Customize your Christmas decor

Pinoy-style Christmas merriment would confound Ebenezer Scrooge (the pre-apparition version, anyway). The notorious curmudgeon would surely bah-humbug our penchant for celebrating yuletide as early as September each year. Four months of good cheer and fine song would simply be too much for him to bear. Nevertheless, Scrooge the cold-blooded capitalist should be impressed by the concentrated retail assault launched each year to separate us from our money–all in the spirit of giving, of course. Indi Puyat Luchangco, however, with her relentless high spirits and fair-minded pricing policy, would leave old geezer Ebenezer apoplectic.

"I love Christmas," gushes the 29-year old owner of Crafts, Etc. "I love everything about it–the festivities, the gift-giving, simbang gabi, the food, the lights, Santa Claus, the bazaars and, most especially, the Christmas decors. Christmas just lights up my heart! I don’t know if it’s just me but I feel nicer and exert more effort to be nice to people around me during this season. I guess that’s the miracle of Christmas for me."

Crafts, Etc. was born from an obsession for enlivening the ordinary. Indi, an incorrigible shopper, was never satisfied with the run-of-the-mill way her presents were wrapped. So she did it herself. Discarding the usual wrapping paper and sticky tape, she instead used cloth and safety pins with beads, along with any ornaments she could lay her hands on.

"I love doing crafts. Ever since I was a kid, I would always take note writing as a chance to use my creative crafts ideas and materials, be it drawing figures, different colored pencils or pentel pens. I get attracted to purchasing crafts-related tools like glue with glitters and color, scissors with different blade patterns, punchers, crayons, colored pencils, paper, cardboards and, of course, crafts magazines and books for some tips," she says.

Last year, Indi decided it was time for a test run and decorated the homes of relatives. The praise was unanimous. "I made use of their existing decors and just added some additional Christmas touches here and there to give the house a new updated look without having to spend a fortune," she says.

The first celebration of Christmas is usually dated 336 AD in Rome. The commercial hype, however, probably started around the time Santa Claus made his first appearance in Clement Moore’s 1822 book, The Night Before Christmas. A newspaper picked up the tale, which magazines later reprinted. It didn’t take long for Santa’s red cheeks, white whiskers, and rotund geniality to make him the undisputed poster child of Christmas. (The red and white suit came from the original Saint Nicholas, the colors being those of the traditional bishop’s robes.)

The Christmas tree is a German tradition that started as early as 700 AD. Martin Luther is recognized as the first person to put candles on a tree sometime in the 1600s. The Christmas tree tradition eventually spread to the US via Pennsylvanian German immigrants during the 19th century. Soon after, people started decorating their trees with candies, cakes and ribbons. In 1880, Woolworth’s sold its first manufac-tured Christmas tree ornaments. The rest is retail history.

While Christmas decor has become more elaborate (and high-tech) over the centuries, the basic principles still apply. Indi’s own designs abide by an updated conservatism that highlights the cherished colors of Christmas cheered up with fruits and flowers. She works around three basic themes, the first being copper and gold. Candle centerpieces never fail to insert a touch of drama to any home, but it is the copper and gold Christmas tree that is the true star of this theme. The sparkle as light bounces off the tree is ethereal yet unexpectedly warm and cozy.

A predominance of fuchsia with poinsettia and grape centerpieces, garlands and wreaths governs the second of Indi’s decorating themes. Poinsettias, named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the former US ambassador to Mexico who first imported the plant from Mexico, has been a part of Christmas tradition since 1828.

The third theme is the most traditional–the reds and greens of Christmas past sprinkled with berries and even more poinsettias. Topiaries adorn stairways while wreaths embellish doors, just in case Santa enters the more conventional way after vainly looking for the chimney. Oversized socks, of course, will always be a part of yuletide lore (according to a very old tradition, Saint Nicholas left his very first gifts of gold coins in the stockings of three poor girls who needed the money for their wedding dowries).

Indi has put her innate haggling aptitude to good use, a boon to suffering shoppers who reel from the annual fiscal repercussions of Christmas. "I source my stuff from different suppliers," she says. "A great deal of it depends on what the clients are looking for but mostly locally sourced. I buy from Divisoria and other warehouse-types of stores."

Clients can buy Indi’s decor without availing of her decorating expertise. She will supply clients who have a firm idea of what they want. For those who want to supplement their existing Christmas decor but cannot quite imagine what might work, Indi prepares sample pieces. She can incorporate their inputs and even customize colors and sizes.

"Just based on my own rough comparisons and estimation, I would say that if you could find an equivalent decor item in the mall, it would probably cost you between 50-100 percent more than what we are charging. I believe that our quality is great especially since our main concern is for our clients feel the joy of Christmas," Indi says.

Many clients who begin by ordering ornaments end up sufficiently impressed by Indi’s design suggestions and hire her to decorate the entire house. "Our main thrust and focus is really providing our decorating service. This means working with old and existing decor that various homes have accumulated through the years, as well as customizing new decor."

Admittedly, there is fulfillment in decorating your own home. When your concepts, however, become more grandiose, when you are no longer content with synthetic evergreen wreaths, a thinning tree, kitschy Christmas balls, an unbiblical belen and your punctured parol, then it’s time to seek help from an expert. As with everything else, the finest ideas end up as forgettable as last year’s fruitcake without the proper execution. Indi Luchangco may just make you rediscover the real meaning of Christmas through her uplifting decorating ideas. At the very least, yours will be the happiest house on the street.

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Crafts, Etc. may be reached at 0917-5200491. E-mail the writer at [email protected]