July 26, 2024

BY KEILA MACPHERSON

Christmas has passed and the joy and giddiness that accompanies the holiday usually gets packed away with the sparkly decorations.

However, there are some who like to feel the magic of Christmas all year long.

We all know people in our neighbourhood, or in our parents’ neighbourhood, who leave their decorations, or at least their Christmas lights, up year-round.

It makes me wonder, do they really love Christmas that much, or can they not be bothered to take them down and put them back up in a year?

I mean, really, it’s not as if you have to take them down and put them back up every week.

Then I got thinking about my own neighbourhood and the year-round Christmas house on my street … maybe they just want to keep their house looking pretty, but I somehow doubt that’s the reason.

My neighbourhood doesn’t look trashy or terrible, but those neighbours … they aren’t the classiest of folk.

I could understand if everyone on the same street had the same zest and enthusiasm for the holiday. Maybe we would all want to keep the decorations up all year (then that would make us all a little crazy, but it might be charming). However, that isn’t the case so it looks tacky when there are a few houses with Christmas wreaths still hanging on their doors and fake pine garland wrapped around their porches in the middle of May.

Can you imagine Christmas every day, 365 days a year!?

All the overeating, presents every morning and don’t forget the children (siblings, sons or daughters or if you are the child on Christmas) screaming with excitement … How could I possibly resist that?

Personally, the joy I find
in Christmas decorations is short-lived, but appropriate (I’m no Scrooge).

I enjoy them when they first come out; the glitter, the sparkling LED lights outlining houses in the dark and the cool tones. Also, I’m a Christmastime baby so I enjoy having the Christmas tree up for my birthday, which is just a few days after; however, decorations shouldn’t be kept up after the first week of January.

Once the kids go back to school, please, take down your decorations.