Rudolph threw up on my Christmas Tree.......Bens been decorating!

As I write this it is a cloudy Sunday afternoon here in Christchurch, I am sitting a few feet away from my 9 year old son Benjamin. He has taken it upon himself to be our Christmas Decorator for the 2008 holiday season.

He has collected the decorations from under the house and is enthusiastically creating what is likely to be the most unique tree and decorations. Who am I to spoil his fun and insist on a "Architectural Digest" style of decorations? No chance, for me Christmas is for the kids in our house and he is happily singing as he goes through the decorations and even creates new ones from scratch.

This may surprise many of you who make the assumption that because I am a Professional Organiser I have a home that looks like it jumped of the pages of a magazine, and that I would have colour coded and matching decorations. No chance, I have a family home with family decorations made by the kids and safely stored in one box during the year in our basement.

So often people stress over the duties of Christmas and getting everything done, my advice is chill out and let it happen in relaxed time. Stop and think about the real meaning behind why we are decking the halls. For each of us there will be a difference meaning to Christmas and the holiday season. For many it is about the Birth of Christ a celebration of his birth, for others it is about being with family, maybe it is about helping those less fortunate in the world, in NZ it is often about Summer vacation and for me it is about reflecting on the wonderful family, friends, success and challenges of the year passed.

So when we do really sit and think about why we are "Decking the Halls" do it with the spirit of what this time really means to you. For me watching Ben try and juggle two gold baubles and being free to express his creativity is a much better reward than having a perfectly decorated, color coordinated tree and dressings.

Now he is moving through to the Kitchen with a tinsel tree and going to do his magic there, oh the results will be superb no doubt.

Just remember, enjoy this time regardless of your beliefs and religion, and take time out to just be. Life is not about getting it perfect, it is about enjoying the moment.

At the end of the Holiday season when we return home from 2.5 weeks of camping on the beach, we will pack away Ben's fabulous creations. They will go back into the box and stored under the house, where we all know to find it for next Christmas.

This to me is a truly organised Christmas. Where you can relax and enjoy even if it does look like Rudolph threw up on your Christmas tree.