Because I bought discount sparkly wrapping paper. It looked so pretty in the store. It was oh. . .so glittery. But peeling off the thin cellophane packaging meant that gravity moved thousands (perhaps millions) of tiny glitters onto the floor where they would prove elusive, if not impossible to remove. They’ve lodged on the wood floor, the rugs, and the tile in the kitchen. I’ve seen the glitter on clothes, pajamas, bedding and towels. When light hits the glitter I sometimes try and find and remove the sparkle. . .occasionally I can perform this delicate operation. More often than not though, they escape. Even our vacuum doesn’t seem to have the will. . . the fortitude, or the suction power to remove them all.
After wrapping that first present, I could sense what we were up against. I instituted a rule of only wrapping in one area, to try and contain the sparkle. Then when we had to actually unwrap the gifts, I put a clean sheet on the floor to try and corral the Ebola-like glitter. By Boxing Day it was like someone with Christmas flu had sneezed the sparkle everywhere.
The holidays are officially over, which is always a bit of a letdown. The red and green Santa merchandise I see in the stores is now marked 75% off it’s original price, and looks like the sweatpants I’ve had since college. The world has moved on. There’s Valentines and workout gear for sale now. Books are displayed touting the solution to clearing our physical and emotional clutter.
Nope. Not having it. Here at Casa del Giltter, we’re embracing the shine. We’re keeping our Christmas tree and putting pink, red and white Valentine hearts on it. What??? You’ve never heard of a Valentine tree? The New York Times has a whole section devoted to them this week! There’s color photographs with 7 famous designers and their interpretations of the Love Tree. (trademark and copyright pending) The trend started in Europe I guess. Where lots of classy things are invented. It was a reaction to post progressive neo-rom com policies towards anti-construction paper movements. So you’re celebrating a holiday and making a political statement with your Love Tree! (Some of our hearts have rainbows on them).