5WAYS
TOCREATE
ABEAUTIFULCHRISTMAS

5 ways to create a beautiful Christmas by Julie Furlong

After a somewhat disruptive 2019 and 2020 festive season, I truly believe that this Christmas will be one where we pull together and are most grateful to be able to celebrate it with our family and friends. Following a year where we have experienced limited visitors to our homes and certain things we can and cannot do – isn’t it lovely to have our freedom back to do and see who we please?

In the office, our clients are almost wrapped up for the year and gifts of gratitude (thanks to @jzoosh) have been sent. A few well-deserved events, celebrating together at the wonderful @pinotandpicassonorthsydney and @bar_ombre_sydney have been on the cards for the work family, not only because it’s Christmas, but to mark the end of a tough and challenging year.

It is at this time of every year, like many, my focus moves to the boys and decorating my home with the intention to create holiday feelings and positive energy, filling the home with sparkle and spirit. A house never feels more welcoming than it does at Christmas. Some people look for a beautiful place, others make a place beautiful – that’s me. I love embracing a ‘whole house’, which involves a new decorating scheme each year, creating a beautiful space for family and friends, a place where we can come together and be thankful for another year of good health and appreciate the gift of being part of each other's lives. I methodically take the time to work from room to room, adding a special touch. People ask, how do you find the time or why even bother? That’s simple – I love doing it, and it makes me happy to create, especially when it’s my home and the intention is to create a special, comforting and peaceful place. But most of all, I love that my home has a ‘welcoming’ feeling the moment you enter it.

Each year one of my dearest friends, Antionette, owner of @ernestjohn.ej, and I get together for our annual tradition to dress, theme and decorate the Christmas dining table – each year with a different unique Christmas theme. She is the expert in this area, continuously coming up with a tapestry of creative ideas that always look amazing. We spend the afternoon putting our heart and soul into it, where many later, will come and gather to enjoy the magic and spirit we have crafted together.

The day, has become one of love, laughter and creativity for both of us, spending time together, bouncing off each other and collaboratively sharing ideas. Then when all is complete, the people closest to us and whom we care about most, get to enjoy our positive creation. Then at the end of the day once it is all over, when everyone leaves and the chaos subsides, there’s that warm satisfaction I have, knowing we created an amazing Christmas space for my nearest and dearest. (Read: Detach and Declutter)

It has been a tough couple of years and in one way or another we have all suffered some sort of loss through COVID, whether it be loneliness, self-esteem, poor health, a financial disaster, anxiety, fear… whatever it may be, Christmas helps us to believe again (Read: Covid 19 a time for humanity unity and kindness). In our hearts, we feel part of something and look optimistically towards the opportunity and new beginning of the coming year.

So, my 5 ways to create a beautiful Christmas is:

1. Reunite and enjoy these holidays, relax with the people you love and rejuvenate after the stresses of everyday life.
2. Take the time to enjoy the simple things together, curl up and let your bodies and minds relax and receive joy in the quieter moments.
3. Reflect and learn from the past and be grateful that we got through it, and hope for more peaceful, healthier Christmas’s to come – 2022 and beyond.
4. Spread goodwill around you, be generous (Read: 9 Incomparable reasons to be generous), and make people feel good.
5. Be inspired to create the space for many warm memories to come.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish you and your loved ones a very merry, beautiful Christmas.