Christmas Started on 08/11/2023 For Us!

I used to put my Christmas Tree up as early as October when my children were very young. When the children left home; we stopped putting it up early because we didn't see the point anymore, as Christmas became something that only I and my husband celebrated alone, so we would wait until the week before Christmas.

This year is different. We have two grandkids and a baby on the way! We also have many exciting positive changes to look forward to next year, and we decided that it was time to celebrate in style, and be 'one of the children' all over again!

We have had some very difficult periods in the past, and we have had to deal with a lot of heavy trauma and heartache.

When I found out that I was pregnant, I panicked and a lot of worry thoughts went through my head even though I had been waiting for the chance to have a baby for a long time.

As I am in my 40s, I have experienced many miscarriages.

Miscarriages are traumatizing for anyone at any age. However, though it is acknowledged that the risk gets higher with age; my negative thinking does my health no good at all.

It was getting to a point where it was all I could think about, and that can cause a lot of stress and anxiety, which can also cause problems in pregnancy.

I was becoming obsessed with worrying, as I'm not that far into my pregnancy yet, so I decided to try and turn my thoughts by putting up the Christmas Tree.

I also have two lively grandkids, and both my grandchildren and my daughter are having a very difficult time of their own at the moment. I am a very caring person, and I love my grandchildren and my daughter with all my heart; so I decided to do something special for them;

decorate the house, and bring Christmas in early!

I and my husband wanted a more fun way of being creative with the Christmas Tree this year. We wanted something that would fill the grandchildren with wonder, and make putting up the tree a little more exciting for us because we have changes that should be celebrated too. We are bored with the tradition of white and green trees, so we decided to buy a rainbow-colored Christmas tree (as pictured in the header of this article) instead! Our tree branches are multi-colored, and it is a delight to look at. We added 750 Christmas lights to add sparkle, and it looks awesome even though we haven't finished it yet! We are not going to add the usual boring plain decorations that we normally use; we are going to find bright, colorful rainbow baubles and decorations instead.

Starting early gives me the added bonus of being able to find fun decorations for our home before they all go!

Below is a list of reasons we chose to break our traditional rule and bring back starting early for Christmas this year:

• Our Grandchildren and daughter will be able to have more fun at our house this Christmas
• My husband is upset because he can no longer work as a nurse due to disabilities, and the decorations cheer him up.
• We are celebrating and looking forward to the positives of pregnancy rather than dwelling on the negatives.
• We are celebrating the new changes occurring in our home, which means things will be better for my husband and me in the new year.
• We are reflecting on the positives as our new journey in writing, parenting, and life unfolds.
• We are trying to look positively to the future, rather than constantly reflecting on what has gone wrong in the past.
• We decided it would feel good to temporarily become children again, and our grandkids will thank us for it!

We chose not to stick with the tradition of green or white trees this Christmas. We chose a rainbow-colored Christmas Tree instead.

The idea is that we are trying to shut the door on trauma in order to open a new door to the future. Every different colored branch on the tree represents something we are looking forward to or are trying to achieve.

For example:

• Red means that we are looking forward to seeing our grandchildren achieve new things.
• Orange means opening our hearts to new things, such as new adventures in exploring new places, expanding our writing careers in different ways, and revamping our lifestyles as a way of opening doors to a new way of living.
• Blue is a symbol that reminds us of all the difficulties we have overcome, and the strength that we have developed in order to get where we are now.
• Green means to never look back, and always look forward. It is also a reminder that our grown-up children are achieving success in their lives, no matter how small.
• Purple means that our new careers always bloom when we put the effort in. It represents expansion and growth in our future work and achievements.
• Yellow is our sunflower color. It represents our future child and always reminds us that this child also represents future growth, with greater things to come.

As I said before; we don't normally start Christmas this early. However, for us,

this Christmas marks the start of our goals towards a new future with many fresh changes, and exciting new things to look forward to.

Many Christmases in my home have been a mixture of emotions, even painful at times. While those memories will always be there; there is always something new, fresh, and inviting to look forward to, and we want to bring the new year in with happiness rather than sadness.

Did you start Christmas early with a purpose this year? Let me know in the comments.

I know it is early, but here is hoping that your Christmas sparkles too.