Holiday Decorating: Crown Me the Crazy Christmas Lady

Most people find my Christmas obsession a curious dichotomy. From January to October, I exude an aura of cynicism and irreverence. Come November 1, a joyous holiday spirit overtakes me, and I launch into decorating. 

I can’t quite figure out why. I was an adopted, only child, raised by a Jewish mother and Italian Catholic father. We had a tree and a menorah—simple and traditional. But the holiday season was also the only time my little family of three ventured from the Washington, D.C., area north to Rhode Island, where my extended family lived and snow was almost guaranteed. Perhaps my nostalgia comes from this brief time each year when I felt less isolated and alone, when I could blend among the members of that big family and feel less out of place in my immediate one. 

But that still doesn’t quite explain why the sight of snow, the warm glow specific to a string of Christmas lights, or the smooth tones of Andy Williams can spark instant feelings of joy inside my chest. 

That’s become my response to those who ask what possesses me to spend so much time, energy, money, and storage space on Christmas decorating: It brings me joy. That feels like a worthy investment to me.

Winter white on the covered deck, Photo by Joel Lassiter

On Marital Resistance

Christmas decorating is yet another area where my husband and I live at opposite poles (mine, obviously, is the north one). This poor man equally loathes clutter and the holidays, and I accost him with both for two months out of the year. Our deal is that I can do what I want as long as he doesn’t have to help. He’s come around over the years. After the install is over, he always admits he enjoys (most of) the decorating and how much the kids and I love it. 

One year, I constructed a Bravo-themed Christmas dinner display in our front yard, complete with a fully set dinner table adorned with life-size cardboard cutouts of Bravolebrities. When he came home from work that day, I hid. When I eventually emerged, he chuckled. He knew our neighbors would recognize this as my handiwork. “Aren’t you embarrassed?” he said. “Because everyone knows that’s 100% you.”

Indeed. And I took 100% credit when Andy Cohen featured it as his “Mazel of the Day” on Watch What Happens Live, and Austen Kroll from Southern Charm rang my doorbell on Christmas Eve after he had admired his position at my table. 

On Starting My Inventory

I began to amass my stock of holiday treasures after my husband and I bought our first home in 2012. I was on Pinterest, saw photos of Jennifer Houghton’s home and was thunderstruck. She gave me the permission I needed to go all out. 

I started making a lot of things on my own. It was a joyful, creative outlet that both justified holiday crafting activities and, because I shopped early in the year, kept costs relatively low. One year after we had the deck redone, I had extra wood planks. I painted them and created a candy cane fence along with several Christmas characters for the front yard. 

I’ve invested in gingerbread houses, nutcrackers, good ribbon, and quality lights. I think I’m done buying, for the most part. But I will never stop purchasing colored balls. I have about seven or eight jumbo storage bins filled with ball ornaments arranged by color. And I always need more. 

Photo by Joel Lassiter

On Storage

Until recently, everything was stored all over the house—garage, attic, guest room, and crawl space. This year, we had the area under our deck outfitted for storage, so it’s all under there now. I think this has made my husband a little less grouchy.  

On Admitted Extremes

I have repainted rooms in my house because I didn’t like the way the color worked for Christmas decorations. My living room used to be all navy blue, which was striking and worked well for a large open space that flooded with light. But I couldn’t bring any red into the room during the holiday season without it looking too patriotic, so I left one accent wall and had the rest repainted in soft grayish-blue. I also paint the front door every year—usually a glittery, high-shine red or hot pink. I’m about two years away from hitting the limit on repaints before we need a new front door. 

One year, I thought the artwork on the wall clashed. So I took it all down, wrapped each piece as if it was a present, and hung it back on the wall covered in paper and bows. I quite liked it. My husband had his own term for this behavior: “next-level insane.”

Candy Land Dining Room, Photo by Joel Lassiter

Where to Shop 

I love to support local, but I’ve bought most of my decorations online or at Hobby Lobby or At Home. I do a lot of holiday shopping in the offseason, when it’s discounted. My neighbors are used to seeing a large tree box arrive in April or July. I’ve gotten the best trees for an affordable price from Macy’s online. 

Charlotte desperately needs a mega-holiday store. So many are in Texas—Holiday Warehouse, Decorator’s Warehouse, Miss Cayce’s, Madisonville Christmas Company, The Christmas Shoppe—I’ve considered making a trip. If anyone has a store or warehouse space in Charlotte and the ability to shop markets and purchase wholesale, people like me would gladly help you buy, merchandise, and market in exchange for a good discount.

Santa room, courtesy

On Going Professional

I once looked into what it would take to be professional holiday decorator, but I fear that would take the joy out of it. What I would really like to do is put up a big, beautiful tree or exterior decorations for an elementary school or neighborhood in a low-income area. Every year, we adopt several families and bring them presents and food for the holidays. The families in these communities can’t waste time with something as frivolous as holiday decor, but all children should have the opportunity to delight in the wholesome magic of the season. Each year, I try to find a place that will let me come in and do something, but I’ve never been able to get anyone to take me seriously or call me back. One year I got close, but the landlords didn’t want me to jack up their power bills. 

On Other Holidays

My holiday decorating is limited to Christmas. I don’t feel festive for any other holiday. A lot of Christmas decorators I follow on Instagram are year-round holiday enthusiasts, even utilizing their trees for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, the 4th of July, and Halloween. I tried to do this one year in hopes of it giving me the same dopamine boost in the post-Christmas winter season. But it just felt tacky and cluttered and an overall waste of time—which helped me understand how my husband feels during November and December. 

Photo by Joel Lassiter

Tree Decorating Must-Haves

The most time-consuming and important part is fluffing the tree (if artificial). I follow a pattern of spreading the individual mini-branches left, right, up, then down. 

String your lights from the trunk to the tips so light comes from inside and outside the perimeter.

Picks and stems are the most important element. Three varieties, balanced generously throughout, are the right amount.

See more of my holiday decorating tips here.

Amanda Pagliarini Howard is the digital editor. You can follow her Christmas decorating extravaganzas on Instagram.