20 Days Until Christmas!

It's quite insane - I remember when it was 200 hundred days until Christmas, and now it's only 20! We're already in December! Advent calendars are opened, chocolates are eaten, eggnog is drunk, seasonal music is played, fireplace sounds are produced in one way or another. Christmas is coming. And since you've already planned the menu and made the cards and chosen the decor style and bought the decorations, it's time to declutter your living spaces, clean the entire place from floor to roof, and decorate the crap out of your home.

When it comes to decluttering, it's not mandatory, but I highly recommend it. Not only do you get rid of all the items you've accumulated over the year and haven't used once, you also clear your mind for the holidays. Moving the things you don't want or need out of your house and into the trash or to the recycling center will refresh you mentally - you'll feel like your mind got the trash taken out as well. You'll get rid of all and any negative thoughts and moods by decluttering your home. Do this more than you think you need to - you'll need extra room for the Christmas decorations.

Cleaning your home, however, is mandatory. Just kidding - of course you can choose not to clean for the holidays. But I do like to dust the shelves, wash the floors, and give the oven in the kitchen a good soap rub. The fresh smell after the cleaning will welcome new Christmassy scents, and your kitchen will be shiny and ready to work with you to create every single Christmas dish you've been waiting to create.

Not to mention that after the house is stripped of the redundant items and cleaned to a shiny fresh state, it's done and ready to take in the Christmas decorations. If you got them early, or if you've got good decorations from previous years, go ahead and put them up. If you use a plastic tree, you can even go ahead and decorate that as well. Personally, I prefer a live tree - you can get that long before Christmas Eve as well, just remember to water it and keep it away from excess warmth so that it'll last over the holidays.

Change the pillowcases and curtains, hang ornaments and fairy lights both outside and in, make paper snowflakes and tape them on your windows, light cinnamon scented candles, and play a Christmas carol. Pour a cup of mulled wine, sit down by the candle, and look, smell, and hear around.

Is it Christmas already?

RK