Janet Decks Her Mantels

Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant

Location: Home for the Holidays

This year is the first Christmas in our new home. I discovered, as I set out to decorate for the season, that having lived in our other home for ten years, I had fallen into making lots of decisions by rote. Not so this year.

One of the greatest delights of our  new house is that I have not one but two mantels to festoon. I’ve never owned a mantel before! So I pulled out some lively Christmas stockings that my husband brought into our marriage and used them for the first time. Since our living room is visible from the entryway, I wanted to showcase the stockings, making the room as cheery and bright as possible.

I added my two favorite ornaments, cardinals, to the display. Our daughter Robin bought them for us many years ago, and I appreciate the artist’s whimsical interpretation of a cardinal, especially because my husband and I are birders. In the past I’ve them on the tree and then seldom saw them.

In the family room, I used a metal peacock that another daughter, Susan, gave us several Christmases ago. She had purchased it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and I love its elegant lines. I added a miniature wreath around its neck to give it a festive look.

Then I moved onto the entryway where a Japanese samurai warrior stands (he’s about 3 feet high). I bought the silly fellow while shopping with Susan earlier this year. He made us giggle when we saw him. The black metal-sculpted guy doesn’t realize he has a small head, paunchy stomach and over-sized buttocks. All in all, he’s not very smart and very out of shape. So I decked him out as befitted his persona, with a huge red ribbon for a Christmas bow tie. He makes our guests laugh.

To add to the merriment of the season, years ago my husband bought sleigh bells–apparently the real article–at a feed store. (My husband shops in unusual places;  he’s an anthropologist, which explains his fascination in all aspects of culture.) So we place the bells on door handles to give a merry jingle to all as they enter in and depart.

Candles are everywhere in the house, lending their soft light to the glow of the season.

As I put the finishing touches on the decorations (okay, I’m still moving objects from one place to another to decide where I like them best), I realized that, like any good writer, I’ve thought about how to incorporate all the senses in experiencing this holy, majestic and filled-with-wonder celebration: jingling bells, the fragrance of the evergreen (this year’s tree is especially fragrant), the warmth of the fire on one’s skin, and lots to look at. Of course, Christmas dinner will add many aromas and a feast for the taste buds.

May your Christmas be filled with warmth and brightness.