Memories For Christmas

Mike and Audrey from Belfast put a huge amount of time, effort and flair into decorating their home for Christmas. The combination of being avid lovers of the festive season and being keen travellers has led to an impressive collection of Christmas decorations built up over many years with every item holding a special memory for them.

At Christmas time people often comment about our large spruce tree in the garden,’ laughs Mike. ‘I wouldn’t like to be paying your electric bill!’ they would say. We were told it would grow to about 12 feet. Six thousand tree lights later, it’s now 35 feet tall!’

When it comes to decorating their home, Audrey loves to share her ideas and inspiration on how to create a stunning and magical home for Christmas. ‘Keep your eyes open for decorations throughout the year and when it comes to starting your Christmas decorating, mix and match various shapes and sizes to add interest and consider sticking to a theme for each Christmas tree,’ she says. ‘The decorations don’t have to be expensive. We buy many of ours in discount stores. With the exception of the Swarovski items, all decorations are very inexpensive,’ adds Mike. The soft toy collection, which started out as one tree, now adorns several trees and the ones in the kitchen overflow to the top of the units. Again, each toy carries a memory for Mike and Audrey, like the Macy’s 2013 teddy from a trip to New York. ‘Christmas is a time for kids so a tree that is filled with soft toys is a magical sight for any young child. This again is a collection that we have added to over the years and we have a huge selection of colours and characters that brings a fun aspect to our Christmas décor.