Decorationg Interior Design
MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HANUKKAH! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! It’s FINALLY the season and I couldn’t be more ready and excited. Seriously – I’ve been listening to Christmas music since October. #Oops #DontTellSanta
I love unpacking my decorations every year and discovering things I’ve forgotten. That’s why I’d like to share a story about the roots of some of my favorite decorations. It started about 10 years ago and involved lots of cookies, lots of Christmas parties and lots of Santas.
Let’s rewind to 2006. I was 13 and my mother said to me one day, “I’ve put you on the schedule next month so you can start working in the workshop!” My mother and my aunt owned a lovely lunch café and a cookie shop called Hey, Good Cookies! (better known to us as “the store”). I wasn’t thrilled at the time, but I knew that day would come eventually.
Every December we had a “Hey, Good Cookies!” Christmas party – usually in a nice restaurant where about 15 of us employees ate and were merry. My mother and my aunt each gave us a Christmas present as a token of their appreciation. I quickly learned that the gift was the same almost every year: a Christmas figurine from the Jim Shore collection.
As a teenager I thought, “Oh great, another Santa statue.” Not ungrateful, but 13-year-olds don’t usually appreciate beautiful decorations – all my colleagues were older and loved the presents.
Fast forward to 2012 – I was 19 and was particularly excited to help my parents decorate for Christmas. As we unpacked the decorations, my mom pulled out her Santa figurines. “MAMA!!!!! These are so beautiful!!! Where did you get them???”
“Hayley. This is what we give you every year from the shop. You have a lot of that.”
Oops.
It’s true. I had collected six Santa Claus figurines over the years without noticing their beauty.
Since then, my Santa figurines have been a Christmas treasure and my favorite part of decorating – even more than putting up a tree!
Santas fondly remind me of my years working at the “store.” During the holidays, give cookie gifts and serve warm coffee drinks through the ice-cold drive-thru window. It was a time of service and giving, and that’s what this season is really about. Who would have thought that a superficial statue of Santa Claus could evoke such meaning and memories?
Although I didn’t fully understand the gifts at the time, they have a story now. They symbolize something that so many people love about Christmas: nostalgia. Memories of Christmases past and putting others before yourself. I make sure each Santa has a prominent place so that this importance is not forgotten.
When we have children, I hope to create traditions that they will hold onto for a lifetime and encourage them to serve and love. Even if they don’t really appreciate it at the moment, it can have great meaning for them as they get older – a sign of understanding the nostalgia of Christmas.
What traditions do you maintain each year? Do you have a favorite decoration or activity that gets you in the Christmas spirit? I’d love to hear it!!
If you want a Jim Shore figurine in your home, you can find it here at Macy’s: https://www1.macys.com/shop/featured/jim-shore
