Christmas Quandary

I have a question about Christmas decorations (or Chanukah, or Kwanza, or whatever you celebrate).

Are you imagining my house during the holidays? Lots of pretty shiny lights? Duh. But just so you know, I prefer tiny white lights, not the rainbow colors, and especially not the tiny blue lights. I don’t like them because they remind me of mint – and I can’t stand mint.

Anyway, I feel overwhelmed with all that has happened over the past year – in fact, I would classify 2011 as tsunami-grade chaos. Not good for ADHD types. So in an effort to avoid any additional stress, I decided that this year our family would have a tree-free, decoration-free Christmas. I explained to both my son and my husband that I’m not lacking holiday spirit, but rather I am seeking a little peace to end the year. All seemed fine.

Let me clarify one other thing: I say “I decided” because during the season, I am solely responsible for conjuring up the holiday “spirit.” Seriously. I am a one-woman decoration shop.

I told several people about this – and I was really surprised at the reactions. Some people actually said that it wasn’t fair to my son – what would his friends say? No Christmas tree? (the horror!) What kind of mom doesn’t have a tree? And others were the opposite – well good for you! Christmas is so commercialized – I agree you should boycott! (Sheesh, I didn’t say we weren’t going to have a Christmas – chillax people!)

Honestly, I hold neither of those views. I just want some quiet, not-so-shiny time. But, I am curious about what you guys think. Either side – dish it out. And I’d love to know how you would tell your kid(s) that this year would be different – a little less shiny, if you had made the same choice.

That is all.