My mother is Christian and my dad is Jewish. I was raised celebrating both and here is how I decorate.
Unpopular opinion: Decorating for the holidays is a pain in the a$$. Do not get me wrong. I love holiday décor. It is the act of decorating that I do not enjoy. I guess it is one of the many things that my mother and nana made look easy…..so easy that it was magical. But it is my job now and try as I might, I take no pleasure in it.
On top of that, I come from parents of two different religions, both of which have a celebration around this time of the year. I often joke that the joy of celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah means I get to stress out and fall behind on my to-do list for two holidays, not just one.
On top of all of the cooking, planning, and shopping, the thought of having to pull out, put out, and then take down décor for two holidays, which can come so close to each other that they overlap, is not something I want to deal with (although Hanukkah falling over Thanksgiving a few years ago was a ton of fun. Thanksgivnukkah for life!). Over the years I have been able to deal with my décor dilemma in a way that I enjoy and still gives my children the same magical feeling that I had: I decorate for Christmas in Hanukkah colors. With plenty of pinks and purples as well as a lot of gold and silver for retro flare.
My menorah proudly sits on the mantel next to the stockings waiting for Santa. My house is filled with plenty of lights, holiday “tchotchkes,” sparkle and food. So, so much food. While I do not enjoy decorating for two holidays, I do not mind cooking (or eating) for them. I am not a total Scrooge. I just have my #priorities
The whole red/green is for Christmas and blue/silver is for Hanukkah is not as stringent as it was when I was growing up and my décor now has a decidedly trendy and vintage feel, which I am more than ok with. Let’s be honest. Most of my holiday décor is vintage and/or thrifted. Shocking, I know.
What this means is rather that two halves, so to speak, I have one set of decorations that go up together and come down together rather, one no more important than the other. I may be Jewish and Christian, but I am one person who is proud to be both. This way I get to honor each side equally while representing who I am and the traditions that are important to me no matter which parent – or faith – it came from.
Another interesting holiday tidbit about me and my family is that we leave the decorations up for a full month after Christmas. I was 28 weeks pregnant on Christmas 2009 when my water decided to break, but luckily he did not arrive until January 25th. Read more here.
