There is so much to do after the holidays are over. It’s a little bit exhausting just thinking about “The Great Cleanup.” Do you put it off? Or are you the take- everything-down-the-day-after-Christmas type? Regardless, I am inviting you to take a walk with me for a moment down memory lane. Our kids were 2 and 4 years old, and I was a very busy mama. I was knee-deep (who am I kidding? It was more like all-consumed) with doing preschool with our daughter, while her younger brother would join in where a two-year-old can. We had spent days—no, weeks— making paper crafts, popsicle stick snowflakes, cotton ball snowmen, and candy cane reindeer to put on our tree. It was so much fun, and the kids were so proud of their creations. A few days after New Year’s, I decided it was time for the tree to come down. And then, the tears. The big, sad, crocodile tears of heartbroken children. My mama heart couldn’t take it! When I asked the four year old why she was upset, she promptly told me that she was “so sad” that I was going to “take away all her treasures.” Yes, she used those words. I froze. Treasures? Yes. Those sweet little handmade decorations were her treasures and doggone it, now I could not bring myself to take them down. So, the tree stayed. And stayed. Until the beginning of February (don’t worry, it is an artificial tree…no fire hazard here!). I even had to dust it. 
One thing you should know about me is that I love decorating my house for the seasons and holidays. How was I going to put up the Valentine’s Day decorations with a giant Christmas tree in the room? Enter the children, again. When I (very gently) broached the topic of removing the tree, this time they didn’t cry, but they had conditions. I am not normally one to play into my kids overriding me, but due to their tender toddler hearts, I heard them out. Have I mentioned that children are BRILLIANT if only we listen? My daughter said she had a plan (she is my planner to this day), and she ran off to get the hearts we had just made that day out of pipe cleaners and beads. When she returned, she hung those hearts on the Christmas tree and declared that if we took the “Christmas” off of the tree, and replaced it with homemade Valentine decor, the tree could stay up and be a “Valentine Tree!”
You know those moments in time where you sit in amazement and then virtually facepalm yourself saying, “why didn’t I think of that?!” This was one of those times. She beamed when I told her what an awesome idea that was, and that we would do just that. And when Valentine’s Day was over, and St. Patrick’s Day rolled around, guess what we did? Yep. We had a sparkly green shamrock tree! And then Easter came and…you guessed it…Easter Tree! We left the tree up ALL YEAR that year. We had the best time creating decorations for it, and admiring them all year-round. After the next Christmas, it stayed up too, but only until Easter, because we found that summer tree decorating is just not quite as fun. 
To this very day, we most often leave our tree up from the day after Thanksgiving until a few days after Easter. Although they are older now, they still look forward to the special decorations that come with each holiday. I have even found a few new ones snuck on there from time to time by a preteen or teenager that wants to keep the magic alive. So if you pass by a house with a Christmas tree in the window in the middle of March, lit up in all its glory, remember this story and smile. There might be kids that live there who just don’t want to let go of the joy…and why should they? Why should any of us? Maybe you want to try it now, too…I highly suggest it, friends. Who doesn’t need a little extra light in their home?
If you don’t have room in your space for a full sized tree all year, here is a link for a cute table top tree that would be just perfect!
Here are photo directions to some of our family’s favorite decorations for a few of the December-April holidays. Enjoy!
- Popsicle Stick Snowflake
- Pipe Cleaner and Pony Bead Heart
- Accordion Shamrocks with Glitter
- Chickie in an Eggshell
2 thoughts on “Christmas Tree Confessions”