First, Find a Place to Escape from the World
Ever dream of escaping the hustle and bustle of the holiday season? As much as most of us love this time of year, many times the busyness and commercialism of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays find a way of catching up to us and making us want to get away from it all. All of the shopping, all of the gifts, all of the family… ALL OF THE FAMILY – WHEW! We all love them, but sometimes we all get together and it’s just too much of each other at once.
Sometimes this time of year I just want to be selfish and head to the hills, in the middle of nowhere, away from the rest of the world. Just myself, my wife, and my two children. I want to cut ourselves off from everyone and everything, and not have to worry about anything but us, and simply reflect on the family God has blessed me with and be content with what I already have. But then, how do I make it feel like Christmas at my home away from home so that my kids don’t miss being at our actual home?
Of Course We Start with Decorating a Tree
I cannot think of many things from my childhood more exciting than, no sooner than the kitchen had been cleaned from Thanksgiving dinner, my mom and dad going up into the attic and bringing down the old artificial Christmas tree. Some years we had a real tree, but when I got most excited is when we had to lay out the branches of the old artificial one in color coded piles, and then put each branch into the tree post one by one, eventually getting all of the branches in place, then stepping back and realizing we had just produced a beautiful Christmas tree. Next came the lights and so on, and then it was just a matter of counting the days until Christmas came.
With that said, the first thing I need at the cabin, where we plan on escaping from reality, will be a Christmas tree. But not just any Christmas tree. My kids aren’t actually kids anymore. My daughter is now 17, and my 21 year old son will be coming home from college to celebrate Christmas with us. Therefore, my wife and I decided to decorate our tree in a more grown up theme. All white lights and the ornaments are rustic to fit the style of the décor.
Garland Decorated Staircase Banister
We can’t only have just have a tree and expect it to feel like a merry holiday experience. Yes, around the tree is where we’ll be celebrating Christmas morning to open our gifts, but we need to make other areas of the cabin look Christmasy so that the entire place reminds us of the time of year it is. What better way to do that than to trim the staircase with lighted garland with Christmas ornaments within. I found the perfect pre-lit and pre-decorated garland at Costco. Here is how it now looks at the cabin…
For a Tacky Touch, I’ve Decorated the Ceiling Fan
I own a ceiling fan store, both in my local area, and online at www.modernfanoutlet.com. Therefore, I have to do something a little crazy to one of my ceiling fans at the cabin. If not, I’m turning my back on the very thing that affords me to own the cabin that I plan on escaping to this coming Christmas holiday.
Back in the 1990’s, Gulf Coast Fans came out with Christmas decorations made specifically for ceiling fans. The ornaments used magnets to attach themselves to the fans. The style of the ceiling fan holiday décor ranged from garland and miniature gift boxes, to golden bells that jingled. My personal favorite was a candy cane wrap for the fan’s downrod, and little elves in green tights that sit looking down into the room from above the blades.
I have decorated my cabin’s double ceiling fan much more subtle than those holiday decorations. I simply added a few glass balls hanging from the rustic antler lighting fixture, but it’s just enough to let everyone know the season. Either that, or it looks like someone with bad taste lives here.
Got to Build a Fire
Next, to set the mood for the days when we are there, I’m going to have to be sure we have plenty of firewood. Nothing like a good old fashioned rustic Christmas vacation than a fire burning in the wood stove. As the song goes, “The weather outside is frightful, but the fire inside is delightful…”
Last Thing We Need for the Perfect Christmas Vacation
Now that my wife and I have finished decorating the cabin so that when we get there the mood is already set, the last thing we need is a little help with the weather. It needs to be cold, and we need it to SNOW! That will make it a postcard moment. We will keep our fingers crossed in hopes that the good man upstairs has that in store for us this year. If so, it just may be the most picture perfect Christmas ever!
That said, if we get the snow my son and I may have to separate momentarily from, my wife and daughter. They can stay back and watch movies on Netflix while keeping warm by the fire if they want. As for my son and I, well, we are taking our snowboards and hitting the slopes. A little adventure never hurts anyone.
