This is that most wonderful time of year when we hear a lot of folks complaining about cleaning up the detritus of the holiday season. So much mess! So much work! No fun at all!

Sure, taking down the tree isn’t nearly as much fun as putting it up. Getting rid of those outdoor lights is even less fun if it is bitterly cold and snowing. If you’re dealing with new toys, old toys, wrapping paper that cannot be recycled and greenery that has embedded itself into your carpet, the to-do list goes on and on. Oh my, what a chore the dissolution of Christmas can be.

Or not.

It actually does not need to be a chore at all. It’s all in your approach.

I love the festive season so I decorate early (mid-November). I am also typically done with the festive season on Boxing Day (which I believe was invented because that is the day we should box up all our merry stuff and store it away for another year). So, do I dismantle the mantlepiece the day after Christmas?

Nope. I may take down a few decorations and I may continue to do that every day until the new year … just a wee bit at a time. I don’t decide that one day is “Christmas Is Over” day. I just slowly but surely remove every holiday accoutrement until the only thing left is the tree.

The tree is the thing. Because for the past two years we have decorated the tree on Christmas Day when my son arrives and so I never feel like I’ve had quite enough time with it. I love the white lights and the shimmering old ornaments, and that love does not dissipate on Boxing Day. So the tree stays … until finally, on one random day in January, I haul out the tissue paper and bauble boxes and slowly, lovingly pack these treasures away.

For me, this is almost a holy ritual. Because as I pack them away, I am reminded that next year … next Christmas … could be an entirely different experience. Who knows what in our lives will change? Which loved ones will pass on, what tragedies could befall us, what horrors the world will face, what friendships might not survive?

Anything could happen – good and bad – and I am fully aware that in that exact moment, the moment of storing precious memories for another year, the future is a complete mystery. So I immerse myself in gratitude. Gratitude for the season that has just passed. Gratitude for the loved ones I have celebrated with and gratitude for the love and friendship that was shared. Gratitude for the blessings that abound in my life and gratitude for the joy the Christmas season always brings to those I hold dear. I express that thankfulness with a full heart as each special ornament is tucked away in tissue, hopefully safe until the season comes round again.

For me, the cleaning up of Christmas is bittersweet. The bitter – not knowing what next year will bring. The sweet – not knowing what next year will bring but knowing that a new year has begun and new stories are waiting to be written.

So do not bemoan the mess of this past holiday season. Put the mess away with as much love and gratitude as your heart can hold. The Christmas mess is a beautiful reminder of how fortunate we are.

I am already looking forward to next year.