Donating the Decorations

The annual ornament purge

The season of Christmas decor is ending. I've taken down the big Christmas tree and stowed it and all its accessories in the shed. The little fiber optic tree in the kitchen is still twinkling valiantly, but I'm going to take it down this week. I'll probably leave the Christmas village on the mantle until the end of the month.

I sorted out a few holiday decorations that I don't want anymore-- a purple candle I've stored for too many years, some white silk poinsettias. They are sitting by the door in a WalMart sack, ready to go to church where they will wait in a storage room for the spring garage sale.

This morning I visited a couple of my favorite thrift shops, and I saw on their shelves an unusually large number of slightly worn, lightly battered Christmas decorations. The annual purging of the ornaments has taken place in Christian County. We hate to throw out things that somebody else might get some good out of, so we've donated our culls.

I've sorted out my Christmas theme clothing, and it's stacked in the bedroom waiting to be bagged and stowed until next Christmas. I didn't even wear some of them this year, so maybe I need to do some culling there too.

If only I could donate the five pounds I gained during November and December to somebody who needs them!