I was shopping the after-Christmas sales years ago, before it became extremely popular. At first, it was just Christmas wrapping paper, ribbon and tags. Within a few years, I was adding Christmas decor to my seek-and-find list as I carefully updated my holiday decorations. I remember purchasing my Dickens Village the day after Christmas one year at 75% off. Now, the popularity of the after-Christmas sales has forced merchants to start even before Christmas.
When we first built our home, the ever popular forest green and burgundy dominated the color scheme of my Christmas decor. With two young children, many of our decorations were also handmade treasures, compliments of my two little artists. Additionally, pets and little hands guaranteed that tree ornaments were unbreakable (at least the ones on the lower branches) and many of my decorations were soft - stuffed animals and throw pillows. Our environment of pets and toddlers seemed to dictate my decor.
The forest green/burgundy theme was later replaced with a Victorian-themed tree as well as Victorian Christmas decor. Remember that trend? With that change, I put up a second tree displaying the many “kid ornaments” in our newly finished basement since the kids spent a lot of time there with their toys and friends. I am sure many of you remember the “tree in nearly every room” movement.
Each year since birth, my children received an ornament from my husband and I with full intention of gifting them all of their ornaments when they left home so that they could start their first tree (for some reason, this has offended them, like we were divorcing them or something). I'm pretty sure that I thought it was a cooler idea than they did. Regardless, they took the ornaments, displaying some of them on their new trees. BTW, my suggestion this year to replace our current mismatched stockings with all matching ones next year, as our family is growing, has met with the same shock and appall. 
As my children got married and left home, it was time to retire the “kid tree” in the basement along with our Victorian-themed flocked tree and purchase a more natural looking pre-lit Monroe Fir (complete with pine cones) and shop the 50% off ornaments and decor sale at one of my favorite shops, Pottery Barn. These rustic luxe ornaments and Christmas decor suit the current decor of our home. With two grand babies on the way, I have also incorporated a fun Santa collection.
Remember, you don’t have to pull out your wallet to reset your decorations. Try incorporating some of your older treasures, especially ones with sentimental value. The old ceramic tree that I made for my grandmother when I was a pre-teen still sits in my front entryway every Christmas. The Longaberger basket that belonged to my mother holds pretty seasonal pot pourri on my coffee table. Keep your sentimental pieces and offer your retired decorations to your kids or give them to charity. Years ago, when my daughter moved into her first apartment, many of my former decorations really helped her get started on her collection of Christmas decorations. 
Some of my favorite stores to shop great sales for pretty decorations include Pottery Barn, Home Goods, Joann Fabrics and Kirklands. Although it may be easy and comfortable to use the same decor in the same places in your home year after year, try a change up every few years and incorporate new holiday decor to spark up your holiday decorating. I know someone who removes his Christmas ornaments from his tree after Christmas and replaces them with New Year’s ornaments. I’m not quite there yet, but sure sounds like a lot of fun for a New Year’s party!
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