Christmas captures those moments in time when we happily open our hearts, minds, and arms as well as the doors to our homes. We welcome family and friends, both old and new, into our lives to share the blessings of the season.
Although it is a holiday that epitomizes gift giving, Christmas is also a time for giving intangibles like our time and thanks. Rejoicing in Christ’s birth allows people to come together and embrace those familial feelings of comfort, devotion, and support.
For many folks, their feelings for the Season are revealed in their choice of holiday décor – whether it is playful and whimsical, serious and traditional, romantic and dreamy, or spiritual and faith-based.
Precious displays of heirlooms and homemade ornaments can provide a peek into a person’s past. A gentle scent of peppermint candy canes or a soft rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” resonating throughout the home, can conjure up warm feelings of nostalgia for guests. A home’s holiday aura provides a special invitation into the mindset of their host.
“When people walk into my home, I want them to feel that immediate warmth and sense of welcome,” says Linda Germ, a Middle Valley resident who decorates nearly every room in her house, beginning her decorating as early as October. Her home boasts eight trees, each one with a different theme and style. Every tree creates a magical setting and reveals a tidbit about Linda and her husband, James.
For example, the couple’s “travel tree,” which is nestled in the dining room, boasts ornaments that she and James purchased while vacationing around the globe. The foyer dons a “nature tree,” with birds, bird nests, and pine cones while the library proudly displays an “angel tree” featuring everything from glass angels and hand-blown porcelain angels to wooden angels they collected while in New Zealand. Linda says her grandchildren’s tree in the recreation room plays host to an array of Walt Disney character ornaments including Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger.
Inspired by songs like “It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas,” Linda says she wants her home to feel like “a child’s fairyland.” “It’s for kids and adults alike to feel like kids,” she says. “I’m a big kid at heart and it’s such a special time of the year. I just love Christmas and I decorate so everyone can enjoy it as much as I do.”
Wooden nutcracker dolls flank each step of the entrance staircase; Santa Clauses, both old-world and modern, are placed strategically throughout the home, adding a whimsical element and a simple contrast to more traditional and nature-driven décor such as poinsettias and pinecones. Linda also places snow villages depicting various Christmas scenes throughout the home, helping establish the footprint of playfulness.
Of her grandchildren’s thoughts of her fairyland surroundings, Linda says “they love it” as they enjoy interacting with some of them. “I have one nutcracker that stands 3 feet tall and every year they measure themselves against him to see how much taller they are from last year,” Linda says. “We also have a 4-foot-tall Santa who is wearing a chef’s hat and holding a chalkboard. The kids like to write our Christmas dinner menu on his chalkboard.”
Linda and James’ holiday spirit extends outdoors onto their porch and lawn and all the way down their driveway; décor includes everything from replicas of Santas and soldier boys to white lights flanking the lengthy driveway. A beautiful multi-colored archway at the front stoop provides a glimpse of what lies inside.
Above all, for Linda and James the celebration of Christmas represents a “big birthday celebration for Jesus’ birth,” which they enjoy sharing with their loved ones. Adorning their home with relics of the season inspires their childhood playfulness.
Local interior designer Marty Stanley, Allied Member ASID, IDS, believes there is no right or wrong way to decorate your home for the holidays. “Make your design personal to you and your family,” she says. “While some people collect an assortment of decorations and scatter them throughout their home, others prefer a more cohesive theme – coordinating through color, motif and style, and delighting in that one-of-a-kind, one-time-only creation.”
Stanley says adding natural elements like fresh greenery, pine cones, pheasant feathers or berries to your holiday design “has a way of touching the soul.” To perpetuate a sophisticated Christmas palette that lends a warm and inviting sense of charm to guests, add décor boasting white and gold, she notes. “The color combination gives design a bit of a modern edge yet it is still classic and elegant,” she says. “The theme of white and gold could carry through to your tree design as well by using beautiful white flowers, pearls, and gold lame` intertwined throughout the tree.”
Whether a person blankets their home with a traditional red and green color scheme or the more contemporary gold and silver, their true Christmas spirit lies within those things that cannot be wrapped or placed underneath the tree – generosity, respect, compassion, and good will to all.