Design Traditions for Christmas
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Dear Marion,
It is the month of advent, creating cozy experiences, capturing moments of pure joy, and sometimes feeling bittersweet. ‘Tis the season to embrace traditions both old and new, a time we would usually spend with our loved ones attending Christmas parties, lunches, shopping, and yes, decorating. This year has been challenging, it has been unfair for so many(to say the least) and we have been lucky to have our health and one another. To keep up our spirits, we are doing our best to help create new traditions that we may only enjoy this year or decide to incorporate into next year when we find a new normal.
Your granddaughter is very much keen on tradition and enjoying the full breadth of Christmas and all it has to offer...I wonder who she takes after?. Your grandson has long since given up his desire to experience all that the season has to offer and that’s ok. The four of us used to be filled with delight with all of the preparations but as they entered middle school the transition began. While the boys may have lost interest in the details, the two of us still enjoy all and we fully immerse ourselves in the many stages beginning with the decor outside our home, then the cozy corners of our interior, lastly the trek for the perfect living tree. Each year we have tried different avenues...the local firehouse, driving to a distant farm to cut our own tree, to a local long owned family nursery and landscaping business. This year the two of us began the weekend before Thanksgiving which is a record for us. Considering we started watching Christmas movies in September, maybe it is not a surprise.
I believe this pandemic drove our neighbor to take down their Halloween decor the day after and immediately swapped it for Christmas lighting/decor. The Christmas tone was set and soon after, many of our neighbors took the plunge and so began the curiosity and joy each time we drove down the block to see yet another home's transformation. One of my favorite memories with you and dad was climbing into the back of dad's Chrysler Newport with a cozy blanket and driving around neighborhoods to take in the mesmerizing light displays and with it family time including conversation and stories. The largest displays aren’t always my favorite, neither am I always attracted to the same style. I love to see what people choose. It's visual storytelling and it feels like a new experience every year filling me with hope and joy. Now I recognize it doesn’t have this effect on everyone as it rarely catches the attention of everyone in my family but when it does it’s magical.
For years, I tried many different themes or color stories outside but finally realized our home looked its best with traditional green roping on the banister and a reindeer focal point on the porch all highlighted with tiny white lights. We use multi-colored lights on our interior Christmas Tree just as we did in our home when you were in charge of decorating. As a side note, living in NYC before we had children, we decorated with white lights and overall white or neutral ornaments mixed with silver and gold. I loved our tree then, but for this home, it seems more natural to embrace color on our tree using many decorations that we have made the last 17 years as well as some beautiful ornaments we received as gifts. We used to have a number of old fashioned hand made glass ornaments that you gave us as well as I collected including Christian Radko designs. The last time we saw many of those was on the floor in a million pieces due to a tree falling incident. As you know, this home is a living home and nothing is too precious but I have to admit that one hurt... oddly funny too.
Another year we decorated the tree with only found objects from nature including sea glass, tree bark, shells, and even rocks. All were of course introduced to a variety of glitter and ribbons as your granddaughter would find acceptable. That was the Christmas we gave everyone an ornament to take home - they each chose the one they wanted from our tree. They were beautiful, the sea glass caught the light in a magical way, and in theory, could go out with the tree for recycling minus the lights of course.
Since we have shifted gears this year, I noticed we not only took our time decorating but we also took the time to experience all of our options as we trekked to a distant Tree Farm (never tried), checked out the Fire House offerings, as well as our local long owned Family Nursery/Landscaping. We purchased different decor at each as well as indulging in hot chocolate to complete the experience. By the time we came home we were exhausted, feeling the spirit of Christmas ...and starving. We picked up some pizza dough at our local grocery, sauce, pepperoni, and fresh mozzarella. It was Homemade Pizza night with a Christmas movie on the screen and plans for a decorating extravaganza.
We talked about cookie making for our neighbors and family, made lists, and thought about new ideas to bring “Cozy” to our home. Our home is tight on space but large on character and we may have a very small piece of land but our open water view creates a feeling of expanse. As our property is open to a fork in the river, our exposure brings full wind which is wonderful in warmer months but brutal in the colder season. Each season we try new ideas but have realized everything needs to be tied carefully and diligently in its place or it will blow away. Last year, a sudden wind came through and broke our wooden flag pole in half, taking both the flag and half of the pole far down the road and into a neighbor's yard.
Design, even when it’s your holiday decorating inside or out, should be what you want to see taking into account your space, climate, and story. This year brought about many challenges and for this holiday season, I hope you can take a moment to do what brings you joy..even if it’s as simple as a cup of hot chocolate while reaching out to a loved one.
Talk soon,
Forever Yours
Quote:
“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
1812-1870
British novelist, journalist, editor, illustrator, and social commentator