgiving decorations and holiday.

I want to start the outdoor areas early, but not light them up. I’m even ok with setting them up, getting them ready, and leaving them in the backyard until the day after Thanksgiving. Hubby wants nothing done until the day after.

Finding a balance with MG

Here’s where myasthenia gravis creates problems for me. We put up a lot. We’re both older than dirt, and we both have health issues that slow us down. That means we have to rest a lot. It takes us over a week or 2 to get the outside done. Then there’s the inside. I get so tired, start having breathing issues, and am in severe pain trying to do everything all at once!

If you have these same issues, do you consider reducing what you put out? Can you no longer handle the physical labor involved and don’t do anything? If you still want the decorations, consider doing what you can early in the fall. It doesn’t have to be on display until later but do what you can, early, and while it isn’t as cold.

Plan wisely

This year, I lost the "do it early battle," but I think I’ve finally convinced hubby we can get a lot done early. We can decorate early and still have Thanksgiving front and center.

However, it took pushing himself to his limit (but yet not finishing until about 3 days before Christmas) and our youngest son doing lights on the house to change his mind! I think he’ll help me plan what we will work on early next year.

If you love decorations as much as I do, go for it! Just plan your time and energy wisely. Don’t try to do so much in a short amount of time like we did. Do your decorating in installments and rest in-between. The same goes for inside.

If you have spaces that are not decorated in the fall, and Christmas won’t stick out like a sore thumb, set it up. Finish early, and enjoy the holidays without the myasthenia symptoms!