we need a little christmas.

"For we need a little music, need a little laughter

Need a little singing, ringing thru the rafter

And we need a little snappy "Happy Ever After"

We need a little Christmas now...."

Today is November 18th. I have two trees up, twinkle lights on my mantle, and a wall applique that says "Merry Christmas" over my fireplace. I am designing invitations for two Christmas parties, and planning what to wear to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in December. My basset hound's jingle bell collar is being washed, and I have plans with my mother for "gift bow tying" lessons over Thanksgiving. I have been compared to Buddy the Elf, and my sister-in-law is planning an intervention (love you Sandra! haha!)

For some of you, this may seem a bit too early and excessive... but for the rest of us....

We need a little Christmas NOW.

Let me explain.

As a recent college graduate and having just passed our one year wedding anniversary, I don't think it would be a stretch to say this has been quite a crazy year. Trying to find a full-time interior design job has been difficult (thank you, HGTV, for teaching the general public that they do not need people like me... boooo) and jobsearching in general carries quite a few ups and downs. And of course, anyone who is married knows that the first year is full of craziness... from the realization that many cliches are true (such as who has control over the tv) to learning the quirks that are a bit more husband-specific, such as my sweet husband's ability to somehow not close cabinets and drawers (it's baffling! love you, Nathan!)

But despite whatever craziness has passed, and regardless of what is to come in the future... that first round of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" makes me want to do just that! So I haul out the holly (literally- I have garland EVERYWHERE!) and have at length conversations with my husband about what theme my extra tree should be (incidentally, we decided on a Santa theme). And somewhere in the middle of all my holly-hauling and hall-decking, I find myself having the best time trying to re-create the traditions my family set forth while attempting to create new ones for Nathan and I! Actually, I think I'm trying to get one too many traditions going- baking cookies together, collecting a new Snow Village building every year, exchanging ornaments every year, adding snowglobes to our collection on the coffee table, going to look at Christmas lights together... etc, etc, etc.

But if that's excessive, it's because some of the best times from my childhood involve much of the same... For example, cookie decorating. For years, my sisters and I would gather together and make quite a night (and quite a MESS, ha!) out of the decorating cookies. We would each have our own lump of cookie dough that we would roll out and use cookie cutters ranging from the generic gingerbread man who could never make it to the cookie pan with all appendages attached to the green Kermit the Frog cookie cutter, that I could never quite figure out how he got mixed in (seriously). As we got older, the tradition didn't stop, the cookies just became more elaborate, as did the techniques to decorate them (i.e. using a sandwich bag full of icing with the corner cut off to create a "finer" tip!) Basically, we make some GOOD cookies.

And of course, who can really go thru a Christmas season WITHOUT going to check out the Christmas lights? Every year, for as long as I can remember, the whole family would pile in the car to check out the local lightshows, where at least once my dad would be forced to mute the radio since all three of his daughters (and usually his wife) seem to believe we can sing just like Mariah Carey in "All I Want for Christmas is You." But perhaps my favorite part of the evening always came when we would eventually pass a dark, unlit house, where my dad would point out that the owner was probably Jewish, and we would laugh as though we didn't make that joke every year...

Which I guess, is really the moral of my blog today. Christmas is all about the memories and the traditions that make life great. It's about remembering times with my amazing family and friends, and starting new tradition to look forward to next year. So yes, I may be an overdecorated, overexcited, hall-decking Buddy the Elf Griswald, but I think that the world would be a better place if we all had a little Christmas now. The earlier, the better :)

well deck my halls.

No really. It's November, which as any self respecting Christmasaholic knows means it's OFFICIALLY time to start decking those halls! (On another note, I feel as though there should be some way to hint at "Hall" being my last name whenever I say "Deck the Halls." However, I haven't found anything clever; rather it sounds as though we would appreciate a good punch in the face. So, for the time being, don't try to come up with anything "punny" about Decking the Halls. We wouldn't appreciate it.)

Now as most Christmasaholics do, I have special "hiding" places for all my Christmas decor where they hibernate for most of the year. I regain an entire closet in our guest bedroom when my decorations go up, as well as all of the shelf space in our "nook". But again, as most Christmasholics will tell you... the best day of the year is when the holy grail of Christmasification goes up... the CHRISTMAS TREE!

But again, there is more to the Christmas tree than meets the eye... and that is where our blog begins today.

Now, for me there is no question. The main tree SHOULD and WILL ALWAYS be a live tree. Preferably a big fatty tree that does not really belong in the 1100 sq ft apartment in which you currently reside... but I digress. I guess the tree for me may or may not be the tree for you, so I'm offering a few acceptable examples, brought to you by the fabulous people of Treetopia!

In honor of Election Day, I bring you this special treat...

And for those who like a splash of color...

And finally, for those who prefer a dash of whimsy...

If anyone puts one of these trees up, I'll need a picture IMMEDIATELY :)

Now I hope that the "treepicker" in your home is a little bit more reasonable than myself. If you're tree picking with me, I'll have you pick up and twirl EVERY tree in the lot until we find the fattest, most ridiculous and most "guaranteed not to fit in the corner space you left for it" type tree there and then proceed to rearrange the living room to make it work. Keep in mind- 1100 sq/ft doesn't leave alot of space for this sort of behavior, but I have a sweet husband who deals with it on a daily basis. (Unfortunately, I was an interior design major in college. We are constantly rearranging and redoing. Can't help it.)

Assuming your tree has been picked and your placement has been blessed by those in charge of Christmas celebrations (aka the wife or whoever will actually be responsible for decorating said tree and vacuuming the needles from the carpet and keeping the dog from drinking the tree water, etc etc etc), you are ready for your next big decision... what sort of lights should bedazzle your tree?!

Now if you are one of my family members, this is a huge decision. Despite my previously mentioned degree in design, I have a tendency to love ridiculously tacky things... and this tends to cloud my general sense of judgment when it comes to Christmas. I'll admit it here...

I LOVE COLORED LIGHTS. I can't help it. Those big fatty ones that look straight out of Charlie Brown's Christmas special and always seem to burn too hot, but give such a warm "Christmasy" feel that I can't resist them. However, my husband prefers the white lights and so did my mom growing up, so I feel the need to compromise. Our tree gets white lights and white sparkly lights and then most of my decor gets big fatty colored lights. I'm border line Griswald-y. Just can't help it... although so far I have resisted an inflatable decoration. We'll just have to see Christmas 2010... we will see :)

I think that's enough for one night, but follow me through the next couple weeks as I deck my halls and craft my way into the holidays. My first project is looking as though it just might be a decorative fireplace screen... those of you who have read the "Better Homes and Gardens" Christmas Ideas magazine might have seen what I'm about to attempt. I'll keep you in suspense for now, but keep an eye out :) Also look out for the not one, but two Christmas parties the Hall household is attempting to host. Lots to blog about in the future... but for now, Happy Election Day!