See Jonathan and Zooey’s Whimsical Christmas Decorations at the Park House
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Park House!
Jonathan and Zooey love to celebrate the holidays. In fact, Jonathan is basically the real-life version of Buddy the Elf this time of year. So it’s no surprise to hear they go all-out when it comes to their decorations. They fill their historical home to the brim with modern tinsel trees, stockings, sugarplums, and nutcrackers galore. And because you made the Nice list, Jonathan is giving you a sneak peek at all the merrymaking, as well as a few tips for decorating and trimming your own tree.
First, let’s just take in the colorful, magical holiday decor throughout the Park House, which feels unexpected yet still nostalgic. They pull off the aesthetic by decking the halls with classic elements like ornaments and garlands—but they choose pieces that have a bit of a twist, like using oversized baubles or layering several garlands over their railing instead of your typical greenery. “We like things to be very whimsical,” Jonathan says.
He also adds, “We like to have different themes for different areas.” You can see that on the variety of trees alone! Not to mention all the various beautiful Christmas scenes throughout the home, like a sweet gumdrop fountain and cute gingerbread cubby.
That can be tricky to pull off. But because their holiday decorations stick to a similar color story throughout, it feels just like a journey through the North Pole. “I like it to be a little bit nostalgic, a little bit fun, with a whole lot of holiday spirit,” Jonathan says.
“For those of you who know me well, you probably know what my holiday decor obsession is… Anybody? Anybody? That would be nutcrackers.” Jonathan and Zooey have many of these little friends around the house that they’ve collected throughout the years. “Do I have names for every single one of them? Don’t worry about it… Yes I do.” That would include Michael, Noah, Christian, Steven, William, Brittany, Arthur, Henry, and Ashley (who’s particularly mischievous).
There’s also Nick, who Jonathan says he’s, “pretty sure drinks Zooey’s coffee. He’s a little hyper.” Their newest addition is a fabulous bejeweled piece from their friends at Glitterville. Each rhinestone is placed by hand onto the nutcracker, which makes for a real show-stopper. “This is like the crowned jewel of nutcrackers,” he says.
When it comes to playing favorites, though, there is a decoration Jonathan is particularly fond of: This gorgeous tree featuring tons of tinsel. Jonathan and Zooey worked with Stephen Brown of Glitterville Studios to create this fa-la-la-la fabulous centerpiece, but Jonathan’s sharing a few secrets on how to copy the look yourself, plus more tips for decking the halls—it’s his gift to you!
Plan In Advance
”There are lots of different rules when decorating for the holidays, but of course as we know, rules are meant to be broken, so it really depends on your comfort level. One of the big ones is if you have little kids or big animals, you want to be careful with stuff they can knock over or that can shatter, like glass. We have a lot of glass, a lot of tinsel—things like that. However, we also have some ground rules, and the kids are really great at not knocking things over. Just make sure you plan in advance. The more robust you want your decorations to be, it’s going to take a little bit more work to make sure you get the right stuff.”
Combine Decor Old, New, and Hand-Made
“We reuse most of our Christmas decorations from year to year, and sometimes we’ll introduce something new, like our cute little gingerbread people. It’s nice to have a little bit of the old, a little bit of the new. Some of it is just made out of cardboard—you can do crafts with the kids and glitter it up a little bit to make something that’s a little whimsical, and then you can tie it in with your design. We love to see stuff that’s been made by the family and some that’s professionally made.”
Refresh Your Usual Scenes
“If you have something that’s really recognizable that you decorate with year after year, you can mix it up by using it a little differently,” says Jonathan. Take their nutcracker collection, for example. “This year, we included the branches and some glass garland and beads. Stuff like that can just change the aesthetic, or you can create a scene with it. But this way, you can still use the same main decor pieces—it just feels a little fresher.”
Layer Your Lights
“Different kinds of lights offer different dimension. You’ll see we have large C9 bulbs, but we also have LEDs that have a soft twinkle on and off, in addition to another LED that’s on all the time to provide illumination. We have three different strands of lights all tied together and it creates a beautiful illusion.”
Get Real
“If you have an artificial tree but you miss the smell of a real tree or how full it can look, here’s a trick: We went to a tree lot, and they gave us their trimmings from real trees. We stuffed those real branches into our tree. You can smell it—it smells great—and it adds a real natural element with the branches filling it out.”
Top With Tinsel
“The third and most important thing is don’t be afraid of tinsel. I don’t like it when it’s a blanket of tinsel tossed everywhere, it should be done in tasteful ways so you can still see your ornaments. I have all these beautiful glass ornaments and they look really classic, but I wanted to bring that whimsy with the tinsel. It’s my favorite tree.”
If you try any of these at home, be sure to tag us on Instagram @DrewandJonathan so we can marvel at them! Most of all, we hope you have very happy holidays.
