Article: Inhabitant
Decorating For Christmas with Paula Saunders
In New Zealand, we like to celebrate the tradition of Christmas visually as well as spiritually. The extent to which we can go to is vast! There are not many people who don’t look forward to putting their tree up, hanging lights and decorating their home in the anticipation of the big day.
Christmas trees are our most common symbolic decoration and come in all shapes, sizes and styles.
The custom of decorating a pine (or spruce) tree to celebrate Christmas originates from West Germany and dates as far back as the 16th Century, it was called a Paradise Tree and was decorated with apples to represent the Garden of Eden. It has been adopted worldwide and has evolved along with its decorations to what we now see around us.
You can purchase your own live tree and keep it alive for as long as possible so that not only can it be decorated but u can enjoy the smell of pine it gives off in your home. Man made trees are very popular and accessible, you can purchase one in just about any colour and size with the benefit of being able to use it year after year.
Christmas Decorations add the finishing touches to your tree and your home, it is amazing how many baubles, tinsel, stars, lights and handmade designs you can hang on one tree! Children’s decorating skills contribute to the fun and outcome of your tree, designing your own decorations can be fun and create an individual tree that you can enjoy over the holiday.
If a traditional pine tree is not your style you can use your imagination and local resources by collecting dead branches from the bush or twisted willow and decorate with whatever hanging ornaments you chose, a twisted willow in a vase simply decorated with lights and glass baubles can look spectacular.
You may prefer to not have a tree but instead hang decorations around your home such as Christmas wreaths welcoming people in your front door or exterior lights, garden lit themes, nativity scenes and figurines. There is nothing prettier than driving through the city at night to see the spectacle of homes and buildings lit with amazing Christmas scenes and symbols.
No matter what your style and skill for decorating is, Christmas is a time when anyone can get involved in the enjoyable task of symbolising what Christmas means to him or her and creating a visually festive environment for everyone to enjoy.
Paula Saunders studied Architectural Draughting graduating with a New Zealand Certificate. As an artist, Paula has always had a keen appreciation for design while holding an interest in the technical side of architecture. Having worked and trained staff in design in the Kitchen Manufacturing industry Paula decided to broaden her horizons and set out on her own to work in Interior Design. This has been a successful choice for the past 14 years during which she also managed to bring up her two sons, Tomas and Rory. At present Paula runs her own business ‘Time4Design’ and provide an interior design service to Golden Homes Ltd, David Reid Homes, Latitude Homes, and Classic Builders while also working for the private sector throughout the northern regions.
