Should you decorate for Christmas?

Suppose you are a person of a certain age, no longer living with a spouse, no grandkids planning to visit. Why should you decorate for Christmas?

Why not? Decorations give a lot:

* They make a house a home. Even if you are only keeping a house for yourself, keeping holiday traditions makes your home part of the world.

* Decorations can cost little but give a lot. A simple, pre-lit table-top tree is inexpensive, easy to set up, and the lights give a lot of pleasure during the dark winter. If nothing else, splurge on a sparkly poinsettia.

* You might want to avoid the more messy materials, like real pine branches or tinsel if you don’t want to do a lot of clean up.

* Keep the traditions of your faith and culture. Christians may want to remember the birth of Christ. It doesn’t require anything elaborate, but everyone can bring their faith into their home.

* A reminder of holidays past. Indulge yourself with some good nostalgia for the excitement of Christmases past. If you don’t have any happy memories, it’s high time you made some.

* It’s welcoming to visitors. A nod to the holidays puts everyone in a happy mood.

* Your cat will love it. Especially if you put a couple of dangly decorations on your tree. Word to the wise: Don’t make them expensive dangly decorations.