Since our expected guests decided to bail on us at the last minute, I’ve been debating taking down the Christmas trees and decorations sooner than I usually do, because, well, they’re not as much fun with nobody to see them. I was able to dispose of all that food, thanks to Belle and her friends, but the trees which take DAYS to properly decorate? They’re still up and twinkling.

But as I was sitting on the sofa hypnotizing myself with the beauty of the lights and the ornaments, I realized that sometimes, we need to do things just for ourselves, and not for other people. Not always, or even often, but sometimes.

So I’m leaving them up for a while longer. Why? Well, to misquote Jimmie Dodd, “Because I LIKE them!)

I like them. Yes, me. I like them. So even though our expected guests won’t be seeing them, there are still people in this house who are enjoying them. Those people are Hub and I. We aren’t used to indulging ourselves in much of anything (we have kids and we’re poor, poor unto frightened sleepless nights, and it’s not our fault, and all the tree-bounty is from BEFORE) but this we can do.

The tree on the left is in the living room. I have no curtains, because our house is well off the road and the view is better than a painting. The tree on the right is in the dining room, and it’s really only half a tree, because I leave off the back branches so I can shove it right up against that wall/window; it gave us more room in the room. Pay no attention to all that sewing stuff that’s visible; hey, I made two quilts and thirty-some stockings this year!

The Phantom masks stay up all year. So does the Frog Prince. Yes, I know they are both strange. Consider the source.

The creche is nearly thirty years old and mismatched. The paint has worn off in places, and it’s obvious that the figurines have been much handled. I told you I had kids. I like it better this way. A pristine creche is one that hasn’t had much attention. And you already know the names of all the angels.

The wall trees hold miniature ornaments. They are mostly Hub’s. The clock on the dining room wall was a Christmas present several years ago from someone I used to know. It plays a carol on the hour. Nobody in this house likes it but me. That I keep it up year-round has nothing to do with the satisfaction I get when it chimes and people start to wail.

So. NEXT weekend I will take down the Christmas things. For one more week, I will continue to darken the house and watch the tree lights twinkle and revel in the beauty of it all. I tried to take pictures of the effect when it’s dark but I couldn’t get what I wanted.

Yes, I was hurt when the expected guests bailed at the last minute. But on the bright side, my daughter and her friends had a feast, the guest room is tidy, and there is still Christmas in my house, for a few more days.

I’m still watching Christmas movies, too, but then, I do that year-round. Last night: “Going My Way,” a real oldie but one of my favorites. Tonight I think I’ll watch ‘Love Actually’ again. I know it by heart now but I’m still obsessed. I loaned Belle “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” the other night; not that stupid animated one, but the cool claymation one. If you have kids and they haven’t seen that, run out and get it now. It’s by L. Frank Baum, the “Wizard of Oz” author, and it’s wonderful. My kids are grown up now but they still love that movie. So do I, for that matter.

And now I think I will go shower and get dressed, it being three in the afternoon and all. Vacation rocks, except for the not-getting-paid-during-it thing.