Hubby is not a holiday kind of guy. He is always stalling to put up the tree and grumbles as I attempt to “decorate” the house for Christmas . He liked the baking, but tried very hard to squeeze all of Christmas into a tidy week.

Now, I prefer a lingering holiday. I love the anticipation so much more than the actual day; the wrapping, the searching, the baking, the eating! It is a month of happy feelings and gorging on chocolate!

(Let’s just say one more thing on this as well. I used to think I was an okay decorator until Pinterest came online and shattered my confidence.  My pathetic attempts at hanging a wreath on the door or stringing a garland along the mantel were embarrassing by pinterest standards.)

So this year, what a surprise when hubby suggested we grab our tree early.

Like 2 weeks early.

Unheard of. Very strange behavior.

And then, only a few short days into December he was out putting up lights in the yard.

And then he got out a box of household decorations.

AND PUT THEM OUT!

I hardly had time to change into my red sweater before he and the kids were decorating the tree and cracking open the eggnog.

And it was December 6th.
Normally we are edging in on the 3rd week of the months before my begging and pleading produces a tree.

Feeling a little concerned I pointed out these changes in behavior.
– The decorating
– The happy, cheerful holiday spirit
– The playing of Christmas music (not JUST in the car, but in the house as well)

And you know what he said?  He said he was happier here. He said that it was easier to enjoy all these parts of Christmas without the traffic and the malls and the chaos normally associate with it.

And he is right.

We picked our tree up from a farm stand at the side of the road. Our holiday shopping was done locally (no malls here folks) and the stress and expectations and ability to grab that “one last thing” is no longer.

I settled into the comfy chair that night and watched them decorate the tree. I sipped my eggnog and felt relaxed and calm and happy.   Such a small thing really that has created such an amazing change in our family.  Such a small thing.