What do I mean by a "holiday decoration"? - anything you put out during the holiday season that doesn’t stay all year.

(Well, though some people do leave their "Christmas lights" up on their houses all year and just not turn them on for most of it! In fact, one year when I had to leave home for Christmas, I left our amazingly hardy cut tree up until well into April!)

A decoration might not be solely visual...

To me, the scent of pine boughs is as much a "decoration" as the mantel swag they’re made into - and it’s always a little disappointing if the Christmas tree isn’t "Christmas-scented". For many, the aroma from bayberry candles is as important an addition to the house as the lovely light from their wicks (...or the aroma from the roast turkey that’s the centerpiece for a meal).

Some ornaments, too, make lovely sounds... or maybe there’s a special Nutcracker Suite music box you put out just in December.

Holiday decorating gives many of us a lift. Why do we adorn our environment? - just because our mothers did, or because the editor of Good Housekeeping Magazine’s December issue told us to? ...I don’t think so.

Most people are looking to create (perhaps recreate?) something with their holiday adornments. And though some people may just blindly follow a family tradition, or grab what’s on sale at the mall, to many folks choice in holiday decorating is as individual an expression as their wardrobes are.

But an expression of what?

We'll be delving into these topics in the next sections: