I confess!

I’m not a decorator.

I don’t enjoy decorating.

Case in point: I had to set up a tree in my office at work, and this stressed me out much more than the Quickbooks confusion over a mysterious credit memo or that irate customer claiming we sent the wrong products.

That dang Christmas tree had me in cold sweats.

And that is why, in our house, the only attempt at a “Christmas tree” that we have undertaken is . . . well . . . mebbe 2 feet tall?

Here’s my husband with the box . . .

. . . pulling it out of the box . . .

. . . and thar she blows.

Nestled in a corner next to the radiator, poor thing. And with only two ornaments on top–matching silver and gold stars that shed glitter wherever they may go.

I realize that if we have children, we’ll have to obtain a Christmas tree and actually put up garlands or something, because I remember how magical it was to see the house transformed when I was a tot. And a teenager. And heck, it’s kind of magical even now. So I want to provide that same experience for any progeny we may have. Yes, the future does hold more seasonal decorating for this resistant girl, but you know–let’s not think about that right now, because my heart is starting to palpitate strangely fast.

You think I’m joking about those heart palpitations, but I can assure you I’m not.

However, all that said, I am proud to share that this year we strung twinkle lights around the window. My dear husband did the hard work of getting them down from the closet . . .

(actually getting the stuff out is 99% of the battle for me) . . . and believe it or not, I actually had fun putting them up!

Maybe because I got to balance on the window sill and feel like an acrobat, push tacks into the wall and feel like a hooligan.

And I do love lying on the couch and gazing at the lights while Christmas music plays in the background . . . I guess it was worth those 40 minutes of effort.

Right . . . “effort.” Maybe it was actually 10 minutes of effort and 30 minutes of figuring out how to place all the decorations on my own self.

So maybe my whole “I don’t like decorating” thing is just a mental block. Maybe it’s just for lack of actually doing it and tackling the beast. Maybe it’s the idea of decorating that stresses me out, but if I can just get into execution mode, I’ll find there’s an inner decorator waiting to spring forth.

This is probably the most decorated our house has ever been. Maybe next year I’ll go a teensy step further and hang a wreath somewhere.

But let’s not get too crazy!

Do you like to decorate? Does it stress you out or invigorate you? If you’re in the former category, do you have a tried-and-true method for overcoming the stress?