Change the wreath, remove the bows and garland and You can still have a festive front porch for the month of January!

Did you take advantage of this balmy weather and get all of your outdoor decorations down? This year we were really lucky in St. Louis. We had ideal weather the weekend of Thanksgiving to put up the decorations and 60 degree weather in January to take them down. It sure beats frostbitten hands and cold feet when working outside! I don't know about you but it is not the happiest occasion for me taking down the decorations. I always think the house looks so naked and empty, bereft of all the colorful decorations. This year I decided to keep a little bit of Christmas outside, more like alpine ski decor. I am hoping to hold onto the Christmas spirit a bit longer and have found that Christmas decorations inside can be swapped out with a snowman motif that can keep you in a festive mood until at least Valentine's Day. I think it is human nature to cling to the special days in the calendar. Even in classrooms, we move from holiday to holiday. Have you added snowmen to your bulletin boards yet? Our seasonal section at The Teachers' Lounge is boasting some fun snowman and penguin characters and we are even ready for Martin Luther King and President's Day. What about the 100th day of school celebration? Count the days on your school calendar and plan some fun activities. What a great way to bring more cheer to your day especially when we could be heading into the cold dark days of winter!