Happy second advent, dear reader!
Even PhDs want a bit of Christmas cheer in their habitats now that we have less than three weeks to go until the 24th/25th (depending on where you live and how you celebrate, if at all… perhaps you do not observe Christmas? Good for you! Are you Jewish? Happy Hanukkah in advance for the 16th and good for you! Or you do “observe” Christmas but secretly detest it? Well it’s a free country and you can have whatever feelings you like, so good for you too!) but, as people who likely dwell at a distance from their families (be it older or younger generations or both), the quibble about decorations – or indeed a tree – is whether to get one at all.
A real tree will make your home smell like pine, be a pain to clear up afterwards, cost not-so-little, be a one-off purchase on your budget that is already on low after presents and travel have been paid for. If you are going home, there’s the matter of whether you clear it before or after Christmas, or if you try to take it home(?!) with you.
However, a plastic tree will not give you as many gloaty grown-up brownie points as a real tree.
Hyacinths are another plant that will give your home a particular wintery aroma/odour (depending on how you take to hyacinths), but it’s a living plant that you may have to give a funeral after the festivities. Or before the festivities if your fingers really aren’t very green at all.
…
This is where I come clean and say that I prefer to keep the decor to a minimum despite being quite fond of Christmas myself. Behold.
It is worth noting that I live in a very modestly sized abode, so I don’t need an abundance of Christmas smells hanging around, which would ruin the lovely smell of basement that many of my books give off.
The bell (yes, it jingles) is a shop bought ornament, but looks festive enough hanging from a door frame. The orange is studded with cloves (this is THE scent of my childhood Christmases) and tied with a length of ribbon for extra festiveness; it can also be hung from a door frame. The bell is reusable (unless you have a big accident?) and the orange can be used for mulling wine once the ribbon has been removed, when you tire of it. The ribbon can be tied in your hair or on a gift.
So this is how pragmatic and practical I am.
Or just, you know, plain lazy. But whatever! “I’m a PhD and I have things to write!”
The Real World for Young People 