Decking the Halls

This Thursday is Thanksgiving. That means that it's the time of year to gather with family and think about all the things we are thankful for. We eat turkey and mashed potatoes and we watch parades. But in my family, it also means that once that turkey dinner is cleared, my mother in law will be marching all able-bodied guests up the attic stairs to "bring down Christmas."

What do I mean exactly? Well each year the day after Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law, Michele, will decorate for Christmas. And when Michele decorates for Christmas, it is AN EVENT. The first step is bringing down 50-plus Rubbermaid containers of decorations from the attic, plus various fake trees, sleds, wreaths and two 6-foot-tall toy soldiers. NO LIE. Interestingly enough, the focus is not on a crazy outdoor display (as you might have rightly thought when I mentioned the soldiers), instead it is a top to bottom Christmasification of the entire home.

Once everyone has had a few minutes to digest, an assembly line will be formed and we will "bring down Christmas" indeed. The storage tubs will be stacked four containers high throughout the entire large mudroom at the bottom of the attic stairs. It will take between one and two weeks and three to five additional family "laborers" to complete the mammoth task. As the matriarch, there is no questioning what seems (at this grand scale) to be a completely insane practice. (You will also notice, there are no actual pictures of the mudroom with my post today. Not only would I never question this practice, but I'm not about to get caught blogging about it)!

Decorating for Christmas is something Michele and many other people enjoy more than anything this time of year. Anyone else ready for a decorating bonanza?? Well, if so, I thought I'd better post our attic safety video to go along with my post today. Be safe and enjoy the holiday--crazy decorating derbies and all!

You may only use your attic stairs occasionally throughout the year, but don't let that affect how often you check and address them for regular maintenance. After all, we often require these stairs to hold not only us, but hold us while we are holding several dozen pounds of our precious belongings! Find out what you should look for and how to keep your stairs safe.