And then some.
Because her relatives live abroad, there are decorations from many lands. Her mother’s family is from Czechoslovakia, her father’s family is in Germany.
“They always give us ornaments when we visit them,” she said. “My godmother’s son traveled frequently to Italy and always brought his mother Pinocchio ornaments. When she passed away, I inherited 100 Pinocchio ornaments that I display on my Pinocchio tree.”
Wales, a 72-year-old resident of Miami Twp., said she has been “into Christmas” as far back as she can remember.
“It’s a season for sharing the wonderful spirit of the Christmas celebration with friends, family and those who have neither. For me, its about tradition, nostalgia and the reliving of memories.”
Her inspiration
Wales said it was her godmother who inspired her “overblown” Christmas decor.
“That’s where I learned everything I know about decorating, about hosting, about etiquette,” she said. My godmother decorated every room top to bottom and that’s where I caught the fever."
She estimates she puts up at least 1,000 individual decorations each year in her cozy home.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Every room is lovingly curated for the holiday. Husband Doug decorates outside.
“I do whatever Anita tells me to do and do my best to make a nice holiday presentation,” he said. ”We have snowmen and reindeer, wreaths and Santa, garlands and Christmas trees in the backyard."
Anita said her husband takes great pride in putting little scenarios together in the front yard and down a whimsical garden path which they can enjoy from the kitchen window.
Inside, an antique Santa greets visitors at the entrance; a five-foot Santa is perched at the top of the stairs.
There are four themed trees. A 12-foot tree honors non-human creatures. There are cats and mice, dogs, birds, fish, miniature bird nests, bird feeders.
“We buy ornaments when we travel and I when I worked in China, I collected handmade ornaments there,” Anita said. “We have German hand-blown glass birds and there are many other countries represented on that tree. It’s whimsical, fun and upbeat.”
The dining room tree is more formal and glistens with silver, blue and ornaments.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
“Doug and I are sailors and Doug is also a pilot so that means all of our comrade sailors and fellow pilots would give us ornaments related to our avocation. We used to have an airplane tree and a nautical tree but we’ve recently combined those into one tree.”
The family room fireplace is surrounded by nutcrackers, the etagere holds the Santa collection, the stairwell banister is surrounded by lit garlands. The great room has a crystal village display; above the front door is a complete Dickens village. Waterford Crystal’s “Twelve Days of Christmas” sits on a stand made specifically to display them.
The collection of Christmas carolers began as gifts from Anita’s co-workers 40 years ago. The guest bathroom features Christmas towels and soaps as well as Czech straw dolls and Russian stacking dolls.
“My first purchase toward my own decorations was a set of beautiful china angels I bought at Marshall Fields when I was 18 and yes, I still have them,” Wales said.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Early memories
Anita’s earliest Christmas memories date back to her childhood in Chicago.
“My parents were immigrants from Czechoslovakia after World War II so we did more with less. We had very simple decorations but we did decorate every year as a family. Mom and the girls —my sister and I — always decorated the inside of our house. We always had a tree with angel hair, beautiful colored bulbs, a creche and other decorations on our mantel. Santa always left all the packages coming out of the fireplace, like he had just dropped them down the chimney.
“My dad did the outside with beautiful colorful strings of light. I wish I could have saved those lights but the wiring disintegrated.”
Many of the displays mix old and new objects.
“There’s a spiritual awakening which comes with the season and I love to share this wonderful awakening which is very uplifting and provides a peace and sense of joy,” said Wales. “I have several creches, one from my childhood that belonged to my parents. My mother took ceramics and made another creche that I have. I collect porcelain Hummel figurines and have a set that includes Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes.”
Entertaining at holiday time
It’s no surprise that Anita and Doug love sharing their holiday with others. The dining room table is set with elegant Christmas tablecloths, dishes, glasses, napkins, centerpieces.
Even if guests drop in for coffee, they will always find a little gift at their place setting. It may be an ornament, a small picture frame used as a place card, candles, a mini-snow globe, or nutcracker, a snowman that lights up.
“It’s my way of saying thank you for sharing your time with us,” Anita said. “I love sharing our holiday home with casual or formal gatherings of friends, neighbors, co-workers and, of course, family.”
Packing and unpacking
Unpacking and inside decorating take Anita about 30-40 hours. Doug spends the same amount of time outdoors.
The decorations are stored in a walk-in area above the garage.
“The key is total organization,” Wales said. “Each display area has it’s own labeled tub, which makes putting things up much easier. Packing up is just as important as unpacking.”
Decorating for Christmas, she said, is a lot of work but definitely a labor of love.
“I can display and share all of my wonderful collections that have come to me over the years through family, friends, colleagues, inheritances and, more recently, estate sales. It allows me to create a personal and warm environment expressing my sentiments of the season.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
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