Celebrating our first holiday season in our new manufactured home is an unexpected joy. For years and years Don and I traveled from Florida to either California or Michigan to spend Christmas with our kids and grandkids. Although we loved being with our family, we missed being at home during this special time of year.
Instead of packing suitcases and facing long lines at the airport, we now welcome family and friends to celebrate the holidays with us in our new home. Entertaining at home is a simple pleasure that brings warmth and love to the people who are closest to us. Whether it’s a family dinner with all the kid’s favorite foods or an Open House for new friends and neighbors, special touches make the gathering memorable.
We began sprucing up our manufactured home with the sights and smells of Christmas in early December. Since nothing is more welcoming to guests than outdoor lighting our first task was to find and unpack several large boxes of outdoor Christmas lights. Unwrapping and untangling the outdoor lights became more of a chore than we anticipated since many of them haven’t been used for years.
I volunteered to take out the lights and untangle them one string at a time. I can’t say this job is fun, but I have a method that works. First I put on some of my favorite Christmas music, sit down in a comfortable chair and place the tangled string of lights on my lap. After unplugging any connections to find a free end I loosen all the knots and slowly begin to wind the free end through the tangles. I took my time with this process and let the untangled lights slip to the floor and away from the remaining tangles on my lap.
Don then checked each string of untangled lights to make sure they were safe, weatherproofed and suitable for outdoor use. He looked for obvious trouble spots like cracked insulation, bare wire, broken bulbs, loose or damaged plugs and sockets. He also plugged the lights into an electrical wall socket for about 15 minutes to check for melting or smoking wires.
This year we ended up throwing about half the old outdoor lights away and replacing them with new strings. With the cost of holiday lights so low, it’s better to buy new ones rather than risk the chance of an electrical fire. I suggest you take a look at the safety section on My Great Home for some important safety tips on how to avoid electrical fires and overloaded circuits any time of the year.
We really got into the spirit of the holidays when our outdoor lighting was in place, beautifully outlining the peaked roof and railings of our multi-section manufactured home. Since we spend so much time on the patio we also strung lights along the backyard patio cover. Although our lighting was simple compared to some of the elaborate holiday displays of our neighbors, it was nice to see our home contributing to the festive look of the entire community.
Decorating the spacious great room in our new home was fun and easy. The Christmas tree is the center of attention as guests walk through the front door. Well lit and loaded with ornaments, the tree represents the history of our family. Old heirloom ornaments from parents, grandparents and even great grandparents occupy a place of honor on our tree. Red ribbons, roping and handcrafted ornaments fill nearly every other space. In fact, we aren’t able to display all the ornaments, but rotate them from year to year.
Although we chose to decorate an artificial tree, the addition of live evergreens for wreaths, garlands and baskets provided our home with plenty of holiday fragrance. I used a combination of noble fir, cedar, pine and spruce to create several arrangements for the living room and den. We found the high cathedral ceilings in our new manufactured home helped provide a beautiful, uncluttered setting for the tree, the greenery and other decorations.
With our home all decked out for the holidays we are anxious to start entertaining family and friends. Planning the timing of our neighborhood get-togethers is a bit of a challenge. There are so many parties and activities in our manufactured home community that we keep a special calendar to keep track of all of them.
The holiday spirit is certainly in full swing here in Sun Meadows. We are a bit surprised that so many neighbors have invited us to share Christmas cheer in their homes. Don and I enjoy seeing their decorations and sampling special holiday treats, but most of all we like making new friends with similar backgrounds and interests.
A special Christmas dinner is being held at our beautifully decorated Club House in the middle of December and later in the month we will spend an evening Christmas caroling through the park. Some of us will ride in a Hay Wagon while others will drive from house to house in their golf carts. Even those of us who sing off-key will enjoy this special evening of Christmas caroling and warm companionship.
Not forgetting others at this special time of year, we are holding a Christmas Toy Drive on behalf of the Fireman’s Drive for children in our area. Special food donations for the community cupboard will help feed less fortunate people who need help. The community is also donating blankets to The Doctor Laura /Project Linus organization for ill and traumatized kids in need.
Being home for the holidays is bringing a lot joy into our lives. Our family, new friends and neighbors help make this a most memorable season.
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