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Christmas at Mary’s2011

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The holiday season means so many things to different people. One of my favorite quotes about it is…

…because isn’t that the way it feels? No matter what your belief, it seems everyone gets into the

holiday spirit with all the parties and lunches with old, seldom-seen friends, the beautiful over-

the-top decorations, choosing gifts for people who mean so much to us. It really is a festival of

light in the deepest, darkest days of winter—a celebration of hope and love!

So to celebrate the love I feel for you, all my dear friends, here is a mini holiday version of

Home Companion magazine! It’s my house decorated to the nines for Christmas and you’re all

invited to visit through these pages. Barbara Martin, Kathy Curotto, Angel Clark and I are thrilled

to put together this tiny issue as our gift to you. And, let’s face it, it was a gift to ourselves too,

because we had SO much fun doing it again!

So Merry Christmahannakwaan—may you all have a houseful of love this holiday season!

Blessed be the season that engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love—Hamilton Wright Mabie

just a notewhat’s new? well, pull up a chair…

pho

to b

y W

esle

y La

w

i

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I HAVE SO MANY WONDERFUL MEMORIES OF MY CHILDHOOD CHRISTMASES—my

mother and father made it absolutely magical for me and my sisters. I hope I (and Will verifies that

I did) made some great memories for my kids as well. As you know, I’m not a cook, so I wisely

leave those memories up to my husband, Phil. My forte has always been the decorating, and I try

to make it different each year. The house we live in now is almost completely done in shades of

yellow and orange, and if there is a more hideous combination with red and green, I don’t know

what it is. So I stick to lots of gold, silver and orange in the living room, dining room and kitchen

and I think it still looks pretty Christmasy. I love doing it and even though each year I swear I won’t

get out EVERYTHING, I generally get carried away and do it anyway. The key is to NOT think

about taking it all down while you’re putting it up.

So come on in and take a look around—welcome to our Christmas Cottage!

HOMEfor the

holidays

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All my collections come

out at Christmas! Snowmen

guard my feather tree full

of silver and frosted orna-

ments, LEFT, and even my

white McCoy pottery has

been pressed into duty as

stands for bottle brush trees

on the mantel, OPPOSITE.

I also have a ridiculously

large collection of garlands,

but I can’t bring myself to

get rid of any of them. One

of my favorites is the old

honeycomb paper one here.

And you’ll notice that the

portrait of my boys by Bob

Moskowitz has even been

dressed for the holidays!

Upholstered chair:

Expressions, 314-567-6200

photography ©Barbara Elliott Martin

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LEFT: My beloved

bell jars stay out all

year, usually filled

with all manner of

things from wed-

ding cake toppers

to mementos from

my children. But

for now they’re

all housing angels

sitting on batting

clouds, surrounded

by all the silver

trimmings I could

find. BELOW LEFT

and OPPOSITE:

Our short staircase

showcases a little

village and, yes—

more garlands.

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Above the table I hung a banner I made

out of one of my drawings called, “The

Christmas Queen”. I stapled it to a

wooden dowel I gilded and glittered

(STILL trying to get the glitter off my

art table!), and then hung Christmas

wind chimes on either end, ABOVE.

Chair: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams,

800-789-5401, mgbwhome.com; Paper

mache buckets (under console table):

Rothschild’s Antiques and Home

Furnishings, 314-361-4870, rothschildsstl.

com. LEFT: This is our fireplace in the

kitchen—one of the main reasons we

bought the house! The marble and

stone busts each got a glittery wreath

to wear on its’ head and my favorite

little tree sits right where I can enjoy it

every day. The fabulous paper wreath

was from November’s Home Companion

Workshop—you’ll find instructions to

make your own at the end of this story.

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These are our everyday

dishes, napkins, glasses

and silverware, but

they take on a festive

air when combined

with pale-colored orna-

ments, trees, Christmas

crackers, and of course,

garlands! Now all we

need are a few friends

to make this table set-

ting complete!

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cake stand paper edge Use decorative edger punch on strips of paper and secure with double stick tape.

wreath1. Wrap a Styrofoam wreath form

with crepe paper streamer and

secure with pins.

2. Add wire loop in back to hang.

3. Cut out “leaves” using regular

scissors and pinking shears and

a variety of solid and decorative

papers.

4. Fold leaves in half vertically.

5. Adhere with hot glue.

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crepe paper trees 1. Cover Styrofoam cone with crepe paper

streamer and secure with pins.

2. Cut out triangles from one side of streamer

in saw tooth fashion ½ to ²⁄³ of the way up.

3. Adhere cut streamer to cone with hot glue

gathering in rows starting at bottom and over-

lapping to the top.

4. If cone does not have a tip, spiral streamer

to make point.

star-flower tree topper 1. Accordion fold square- or rectangular-

shaped paper. The number of pleats created

will determine the number of petals.

2. Fold the pleats in half at center and staple.

3. To form petals, cut from right side of fold

to left side. The deeper the cut, the thinner

the petal.

4. Open to fan out sides and glue ends

together to form the flower. ï

Wreath: Target, target.com