Jill's Journal: Lights, action ... nothing

When it comes to Christmas décor, I’m all in.

Just after the Thanksgiving bounty has been gobbled up, I look forward to hauling out the totes and sorting through all of the Christmas treasures tucked inside them. It’s like a festive walk down memory lane, remembering when and where each decoration came from. Many were gifts from friends, “hand-me-downs” or inherited. Others were things that I just “had to have” or chanced “waiting to have” with hopes it would still be there once the clearance sales got underway. No matter how they found their way into my totes, they all have special meaning, foster a special memory from Christmases gone by or were just the right price.

While I treasure all of my Christmas trinkets, it’s the lights that have somewhat challenged me this season.

Although there was nothing wrong with my former artificial tree, when prices were slashed after Christmas last year, I opted to purchase a pre-lit tree. I’d had enough of stringing lights on the tree, plus, I was confident that this would be a real time-saver in my decorating process.

I was right. The tree came together without a single issue. Glory be.

I wish I could say the same for all of my lighted decorating endeavors.

The lighting challenge started at the office. Just as I was departing for root canal surgery, I “hinted” to Lisa and Carl that if they felt the urge, they could team up to hang the lighted greenery around the customer counter.

Hours later, I received a text from my office elves: The lights don’t work.

This holiday season, if you happen to stop by the Journal office, you will see our office is surely decorated for the season – minus the greenery around the customer counter.

This being my first Christmas in my new residence, I was excited to decorate, but with the bulk of my “living space” in the rear, I decided that a string of lighted greenery around my front door would surely show the neighbors this gal is no “Grinch.”

Before dragging the greenery out the door, I plugged in the lights, and lo and behold, each and every one of the colorful sparklers “lit up like a Christmas tree” – pun intended. I was almost giddy.

But that “giddiness” didn’t last. 

Moments after positioning the greenery “just right” around the door frame, I ceremoniously plugged in the lights, and “much to my dismay,” there were sections of the lights that unfortunately remained dark.

Mumbling under my breath, I took down the greenery, drug it back inside the door and dropped it in the hallway where it sat for days.

Over the weekend, I restrung the greenery with a working set of lights, and I’m happy to report, it looks a bit like Christmas outside my front door.

But that’s not where my lighting woes end.

I also have a small Christmas tree perched on the windowsill near the front door. For weeks, I’ve been plugging it in each night, and for weeks, the little tree has shone brightly. That was, of course, until this past weekend. As you guessed, I plugged it in and it was darker than a cold night in late November.

This time, instead of hauling out the bundle of lights stored away in a tote, I opted to buy a new set of snowflake-shaped lights that now grace the branches of the tiny tree. 

But that’s not where this story ends.

Because I love all things that “twinkle,” there are several items in my décor that are intended for candles. In recent years, I traded in the wax and wick for battery-powered candles. Over the weekend, I turned on every light and battery-operated candle in the place. When it came time to retire for the day, I traipsed around my home unplugging and flicking the multiple “on” switches to “off.” Well, except for one that I’ve unsuccessful in regaining access to.

After several days, let’s just say the battery in this thing is still burning bright. Perhaps that’s my “one-size-fits-all” answer to lighting up the holidays.