The Rural Voice, 2001-12, Page 43Home Decorating
Christmas trip brings new decorating ideas
By Patti Robertson
With great anticipation I have
been looking forward to sharing my
family's Christmas 2000 experience
with you, my readers. Feeling we
needed to add some new interest to
our yuletide festivities Ward, I, and
our daughters Heidi and Hailey
headed out for New Orleans to spend
our Christmas together. Needless to
say the experience has not only
provided a wide variety of memories
but many stories to tell and a unique
look at how Christmas decor is
tackled in Louisiana.
Yes, it was a little strange with no
snow, our only Christmas tree being
in the lobby of our quaint old hotel
and of course no turkey smells to
wake up to ... in fact my personal
Christmas dinner was a plate of
spicy, boiled potatoes and creamed
spinach. For Christmas morn, I made
a fruit platter, prepared with a plastic
knife — no mean feat, and served it
upon the hotel's hospitality tray. We
added pastries and coffee from the
continental breakfast and enjoyed a
round of champagne and orange
juice.
The view from our balcony and
out those massive double -hung
windows were of a gentleman's
apartment across the narrow, cobbled
street. His decorations were
marvelous! This innovative person
had lavishly draped each of his
massive Boston ferns, which
cascaded from the beautiful wrought
iron balcony, in mini lights and huge
red velvet bows and garlands. This
theme incorporated on the entire
wrap-around length of the balcony
and flowed to the inner wall where
massive pots of palms had also been
embellished. Another home's
balcony, that caught my eye sported
massive red -tinseled Christmas trees
aglow with white and green
Christmas lights — very '60s. In fact
in New Orleans a body sees a large
array of nostalgic Christmas decor as
the weather there does not take its toll
on exterior decorations as it certainly
does here.
In the five days that we celebrated
our millennium Christmas in the
French Quarter of New Orleans we
were treated to so many sights it
boggles the mind. It's quite a parade
to walk along Decatur Street as
nearly everyone dons some style of
Christmas attire — everything from
Santa suits (I saw Santas in every
shape, form, colour and state of
sobriety, that I
have ever seen
or imagined!),
elves' caps and
ears to turn -of -
the -century
bedecked
carollers. My
favourite was a
baby completely
decked out as a
mini Santa
Claus being
pushed along in
a beautiful
French Pram
which was
tastefully
bedecked with festive garland. All the
shrubbery in Jackson Square was
aglow with copper (not amber)
intermixed with clear Christmas
lights, an incredibly showy
combination not yet being used in our
area.
There were pantomimists,
jugglers, street musicians and
carollers on every street corner and
"jazzy" Christmas music filled the air
as the hustle and bustle of tourists
and shoppers abounded. The shops
were decked out with the spirit of fun
and fantasy but the most unique
surprises were when one looked up to
the apartments above the shops to
take in the decorations far above
street level. Wow! You actually had
to cross to the opposite side to get the
best view of the'embellishments
which cascaded down from the
apartments which often went five and
six stories above the shops below.
On Christmas Eve we toured the
Garden District, where the rich and
famous live in every style of southern
home imaginable — each decorated, or
I should say lavishly iced, in
Christmas finery. Of interest was how
these residents had wrapped all their
trees, from the ground up, tight to the
bark and extending out each limb, in
mini lights. Of course this would not
be practical in our snowbound
neighbourhoods but this could be
easily incorporated indoors on room -
sized plants.
My favourite Christmas decorating
show stopper was the gargantuan
front door of a beautiful French -
styled mansion. Here was
incorporated a garland of fresh
cypress boughs all bedecked with
fresh fruits. Three huge pineapples
adorned the pediment of the door
while down each side were apples,
oranges, lemons, limes, pomegranates
all wrapped in gold netting and
intermixed with mini -lights and gold
gossamer — incredible, and certainly
an idea we can incorporate here using
artificial fruits!
Another idea I thought particular
fun was featured on author Anne
Rice's home, were all the wrought
iron fences, gates and balconies were
swagged with greenery garlands
bedecked with every imaginable size
of candy canes and hundreds of cello -
wrapped bonbons — talk about "eye
candy!"
In general there is a very youthful
air and light-hearted approach to the
Christmas decor in this old port town.
The paddle -wheelers on the old
Mississippi are all lit up with
Christmas finery and on Christmas
night people have bonfires all along
the old Muddy Miss with carolling —
quite the sight from a paddle -
wheeler's deck.
The highlight of our all too brief
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DECEMBER 2001 39