Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
IT’S BEEN OVER a year since the first issue of the Allianz Home Magazine at The Journal. Here Ruth O’Connor speaks to three of our earliest, and most popular, interviewees about how their Christmas prep is going so far – from Christmas tree baubles with meaning to retro decorations.
Chupi Sweetman
I put my Christmas tree up early, and by early, I mean the start of November. I think Ireland is dark and cold in the winter so why not bring more joy into our lives – if you don’t put your tree up till the end of November you only have three weeks of tree so at this time of year when the days are cold and short why not bring a bit of extra magic to your home.
Myself and my husband Brian have bought each other a Christmas decoration every year at Christmas and we write the year on it with Sharpie. We’ve been together for 25 years this year so we now have an archive of our lives together from scruffy Emo teenagers to our home and our little girl. One of our favourite ones is of the scan of our little girl before she was born. Screw the idea of a perfectly curated tree.
We live very busy lives like so many people so Christmas is about pressing pause and spending time at home together so we don’t plan a lot. Someone once told me that if you’re not sure how to decorate or you don’t have time to then add candles. This year I’ve made a mantelpiece decoration of candles and bows. I look at Pinterest, and I’m very impressed by what people do, but I just try to keep things small, impactful and doable.
I love April & the Bear, Industry and Article for decorations. They might be slightly on the higher end price-wise but we only buy a couple every year, rather than decorating from scratch each year, so I think that’s ok.
For more Christmas sparkles visit chupi.com
James Kavanagh
I usually spend Christmas with William in his family home in Currabinny so that means that in our own home in Kilkenny we will have three other Christmas celebrations – one for my own family in the first two weeks of December, one for my friends and one for William’s friends – so we’ll have four turkeys altogether at Christmas though the celebrations will be spread across the month of December.
We get our Christmas Trees from Rathwood in Carlow which is down the road from us. We have really lovely high ceilings so we get two 8-footers which, as a Christmas fanatic, is wonderful – we put one in the sitting room and one in the dining room. I’m kind of allergic to matchy-matchy themes at Christmas and I cannot bear not having baubles that don’t tell a story. Most of them are from places I’ve visited or were gifts from friends or family – I love a good 30 quid bauble or meaningful old ones gifted to me.
I have bought some decorations from Arboretum in Kilkenny though – they have an amazing Winter Wonderland vibe going on. I love the whole Home Alone 1990s aesthetic and they have a great selection of nostalgic decorations there. I also love to get a wreath or garland from the Christmas market in Borris .
When it comes to my table myself and William love to make a centrepiece from foliage and holly from the garden. I’ve tonnes of crockery that we’ve collected over the years, lovely presentation bowls and glasses. They’re well used throughout the year – I don’t believe in keeping your good stuff for special occasions.
A lot of our dishes come from Vintage Shop in the Phibsborough Shopping Centre – it’s owned by a really interesting man who goes to estate sales in France and has the most amazing things for sale. I have a huge collection of candelabras and candlestick holders. I like very low lighting at home all year round but at Christmas I’ll flood the house with candles. Candlestick holders are practically free in charity shops and I’ll opt for more honey-coloured candles rather than stark white.
James and William return for Season 3 of their podcast The Simpler Life? with James and William. Available on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts now.
Andrea Horan
When it comes to Christmas, I use the same decorations every year. I’m usually anti-red when it comes to interiors, but I think Christmas, for whatever reason right or wrong, is red. So most of the decorations I have are red – bows, furry and shiny hearts, candy canes – the classics. Mixed in are some Irish designed decorations like wooden Claddaghs from Designist and a Lady on the Rock. Obviously the lights are coloured as Christmas is no time for tasteful.
I have a ‘delicious’ neon sign that changes colour and it’s locked on red for the season and casts the perfect glow on the living room. A red bow on every plant, Happy Christmas paper bunting and we are living the Christmas dream. I love getting a wreath from Me Aul Flower filled with disco balls and bows to finish things off.
I think I’m low maintenance at home because it’s all about Tropical Popical at Christmas. We got a pink tree years ago after much searching online – they were very hard to track down then although it seems they are all the rage now. We’ve been collecting very tacky and boisterous decorations since we opened, so the tree brims with tinsel and Ursula from the Little Mermaid sits on top as our Queen of Christmas. All of our staff have traditionally decorated their own bauble too, so we get to pop a piece of their art on the tree.
As everyone does, when the world feels dark and difficult, I lean into nostalgia, so I’m pining for the decorations that defined my youthful Christmases. I see some tinsel disco curtains in my future…
For all your Christmas nail requirements or the perfect Christmas gift voucher for a beauty lover go to tropicalpopical.com.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say