According to my boyfriend, there are two parts of the year: the half where you’re basking in the glow of the Christmas that just happened, and the other half where you’re getting all excited for the Christmas that is coming up next. This is what it’s like for him:

Before you start calling me Scrooge, I want to point out that I love Christmas, too. My whole year doesn’t exactly revolve around it, but I think that it’s a wonderful time. It can also be stressful (especially financially) and busy, but I still get excited for all the decorations and the music and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

This year, we have a place to decorate together, but I’m still hesitant to go all out. Neither of us will be here for Christmas Day, so what’s the point of getting a real tree? We aren’t having a holiday party, either. I’ve done a few things to bring some holiday cheer into our apartment, but I’m saving all the good stuff for years to come. Here’s a glimpse of our festive decor.

I made these pipe cleaner and bead snowflakes with the kids at work. I think they are awesome. I was probably more excited about them than the kids were.

Alex‘s mom gave him these a year or so ago. He made them for his grandparents when he was a little one:

Adorable.

I’ve been doing the brown paper wrapping for a few years now. Painstakingly hand-printing the Desdemona font from Word, however, is a new addition. I thought it might add something. We’ll see how I feel about it next year.

And last, but not least, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

Our mini (fake) tree! I received the ribbon at the top in a package from my mother (wrapped around a chocolate chip cookie birthday cake) and the garlands are tiny gold bells on gold wrapped wire. I found them at Michael’s for $1.99 a strand on sale. I got two, and bam! A beautifully decorated tree. The little red “berries” and the gold pot are part of the original tree package.

And that’s it! I haven’t found the little crocheted Lillian Vernon snowflakes that Alex‘s mom gave me two years ago, but when I do, they will be hanging in all of our windows.

I hope to be able to update before Christmas. If I don’t get a chance to do so, you can also find snippets from me at Twitter and Tumblr.

As I sit here, wishing it was a snow day for me, I wish you the happiest of holidays… whichever of them you celebrate