LESLIE SHARES HER BEST ADVICE FOR FINDING THE BALANCE IN DECORATING WITH EVERGREEN ACCENTS. 1. Experiment with Placement. “I don’t just put the evergreen strands on the stair banister. I put them in other places as well,” she says. Aim for originality by hanging your evergreen sprigs, wreaths and garlands, whether they are real or fake, around the fireplace, behind bar stools, atop bookshelves and even on windows inside the home, like Leslie does for her kitchen’s windows. 2. Pair Back and Edit. Sometimes there’s such a thing as too much holiday decoration. For occasions such as this, Leslie says to take a step back and see how each evergreen vignette might flow into the next. Having a neutral toned home helps in this situation, as all Leslie has to do is pepper evergreen throughout the house to ensure her holiday décor feels consistent from room to room. 3. Collect and Curate. “I didn’t start out with 20 evergreen trees,” says Leslie. “When I first started decorating for Christmas, I only had one tree.” Now, feeling like the holidays should take pride of place throughout her 100-year-old home, she has slowly collected faux Christmas trees over time that she then pairs with other evergreen accents. T TIPS FOR DECORATING WITH EVERGREEN GARLANDS AND WREATHS “Every year I try to go traditional with green, red or white color combos,” she says. “Christmas is the most special time of the year because it’s all about family tradition. We even make the same casserole that my mom used to cook.” For Leslie and her family that includes three grown boys, the holidays are steeped in familiar customs. Decked out in their matching pajamas, the family still assembles each Christmas morning around the fireplace and opens their stockings and presents. But that doesn’t mean they don’t mix it up, too. “Each year we get more and more creative with our gift tags,” Leslie says. In fact, she’s prone to crafting little Sudoku puzzles on the gifts she gives her children that they then must solve to figure out exactly whose presents the gifts belong to. “It’s become quite the fun new tradition among our family.” 86 HOLIDAYdécor | 2022
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