Small children are particularly adept at memorizing carols and seem to take particular glee in the act of singing them over and over again even if they don’t quite have all the words down.  One such tune we used to inflict upon anyone who would listen was “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and our wobbly chorus would begin the 1st of December – in this reality, 12 days doesn’t seem quite enough to do much of anything let alone count the hours as they dance and leap away towards the Big One.  Twenty-four seems a more reasonable number in which to get December tasks accomplished and also provides enough words to festoon and bedeck any of our holidays.

Saint Nick’s list comprises:

1. Artefact – a man-made object taken as a whole; like the reindeer made out of a fossilized candy-cane and pipe cleaners from the Ghost’s kindergarten year
2. Bow – a decorative interlacing of ribbons once fashioned by crafty hands and now bought by the dozen in a plastic bag
3. Christmas tree – an ornamented evergreen used as a Christmas decoration now made out of plastic or recycled material because the real ones are considered a fire hazard
4. Design – as in “the dog made a design near the neighbour’s inflatable manger”
5. Embellishment – a superfluous ornament; pretty much everything hauled out of the 12 boxes marked “festive” in the garage
6. Finial – an ornament at the top of a spire or gable; or that fancy thing that is always lost that holds the lampshade onto the arc
7. Gimcrackery – ornamental objects of no great value; what’s inside those expensive crackers everyone insists must be placed on the holiday table and no, you cannot make them yourself
8. Hood ornament – that metal bit on the front hood of a car emblematic of the manufacturer and usually broken off to be hung on a chain as a last minute gift
9. Incrustation – a decorative coating of contrasting material that is applied to a surface as an overlay: see Happy– Part 1
10. Jingle bells – those noisemakers that warn that carollers are coming
11. Kringle – better than a kugel and sweeter than a knish
12. Lunula – a crescent-shaped metal ornament of the Bronze Age hung by historians on their Christmas trees
13. Marzipan – those cute little fruit, vegetables and animals that harden into sweet tree ornaments if not eaten immediately
14. Necklet – a fur piece, precious metal or preferably gemstone necklace worn about the neck on Santa’s to-get list
15. Oranges – laboriously stuck with cloves til fingers bleed
16. Pattern – a decorative or artistic work; what happens to walls when felt pens are left out and small guests arrive
17. Quills – better for writing letters and in baskets than in Rover’s inquisitive nose
18. Rosemaling – a Scandinavian style of carved or painted decoration consisting of floral motifs best left to those who know how to do that type of thing
19. Set decoration – part of the set of a theatrical or movie production that takes place in living rooms at this time of year
20. Tinsel – a showy decoration that is basically valueless; those metal strands that took hours to place that the cat would eat like spaghetti
21. Ugly – a matter of opinion but usually in reference to footed pyjamas with animal appendages
22. Volute – a spiral or twisted formation more fun in food
23. Wind chime – a decorative arrangement of pieces of metal that hang together loosely so the wind can cause them to tinkle and drive the squirrels crazy – enough said…
24. X is for red lipstick kisses on cheeks, Y because….
25. Z – is the sound of peace

Across the Bored would venture that this word is being used in some form this month as a noun or verb and so the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge is about – Decoration.

“What is decoration to you?” – minimal or elaborate, clutter or clean, eyesore or eye candy, holiday or everyday… and it doesn’t have to be seasonal….

We would love to see your vision.

For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, here are some guidelines for the challenge: HOW DOES THIS WORK?

1.  I will post some commentary on a random topic that pops into my head (such as the above) and then ask you to respond on the same.
2. Your point of view on the current week’s challenge can take any form: a quote, a motto or saying, an essay, poem or opinion of yours or attributed to someone else, a piece of music, a song, a video, a work of art, photograph, graffiti, drawing or scribble – but it has to be about the topic!
3. Please, don’t just link to an old post… challenge yourself.
4. The Challenge will be open for 6 days after it is posted upon which I will post another.
5. ENJOY, have FUN and TELL your friends and fellow bloggers.

 SO – Create your Two Cents Tuesday Challenge post

1. Then add a link to your blog in my comment box.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your post, title your blog post “Two Cents Tuesday Challenge” and add the same as a tag.
3. If you would like your reader to see what others are presenting for the same challenge, add a link to the “Two Cents Tuesday” challenge on your own blog.
4. Feel free to pick up your badge on the Two Cents Tuesday Challenge page
5. Remember to Follow My Blog to get your weekly (hopefully) reminders.