I like to put up the decorations slowly over a few days & also to take them down on my own time, slowly, intentionally packing them away so I know where they are next year. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the festive packing up, so a little at a time makes it manageable because it has none of the excitement of putting it up.
I try to keep to the tradition to have it all down by
Twelfth Night. It links back to the rhyme of the
12 days of Christmas my true love gave to me and the
hidden Biblical meaning behind the rhyme.
I count the 12 days starting from Christmas day to the night of the 5th of January....
Today it was the living room that was packed up.
The large Christmas tree with its white, rose & old gold ornaments (gold, silver & pink by any other name) were returned to their large container.
The lights are wrapped around a cardboard sleeve (from an online shop), interspersed with bubble wrap & placed in a container with the large fireplace garland - lights still wrapped on it.
I try not to focus on the change of space without the tree occupying the whole corner, but to embrace the space where I can read in the chair by the radiator.
The conservatory was next, time to light the candle, make some gifted Christmas coffee with a mince pie or piece of stollen.
I love marzipan so opted for the stollen as a packing up treat.
The heart shapes were removed from the window blinds & the doors of the sideboard , the windows of the dining room & stored with those from the dining room etc.
I like to keep like with like. The festive wares are packed up in a particular order, then they are returned to the tall cupboards in the kitchen.
The deer were next from the dining room clock & sideboard - 7 from there & 2 from the conservatory; all safely stored together in a container for another year.
The dining room sideboard had the collection of 3 on the left, then one with animals on its back on the right.
I do love their presence & the woodland connection.
The little tree with the hand beaded ornaments were packed up gently.
They have been a joy to pass several times a day, an eclectic collection that reminds me of my heritage.
They have their own small tins that they are stored in.
The wooden German decorations (bought in Munich some years ago) are stored in 2 little bags I made, again in their own little tin.
Ms M & I bought them on a tour of several Christmas markets in Germany & Austria & I like the nod to the Prussian / German heritage of that great grandfather.
He would have had similar decorations growing up which reminds me of the complex heritage I have.
They were draped over great grandparents photo on the wall ...
The conservatory sideboard has once again been well used with the various festive wares - they were returned to the high kitchen cupboard where I do use some of them from time to time.
I have left the pretty festive Ralph Lauren tablecloth in the conservatory - the calming reds are not strictly festive so they can stay longer. It replaced the tartan one midway after use.
What to put on the sideboard? After the busy festive patterns, I seem to gravitate towards cream / Parian ware with a solitary vintage green plate holding centre court.
I put up some pink patterns then my eyes fell on my ruby / cranberry glass in the kitchen. They are enough colour & still ties in with the table cloth so they came out. I do love their colour & shapes - all vintage, Ms M & I collected some together in Dorset from the market stalls & a charity shop. They remind me that random ones can happily sit together.
The family are not Christmas / fruit cake fans so our bought cake was uncut until today.
The glass cake stand was one of Olive's and the cover is a salad bowl that fits exactly on the cake stand. 2 unconnected things that go well together in a practical sense.
It is a wonderfully dense fruit cake that needs cake forks which I duly retrieved from the drawer.
I have a selection of new red cake forks & spoons that we use often. They are stored in a drawer in the conservatory.
I also have a collection of 6 forks & little knives from Olive.
Their fork tines are much closer together - she used to call them tea knife & forks & we use them for scones from time to time. They have pretty detail to their collar & are very dainty.
The modern & vintage ones compliment each other quite happily, probably a half century apart in age but in the same colours.
I think it is so important to use & enjoy the things you have. I handwash these because of the handles but it takes no time to do.
The Wedgwood cream Parian ware bowl with lion head handles was planted up with pink cyclamen flowers some weeks before Christmas.
It is perfect bowl shape goes well with the two matching bowls with their pink border next to it.
The planter has pink & white hyacinths around the edge but they have not yet flowered so I just enjoy it as it is.
I have learnt that hyacinths flower when they like & I seldom get them to flower at Christmas. However, the brighter colour is a good transition from festive to winter plants.
I think it is done for now, I know I will tinker with it but I do enjoy the change & I like to see other things out too.
Moving things to their places brings a sense of calm & order to spaces.
It is a ritual to take everything in the house down by Twelfth Night, a calming signal that the festive season has come to an end & normal life will resume with work & routine again.
The last thing to come down is always from the front door.
On Twelfth Night, I take down the front door wreath / garland. It is stripped of the adornments, ribbons etc then it is hung on the garden shed for a few more weeks.
For me, this signals that the house reverts to its winter state.
We always have a fresh door wreath & I love seeing it in the garden & how the birds flit in & out of it, helping themselves to the moss etc.
I do not like to hurry through this period - I like a reset without abandoning this time of the calendar.
Wintering touches stay - woodland scents of herbs like bay & rosemary, citrus, pine & eucalyptus remain. We still have fluffy throws on chairs to curl up in while we read or relax with a warming tea or hot chocolate - slow living when time allows, as winter should be a time to slow down, hibernate even when possible. It is a slower time dictated by nature & the weather.
I keep the twinkling lights on the kitchen windowsills which light up the glass candle holders - a reminder to enjoy the home I have. The windows face the garden & I love watching the changes happening outside the window & how the low light hits differently on the plants, sometimes making them glow.
How do you do the change from the festive season after Christmas? Do you just let winter be winter & enjoy it without trying to hurry it by?
Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated.
Dee 🌲💐
