Nothing ever seems too bad, too hard or too sad

when you have a Christmas tree in the living room.

It’s just a way of saying there’s always light and hope in the world.

Nora Roberts

For most people, 2020 was a difficult year. Joy was hard to come by.

COVID was game changer. It changed how we worked, played and interacted with our loved ones.

For long periods of time we went without celebrating many of our traditions together with family. We missed key celebrations like birthdays, holidays, births and even deaths. 

In December of 2020, my family of four threw ourselves into the holiday spirit by decorating the inside and outside of our home. Christmas was everywhere. We clung to every holiday tradition and we hung on hard.

But a few days after the holiday season ended, we started to contemplate clearing away Christmas. Thinking about it brought me a tinge of sadness.

I had a thought… how do I hold onto a small piece of this joy? How do we bring a small bit of magic into 2021?

O Christmas tree!

Well, how about our beautiful Christmas tree? It is a cute, little fibre optic tree that I am pretty sure we bought on sale at good ole’ Canadian Tire. It’s not fancy, but in the darkness, it truly sparkled. We loved that tree and it was a focal point in our home during the holidays that year.

Then suddenly I had an idea.. a wild one if you will.

Why not leave the tree up all year long?

It brought us so much joy. Every time we sat in front of it or came down stairs in the early morning to find it glowing with light, it made our hearts happy.

My children thought it was a wildly amusing idea and were instantly on board. My husband was a good sport and agreed.

The Family Tree was born

So began the magical Family Tree of 2021!

We looked for any reason to decorate it – birthdays without guests? No problem – we can decorate a tree for that!

One Viking birthday tree coming up!

Easter without family this year? No problem! We have a wildly coloured tree for that!

Each of our birthdays had a special tree. Halloween, Spring Break, Tiki Summer, Fall, Back to School and Remembrance Day. We celebrated them all with our special little tree. 

The kids relished the opportunity to come up with ideas for the Family Tree. It became a back drop for many wonderful memories over the past year.

Family and friends would see it in pictures or video calls and comment on the whimsy (or lunacy) of having our Christmas tree up all year long!

Our response was always the same. It brings us joy. We will take all the joy we can find, thank you very much! 

Fast forward to December 2021 and our home is once again filled with the lights and trinkets of Christmas. 

Sentimental ornaments are hung on the tree and the star is perched proudly on top. I know this will be the last time we trim the tree this year, but it is my greatest hope the magical Family Tree of 2021 will be a cherished memory for my children for years to come.

It most certainly is for me. 

I hope each of you finds a way to bring joy into the holidays and throughout the year.

This year I learned that joy is always there. You just have to find it. 

That’s the HomeHearted way.