T
Throughout the holidays, Dian Scott can be found hosting frequent festive gatherings at her home.
Though she decorates a little for spring, Easter, fall, and Halloween, Christmas is Dian’s favorite
holiday. If her extensive Christmas décor doesn’t show it, her giving spirit surely does. “The birth
of Christ radiates joyfulness all around; Christmastime brings family and friends together that I
otherwise wouldn’t see as frequently during the year.”
Her parents instilled their fervent Christmas spirit in Dian as a young child. She remembers what
a “big deal” Christmas was. From mandatory church-related activities to intricate tree decorating,
her parents were serious about Christmas. “Back forty or fifty years ago, we had icicles to hang on
Christmas trees. My father insisted that we adorn the tree with them very meticulously – one icicle
at a time. This drew the tree-decorating endeavor out into an entire week-long process.”
Perhaps this is what inspired Dian to go above and beyond by immaculately preparing her home
for the Advent season. While her friends and neighbors absolutely admire her passion for decorating, Dian’s family thinks she is crazy. But, she decorates to bring joy to her heart. If the day comes
when the process turns into a pain, she says she’ll stop. Dian believes that decorating should
be a pleasure and not a burden. The challenge is fun for her, but the reward of gazing upon the
twinkling lights and sparkling, shimmering ornaments (and seeing friends and family in awe of the
decorations) is enough to do it each year.
Typically, Dian begins decorating for Christmas on the first of November, because it takes about
three weeks to get everything up. This way, her home is adorned for Thanksgiving. However, this
year she began Christmas preparations even earlier because she was recovering from knee surgery
and knew she wouldn’t be able to achieve the extent of the décor as quickly as usual. Unfortunately,
it took her twice as long to fill her tree with glass ornaments this year, but she was adamant that
nothing would keep her from putting up decorations. Though her children never enjoyed decorating, her grandchildren love it, and she cherishes their help. CONTINUED...
SHEMAGAZINE.COM
DECEMBER 2015
89