My 10th Christmas

This is my 10^th Christmas at Patterson House as house manager…

My 10^th year dealing with the task of decorating a 7,000 foot mansion… preparing for as many as 4,000 visitors… Then dealing with the 4,000 visitors… Walking the thin line between “Victorian” and “Macy’s Window. ” We have too much Christmas… way too much… There are trees, garland, lights (not many lights… and the lights appropriate for 1903… we think about these things…) wreaths (lots of wreaths), and decorations… lots of decorations…

This year, as we head into the season, I am feeling unprepared… There are rooms so far not claimed… I have claimed one room, the library, for a homage to Father Christmas and Santa Claus… using Santa dolls… lots of Santa dolls… which usually live in the attic…

Now, 5 days into the season things seem to be coming together… all rooms are claimed… 6 rooms are done… 6 more are mostly done or at least well started… only a few are so far a dream… but all have stuff staged… all are working towards the day, now two weeks away when we open… and welcome guests…

I am doing the library… (how appropriate) in a Santa theme… (as reported above…) I am using our Santa doll collection to illustrate the progression from Father Christmas and St. Nick to Santa… the red white and blue Santa of Lincoln in 1863… to the red and white Santa of the 1890’s Coca Cola tray and shopping mall of today…

With all this Christmas at work… I am trying to figure out how much Christmas is appropriate at home… I am thinking outdoor lights… a tree, but maybe a small tree… a nativity scene… (Prohibited at work) It is not clear how or where we will celebrate… We will celebrate, we just don’t know where…

Thanksgiving, fast approaching is similarly undefined… I need to think about it more… acquire a turkey (a small turkey) and other supplies…

It's now a bit after 8:00… time to head off to work… and way too much Christmas