What’s the Opposite of Decorating?

Today, I forced myself to do something that was necessary, but completely awful. Torturous, even.

I finally put away Christmas decorations and took down my tree.

…Am I the only one who finds this task incredibly depressing?

In late November, like many others, I so look forward to dragging out the torn and tattered boxes of decorations. I listen to Christmas music and sip hot chocolate while lovingly finding homes for each little trinket. It’s a comforting ritual.

And the best part is, for over a month, I get to enjoy the sight of my lit-up tree with presents underneath, in all of their glistening and glittery glory. Nothing gets me in the holiday mood faster.

Unfortunately, while getting the ornaments out is loads of fun, putting them away comes with no fanfare. You spend all that time and effort, neatly balling up the lights, re-wrapping ornaments in tissue paper, and what do you get?

A home that looks way less festive than it did an hour ago, and a reminder that the next Christmas is a super long time away.

And that’s just sad.

I almost feel sorry for the process of putting away decorations, because it’s gotten a pretty bad rap and clearly no one likes it that much. What do you even call this procedure? Is there an antonym for “decorating”? Undecorating? Anti-decorating?

Since it’s such a melancholy task, I came up with some ideas for making this ritual a little less soul-crushing, and a little more interesting.

Ways to Make the Undecorating Process More Fun:

• Do everything blindfolded!
Blindly fumbling around for the ornaments is bound to be entertaining for all involved. However, you’re disqualified if you break that extremely fragile one that your grandma gave you when you were a baby. That’s not cool.

• Put things away without using your hands!
Pretend that you lost your hands to a rare flesh-eating bacteria, or some other horrific event, and you’re now forced to use other body parts for tasks. Imagine reaching for a delicate ornament with your toes, or removing a string of lights with your elbows. Hilarity ensues.

• Turn it into a drinking game!

• Leave the tree out, and decorate it with non-Christmas items!
Personally, I like the idea of finding old pictures of past presidents and sticking them all over the tree. Voila! Early President’s Day décor! Bonus points if you sing “O President’s Tree” while doing this.

Maybe one of these suggestions will become the next big holiday tradition! (Much like the Santa Gremlin.) Or perhaps you and your family will come up with your very own little ritual. Either way, It’s about time that we make “undecorating” just as fun as decorating!

Okay, maybe not as fun, but at least not as terrible.

Side Note: Out of curiosity, I googled, “Antonyms of decoration” and one of the results was “Eyesore.” Seems fitting.