I like to mix our Christmas up a little… change colours… add new decorations… take away some of the old (not the favourites though)… hang them in different places or arrange them in alternative groupings. Last year I chose ‘silver’, ‘white’ and ‘clear’ as my theme… The silver mercury ornaments shimmered and the clear glass twinkled… the decor felt peaceful… and for me, that is the meaning of Christmas.
This year I am changing tack… I am bringing back the colour. I think it was last weekend in Paris that I found a hankering for the brights… These colourful garlands strung in the 6th arrondissement charmed me… They were not sophisticated, perfect in design or uniform in any way… yet they had such a festive quality and feeling of merriment about them. To me, they feel celebratory, happy and full of exuberance and that is how I want our home to feel this year.
I will be adding red, lots and lots of red… and violet…. as much violet as I can rustle up…. to the sparkling silver and twinkly glass ornaments… I have found the Christmas crackers… An English tradition and one that I carry by hand (at great inconvenience) to France every year… but we can’t live without them… our table would not be dressed without the bon bons… and Christmas would not be Christmas without them… I am going to light red candles in our hallway… and all throughout the house and I want to wrap the staircase in a garland of oak leaves and red berries… Ambitious plans… And when will all this happen? All I can say is that I better hurry up… Wreaths… Other than the front door, I am planning on hanging individual wreaths on our gilt mirrors on the staircase and in the library… Simple pine with silk satin ribbons should do the trick.
