Improvements in Holiday Decorations

For a person who hates clutter, decorating for Christmas is a mental struggle.  I want the house to look festive, but I can tolerate only so much.  Every year it's a matter of fine tuning.

Fortunately, over the years holiday decorations have really improved.  One of my favorite purchases last year were battery-operated sensor window "candles."  With two C batteries and the sensor facing the window, the "candle" comes on automatically when it gets dark. No more running around every night plugging in four "candles."  Best of all, no more ugly cords.

And hail the inventor of pre-lit trees!  As a kid, I always felt badly for my dad whose job it was to string the lights.  No matter how carefully he placed each bulb, it was never good enough for mom.  So, every year, the holidays began with a row.  Fun times.

Now if someone could invent a way for decorations to come up from the basement without me having to run the stairs dozens of times, that would definitely be cool!