You Ruined Christmas!

SS and I recently made the mistake of telling our family that we would not be putting up a Christmas tree this year. Before you gasp in horror, let me just say that we're not opposed to Christmas trees or anything. When the Keeper and kiddos lived with us, we had trees all over the place. And we enjoyed putting them up. But this year, we made the decision not to do so because we now spend the holidays elsewhere. We have a cat and very curious dogs, so we don't put gifts under the tree anyway. And neither SS nor I feel particularly motivated to spend hours decorating a tree that we won't use, don't have time to fuss with, and will then have to spend the next month guarding from the dogs and cat.

But when we made the statement that we were opting out of a Christmas tree this year, you would have thought we announced the end of the world. Everyone had something to say, and most of the comments sent our way were less than supportive.

We were labeled Grinches.

We were ruining the spirit of the holiday.

We needed a tree to celebrate.

And so on and so forth until I wanted to flip everyone the bird.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is our house, right?

I mean, unless I've just been living in a fantasy world, I'm pretty sure the house is full of our things. I'm also pretty sure we moved those things into said house on our own. We pay the bills. We do the cleaning, maintenance, repairs and all that fun stuff. And I'm also pretty sure we live here alone.
 

So, I don't feel bad for not putting up a tree. I do, however, feel more than a little irritated that so many thought it necessary to try to guilt us into doing so. I mean, people who have never stepped foot inside our house suddenly decided they had a say as to how we decorated or celebrated the holidays!

What the heck?

Has the world lost its dang mind?

Has a Christmas tree really become such an important factor that the holiday season will be ruined if we don't have a tree that, more than likely, these people would never see anyway? Is a tree really that big of a deal?

It is?

Oh, well then. Forgive me for thinking the holiday season was about something far more important than the presence of a fake tree. All these years, I've thought it was about family and love. I thought the season was about faith, whatever your faith might be, and celebrating the amazing gifts we've been given. I thought it was about creating new memories and cherishing those we've already made. I thought it was a time for hope and happiness and a celebration of the generous spirit of giving. A time of rebirth, rejuvenation, and compassion.

Gosh, how wrong I've been all these years! 

To think I wasted all these years spreading love and cheer and good will to friends, family, and those less fortunate during the holiday season. Had I known that all I needed to do was put up a tree, my life would have been so much fuller.

Oh, wait. No! I really don't think it would have been.

I actually think my life, and that of my husband, has been pretty dang great even though we don't usually spend hours putting up lights or a ton of decorations this time of year. I think we've made some fantastic memories by instead spending that time doing things for others… like shopping for a less fortunate child, adopting an elderly person, sending cards to soldiers, cooking for the homeless, volunteering to work so others could enjoy a day with their families, snuggling up to watch silly movies together, spending time with friends and family, or searching out the perfect gifts to put a smile on the faces of the special kids in our lives.

And I think this year will be just as fabulous, even if we don't put up that tree. Because a tree just isn't that damn important in the grand scheme of things. Really, it isn't.

The world will continue to spin.

The Universe isn't going to implode if it happens to peek into our home and see a treeless living room.

God, whichever God one might believe in, isn't going to decide we're crappy humans because we didn't bow to a tradition of some else's choosing.

Santa isn't going to turn his sleigh around and race off to the North Pole in tears because there wasn't a tree.

In short… nothing bad will happen if we don't have a tree! So stop being jerks, folks. Your holiday won't be ruined by our lack of a tree. And neither will ours. I promise.

xoxo,

Ayden

 *And before anyone flames me for saying holidays more often than Christmas in this post, I'd just like to remind everyone that this season does, indeed, contain multiple holidays from many different cultures, all of which I hope you and your family enjoy equally. :)

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