This year I am doing something I always said I would never do… I am starting to decorate before Thanksgiving (gasp)! Every year I promise myself I’ll be better organized, strategizing and creating schedules to try to better manage my time. But try as I may, it never fails that by the time Christmas finally arrives, a mad dash has set in and I’m so exhausted that my tree doesn’t come down until Valentine’s Day. So I’m starting early this year… and hopefully will have everything down in January after Epiphany.
For inspiration, today The Glam Pad is revisiting Dallas-based interior designer Cathy Kincaid‘s tips and holiday traditions including her delicious recipe for Spicy Buttered Pecans, fresh greenery, fruit, paper whites and amaryllis. Cathy’s festively adorned 1920s Highland Park home creates an elegant and timeless backdrop, setting the stage for cherished memories she creates for her grandchildren and family.
Let’s take a peek inside with photography by Par Bengtsson.
Q: When do you start decorating for Christmas each year?
A: I start decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.
Q: Do you have any tips you can share with us?
A: Make sure you are organized from the previous year, so it’s easy to take out ornaments for the tree, gift wrapping, etc.
Q: What are some of your most cherished holiday traditions?
A: The Mother, Daughter, Granddaughter Christmas Tea at The Dallas Woman’s Club. My annual Christmas Eve party at my house. The carriage rides in Highland Park.
Q: How do you like to set the table for special holiday meals?
A: I like to set the table with collected linens and china from over the years and lots of greenery.
Q: Do you have a favorite Christmas recipe you could share with us?
A: Spicy Buttered Pecans – we hand these out to vendors, clients, family and friends.
This is a trial and error recipe. First, melt butter over pecan halves and season with garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper to taste. Spread the nuts on a shallow pan and cook for several hours at 200 degrees, flipping after 20 minutes. The pecans need to be buttery enough to coat. In the end, the nuts should be still a bit buttery but dry.
Q: What are some fun ways you involve your grandchildren and make Christmas magical for them?
A: Decorating cookies, decorating the tree, delivering presents and riding in the horse carriage around Highland Park.
To learn more, please visit Cathy Kincaid Interiors and follow @cathykincaidinteriors on Instagram for ongoing inspiration. We highly recommend her book, The Well Adorned Home, which would make an ideal Christmas gift for any design lover in your life. You can also see more of Cathy’s work, as featured by The Glam Pad here!
And please let us know in the comments, when do you start decorating for Christmas? And when do you take it down? We would also love to hear your tips!
Since our 3 boys are grown and married, I take down Halloween before October 31st and begin decorating for Christmas a little at time so when Thanksgiving is here and I’m hosting every year, the house is ready. Don’t like the stress of last minute decorating. If we don’t have a new year’s party, I usually take it down between the 26th and January 1st. If we have a party it all comes down January 2nd.
I am a fan of Cathy Kincaid – love her traditional style! I received her book for my birthday this year and it’s fabulous! Re: holiday decorating — I only start Xmas decorating AFTER Thanksgiving…..I want to give each holiday it’s own time-and-space.
My tree is up, and I’m savoring small interludes of decorating it. With a gazillion ornaments, many quite old and dear to me, that gentle and nostalgic daily ritual eases me into what would otherwise be a season of madness. I always leave the decorated tree up until Epiphany. Cheers!
My tree is already up, as is my second tree, and a few other decorations. It all needs to be up and festive for Thanksgiving. It never comes down before Epiphany, and more often than not, stays up until the end of January. Some people keep a “holiday corner” in their house, where there is a little Christmas all year long. Grand idea! We need a little Christmas….