← All Of It with Alison Stewart
All Of It with Alison Stewart
How Soon is Too Soon for Holiday Decor?
00:21:52
How soon is too soon to put up your decorations?
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- [00:02]
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- [01:35]
Danielle Blundell
Listener Support WNYC Studios.
- [01:47]
Alison Stewart
This is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart, live from the WNYC Studios in soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful you're here. On today's show, we'll talk about what it means to be a twin with philosophy professor Helena Debrais, author of how to Be Multiple. And we'll speak with artist Argvan Khosravi. She'll join us to discuss her new exhibit which focuses on the current experiences of Iranian women. And we're bookending our show today with Holiday Prep. Coming up, New York Times food columnist Melissa Clark will take your calls on Thanksgiving meal prep and what to do with those leftovers. That is the plan. So let's get this started with Decking the Halls. We confess, we are in full pre game holiday mode here at all of It. Too soon, you say? Right on time. What took you so long on today's edition of Small Stakes, Big Opinions. We are discussing holiday decorations. Did you put up your Christmas tree, your Mahanica manure Diwali lights on November 1? Or did you wait until your trip to fan and dew stupor ends to start unpacking your holiday decorations this weekend? Either way, there are a lot of options. Multiple lights, one color, secular versus religious. And now more and more people are choosing themes. Danielle Blundell is the Executive Home editor of the website Apartment Therapy and has been keeping track of all the ways people have been dressing up their spaces, both big and small, over the holidays. She joins us to share some of her thoughts and take some questions. Danielle, welcome to the studio.
- [03:23]
Danielle Blundell
Thank you for having me.
- [03:24]
Alison Stewart
Listeners. We want to get you in on the conversation. If you decorate for the holidays, when do you start? How early is too early? How do you decorate and what do you plan to do this year? If you have a small space and you need some ideas for how to make your place festive, you can let us know what you do or you can ask a question. 212-433-969-2212-4433 wnyc. You can call in and join us on air or you can text to us at that number. Social media is open as well, nyc. Remember, this is a small stakes big opinion segment, so feel free to let us know how you feel about when holiday decorations should go up. 2124-3396-9221-2433-WNYC. We also want to hear about your decorating plans. Okay, so it was Halloween this year and I swear I saw a Christmas tree the next day in a certain large department store. You know, is there sort of an agreed upon time when it's to start selling these decorations within the, within the industry?
- [04:28]
Danielle Blundell
I mean it just feels like retail pushes it earlier and earlier. And on the one hand that's great because I guess you have a lot of time to decide what you want to do. If you want to try one of those themes or do something a little different, refresh what you have. But on the other hand, it just feels like it's pushing and pushing and pushing and you're not really enjoying all of the other seasons, right? You're not having your happy Halloween and it just feels like it's Christmas already. And what about Thanksgiving? So I don't know. I think it's personal preference really. But it does seem like earlier and earlier. And this year, you know, we're seeing people interested on apartment therapy sooner because. Right. We have Thanksgiving early. So we get that extra week. If you do want to decorate this coming weekend, you have a whole nother week to enjoy your decorations. If you're one of those purists that also takes them down on January 1st or, you know, right after the new year. So, you know, there's a little extra reward there, but maybe you're somebody who just wants to air it out a little bit and enjoy the autumnal palettes and kind of the fall feel for a little longer. So it just kind of depends.
- [05:29]
Alison Stewart
Yeah, I had this. I was walking home the other day, and the fall light is so beautiful, that golden light, and it was hitting a tree, and then I sort of saw a Christmas tree stand going up in the distance. I was like, not yet. Let's just enjoy the gorgeous light. Let's just take this moment and enjoy the fall. And then I also felt a little bit. And this is just me giving you my opinion is I don't. I get. I get a little bristly about the commerce of it. All.
- [05:55]
Danielle Blundell
Right.
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Alison Stewart
You know, it's like, well, let's, you know, decorations should be about creating an environment in your home, not about spending a whole ton of money right away.
- [06:04]
Danielle Blundell
Right. Joy. And kind of creating that environment and that festiveness and, you know, and that's a trend, too, people making decor and creating their own garlands and wreaths and that kind of thing. And maybe you need a little bit more time for those DIY projects just because that does take time and energy and it's, you know, one more thing, but I don't know. I think I'm with you. It just feels like it sooner and sooner this year. It felt like it was sooner and sooner on social media. And of course, that's, you know, fraught. Content creators have to get their things up early and they're, you know, doing that for a job. So I, I get it, but I think it creates this pressure that makes the average person feel like they got to do it right away or they're going to miss out, they're not going to get that tree or they're not going to get that garland or it's going to sell out. You know, creates that kind of frenzy. And I feel like it's tied into retail, but I guess it's all joy at the end of the day.
- [06:51]
Alison Stewart
So we got a great text that says, I decorate my one bedroom apartment. I like to hang garlands. Easy to put up with removable hooks and doesn't take up any surface area. Thank you for the text. This goes right into Our first topic, small spaces. You suggest garlands. How do you use them if you don't have that, you know, most people think fancy staircase or fireplace, right?
- [07:12]
Danielle Blundell
Well, you don't need all of that. I think that they're a small space friendly, you know, alternative to even a tree. You can put them up just about anywhere. We love them on a bookshelf. We love them on a mantel. If you, if you do have that fireplace moment, maybe not grand fireplace, but you can certainly string some lights up there too with your garland. And then another place that we've been seeing in our Apartment Therapy house tours is over the headboard, right? Bringing a little festive touch into your bedroom area. And that's great for studios too. And of course that tip is great command strips, rental friendly, easy to take down and usually won't do any damage at all to your walls. So you can kind of go from holiday to back to your regular scheduled programming easily without causing any damage on your wal.
- [08:00]
Alison Stewart
My guest is Danielle Blundell, executive home editor at Apartment Therapy. We are talking about holiday decorations bringing a little joy into your home. We could all use a little joy this time of year. If you decorate for the holidays, when do you start? How early is it? Too early. This is a small stakes, big opinion segment. What do you do to decorate, especially if you have a small space? Share with your fellow listeners. 212-433-WNYC 212-433-9692. You can call in and join us on air. You can text to us. 2124-3396-9221-2433-WNYC. We're talking about decorating, maybe lifting people's spirits a little bit. Let's talk about some unusual places for decorations because I think we all sort of go to the we know where to get them. But there are some other interesting places where you can pick up some cool decorations. What are some options?
- [08:55]
Danielle Blundell
Well, I think what we're seeing a lot this year is just an uptick in all things vintage. Our apartment therapy audience can't get enough vintage shopping secondhand. And you know, that's great from a sustainability angle. And so I say check out your, you know, town or local thrift store. You can go online secondhand shopping sites like Cherish First Dibs if you're kind of on the higher end. But you know, even ebay or Amazon, you can sometimes find some vintage products there too and handmade things as well, of course, Etsy. So really getting out in your area and kind of Looking for things, but also ordering online, if that's easier for you too. But vintage, vintage, vintage.
- [09:35]
Alison Stewart
That's so interesting.
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Danielle Blundell
Yeah.
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Alison Stewart
And they're also really beautiful, but you have to be careful. Sometimes those vintage ornaments are really delicate.
- [09:42]
Danielle Blundell
Yeah. It can be fragile. And of course it can go the corn, the kind of more retro look with the bottle brush trees. And like, you're saying those gorgeous, colorful vintage ornaments, you can make wreaths out of them. You can, you know, put them on your tree. We also love hanging them off of chandeliers. Like, putting them in, like you said, unexpected spots, even within the house can be kind of fun. But the. Another sort of trend that we're seeing is very like glitzy glam disco.
- [10:07]
Alison Stewart
Yeah. Like a 70s is vintage sort of.
- [10:09]
Danielle Blundell
Yeah, yeah. I think for a lot of people, I guess it is. And everybody's just kind of loving that glam vibe and the disco look. We've saw disco balls sort of go wild on our site. People have been putting them in unexpected places and I can see them taking over trees. I can see different shapes being covered. And we talked about the mushroom for us has been just a motif that people can't get enough of.
- [10:32]
Alison Stewart
The mushroom.
- [10:33]
Danielle Blundell
Yes.
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Alison Stewart
Okay. This was a lot of debate about the mushroom during our meeting. How do mushrooms factor into Christmas and holidays in Hanukkah at all?
- [10:42]
Danielle Blundell
You know, I don't think in a traditional sort of sense at all. I think it's more that sort of naturalistic undertone. People are really embracing nature, and they have been for the past couple of years, since the pandemic. And I think it can go different ways. Right. It can be that sort of glitzy, glammy, disco tile covered mushroom, or it can be that velvet, naturalistic, really pretty, sort of, I guess, cottage Cory kind of look. So it goes, it runs the gamut. And maybe that's why people can't get enough of it. They can kind of do their own thing, put their own spin on it. But no, it has nothing to do with traditional holiday.
- [11:18]
Alison Stewart
Let's talk to Ann from North Bergen, New Jersey. Anne, thank you for calling in.
- [11:23]
Ann from North Bergen
Hey, I'm so excited to get through here. I listen to your show all the time, and this is a subject near and dear to my heart. I always bring nature. I, like, go out collecting everything in my neighborhood. And which brings me to my quick note about, like, decorating on a budget in a small space. When I was younger and just starting out my career, didn't have a lot of money, lived in a small space with A roommate and I was in my neighborhood around Christmas time or early December. One of my neighbors apparently had bought a really big Christmas tree and had to cut off the bottom boughs of it. And they left those boughs on the side of the road and I picked them up and I brought one home and it was like, you know, it is like the shape of a Christmas tree. A single bough is. And it was like 6ft tall and 5ft wide. And I just nailed it to my wall and decorated that with little paper ornaments.
- [12:24]
Alison Stewart
I love the upcycling. That is such a great story. And thank you for calling in. Let's talk to Michelle, who's calling in from Nyack. Hi, Michelle, thanks for calling all of it. Hi, how are you? Great, how are you?
- [12:38]
Bic Soleil Advertiser Partner
Thank you and thanks for taking my call. I was thinking that if you want to do whatever you want to do to the interior of your house, however early you want to do it, have a blast, go to town. But what people do to the exterior of their houses actually impacts more than just themselves. So people who would really love to kind of bask in autumn and the coloring, you know, the colors of the leaves changing and really enjoy Thanksgiving and then kind of have the anticipation of Christmas, if you're decorating the outside of your house, then that's going to impact everybody else. So for me, it's like after Thanksgiving, if you wanted, you know, is a better way to go on the outside, but on the inside, do whenever you want.
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Alison Stewart
Michelle, that's such an interesting point of view. Thanks for calling in.
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Danielle Blundell
Yeah, I think that's great. I mean, there's always been this sort of private, public part of decorating in general. Right. Because you do it inside. But if you have a yard that's a very public facing space, and I love that idea of just not feeling that pressure, putting that out there on other people.
- [13:42]
Alison Stewart
Someone texted. I'm usually a purist and won't decorate for Christmas till past Thanksgiving, but this year I desperately need the joy sooner. Such an interesting point of view. I love this one. I might decorate the house and get everything up, but no lights. They go up on December 1st. And then it all comes down. An epiphany. January 6th. That's from Amanda. That was in our household. It was late. It went to January 6th, it was Christmas Eve to January 6th. We're very, very. My parents are very traditional that way.
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Danielle Blundell
Yeah, we're more like beginning of December, but also the January 6th. But I feel like people are leaving it up later and later.
- [14:16]
Alison Stewart
Too true. I did want to, before we leave small spaces and go into some other trends, a to use your space differently. And you all suggest thinking about mirrors differently, that that's a mirror is a real opportunity.
- [14:29]
Danielle Blundell
Yes. I think when you're in a small space, you really need to treat every square inch as a surface for that festiveness. So what we love is just tying up a wreath with a bow and putting it over the frame of your mirror. If it's a full length mirror, you could do a nice little trio of wreaths. I think that that's so smart. And I had mentioned this earlier, but thinking about your light fixtures too, you can tie a ribbon on them. Ornaments, of course, you want to avoid, avoid the bulb area, you want to keep it to the frame, but just kind of adding those little touches of festive in those unexpected spots or the things that are already there, you know? Right. Like we said, your bookshelf, that kind of thing. Just decking out what is in your space.
- [15:06]
Alison Stewart
Got a text. We had a very tiny apartment and couldn't fit a Christmas tree. We started decorating our coat rack and it has been a family tradition ever since. A festive festivus pole. That is so great.
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Danielle Blundell
I love that. And that makes me think too, like if you don't have a proper entry. So, you know, we talked about that staircase moment that a lot of people in smaller spaces are missing. What about an entryway rack? Why not hang some ornaments there or put some greenery there? So smart. And then, you know, the caller who used the bow, that's so smart. You can also even take branches and kind of put those up on the wall and decorate that like a tree with some lightweight ornaments. And it's sort of a little 3D but definitely more small space. Friendly if it's against the wall.
- [15:47]
Alison Stewart
We are talk holiday decor with Danielle Blendel, executive home editor of Apartment Therapy. We'd love to hear your opinions. You know, small stakes, big opinions. When do you start decorating for the holidays? Or maybe you want to share a tradition from your family. We've heard some really great ones so far. 212-433-969-2212,3333. WNYC. You can text to us at that number or call in and join us on air. We're just talking about something to make the day a little brighter, bring in a little joy in the world. Let' about bows.
- [16:22]
Danielle Blundell
Yes, bows.
- [16:23]
Alison Stewart
Bows. When did you deploy the bow?
- [16:26]
Danielle Blundell
Listen, I don't know. I feel like bows have always sort of been a Part of Christmas decor traditionally. Right. You know, bread, bows, that kind of thing. Certainly you can use different types of fabrics if you want just more of a wintry feel or a more non traditional holiday look. But something about that TikTok trend of romanticizing your life, you probably saw that, you know, on Instagram too. The bows just play into that so well. All you have to do, it's inexpensive, right. You just go to the craft store, buy some velvet bow, tie it around your tree. It's a great filler. Such an easy, inexpensive way to fill out the tree. And I think what goes along with it too is dried flowers. Right. People for the last few years, especially our apartment therapy audience, cannot get enough of the dried flowers. Right. Because they're set it and forget it. You don't have to water them, they look good. You know, dust them every now and then. But what people are doing is taking faux flowers, dried flowers, and using them as filler too. And again, it's a inexpensive way to fill out your tree. I'm thinking things like baby's breasts, bunny tails, dried hydrangeas. And again, it sort of goes into that naturalistic, like the caller mentioned, that kind of woodsy, sort of nature inspired Christmas or holiday.
- [17:39]
Alison Stewart
We got a text and I'm so glad this person texted. Cause I remember this after this person texted it. The mushroom motif is Scandinavian. My Swedish grandmother has always had red cap ornaments on her tree. And I remember I have a friend who's swed actually recently moved back to Sweden and she gave us all ornaments that had the little mushroom person.
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Danielle Blundell
Oh my gosh.
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Alison Stewart
With the hat. So that's kind of interesting.
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Danielle Blundell
Yeah, and that makes sense too, because I feel like Scandinavian design trends have always been just so strong and people love sort of that festiveness that they bring.
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Alison Stewart
What about Advent calendars? Advent calendars, I mean, there are some of the very traditional and then there are some that can go for large amounts of money.
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Danielle Blundell
Yeah.
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Alison Stewart
What are some of the unusual ones that you've seen so far?
- [18:22]
Danielle Blundell
Advent calendars right now are no joke. Love them. And they're all over the board. I feel like any niche interest, and even not niche interests, like interests, I guess, like if you love coffee, there's one for you. If you love tea, there's one for you. The beauty ones are big business. And that actually kind of makes sense, I guess, because you can sample a bunch of products without buying them first, which is nice. And of course that relates back to the chocolate and, and the sweets that I think are the more traditional. But I've seen ones. There's a brand called Papier. They're from London and you know the English. And they do all desk organizers in there, which is so cute. Like little Washi tape or like a little notebook. That kind of thing kind of gets you organized for the new year. And then MoMA has some great ones. The MoMA Design Store, they have a fun Andy Warhol puzzle one. Oh, that's pretty neat, right? And the more interactive. I think the best ones are interactive or even more interactive than just eating chocolate or, you know, consuming candy. Although that's fun too. And then anthropology has great ones too. They normally will have like a candle one. And it's kind of fun to be able to try out different candle scents if you're into fragrances and that kind of cozy vibe.
- [19:29]
Alison Stewart
Let's see. We have color changing LED lights are making my season bright, exclamation point. I put them up before Halloween and they were orange. After Halloween, I set them to a lovely autumnal yellow. After Thanksgiving will go into Christmas mode. Very, very cool. Those LED lights that change color are amazing and you can program them so.
- [19:49]
Danielle Blundell
Much bang for your buck out of those. And I think LEDs have come such a long way. I think back, you know, 10, 15 years ago when they were first coming on the scene. They were cold and kind of, you know, cooler light and didn't feel quite as festive. And now you can get so many colors, so many tones and really that warm light that we're seeing trending so much this year, that warm kind of fairy light.
- [20:09]
Alison Stewart
Let's talk to Marie calling in from Manhattan. Hi Marie, thanks for calling all of it.
- [20:14]
Marie from Manhattan
Hi. I wanted to tell you that I had a little artificial tree some years ago when my daughter was little. And I spent hours decorating it with ornaments from my mother and my grandmother and tinsel and the whole nine yards. I couldn't bear to take the tree down. It stood for 11 years until I had to take it down because I got married again and we moved.
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Danielle Blundell
Wow.
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Alison Stewart
That is Marie. Thank you for sharing that. That's someone who loves the holidays and loves the sentiment. That's part of it too. We're talking about family chosen and otherwise and celebrating the holidays and being with people in good spirit.
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Danielle Blundell
Absolutely. The nostalgia is real, right? And unlocking core memories, Creating core memories. Going back to your core memories. I love that you used your family members ornaments. I think that that's so special.
- [21:07]
Alison Stewart
Someone texted. I grew up in England. Christmas decorations went up on Christmas Eve and came down on Twelfth Night. That's Nick. That was what they did in my house. Hang a text. Here's a text. Hang a fresh wreath on the inside of your front door or other well positioned door decorated with ornaments, garland, et cetera. Put battery packe small lights, spray frequently to keep fresh and give a pine scent.
- [21:27]
Danielle Blundell
And I love that too, because we think about that, right? Like you always put your wreath on the outside, but why not put it on the inside? Because then you get to see it more.
- [21:35]
Alison Stewart
Themes are a big thing. You said that people are decorating with themes. What are some of the big themes?
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Danielle Blundell
Yes. Well, we're seeing so many non traditional color palettes, right. So I think we're gonna see barbiecore trees. So get ready for the hot pink, the rose gold, and maybe even some of that millennial pink coming in.
- [21:51]
Alison Stewart
You knew it was coming.
- [21:53]
Danielle Blundell
It has to, right? It's just, just the natural next wave wave of Barbie core is definitely the holidays. So certainly that. And you can go lots of ways with that too, right? We can have red trees, black trees, just kind of embracing different palettes and then other themes. I've seen really cool movie themed trees where you use, you know, tickets as you're sort of trimming. Oh, cool. Yeah, you could do a travel tree. That's all places you've been or places you want to go. I remember having a little mermaid tree many, many moons ago. I could see that coming back. Or any character or maybe embracing coastal or mermaid or just something fun and whimsical.
- [22:30]
Alison Stewart
When my kid was little, he doesn't like when I talk about him on the radio because he's a teenager now. But when he was little, he wanted a personal tree for his room, so we would get a little Charlie Brown tree for him. You know, it was like whatever the little $10 tree was. And he had his personal tree in his room and it made him so happy.
- [22:46]
Danielle Blundell
Listen, I think he's ahead of the trends because we see a lot of that, right? Trees in the kitchen trees, little trees in bedrooms, little trees in bathrooms. Just kind of trees everywhere. And that gives you the opportunity to have fun with a different theme if you want to keep your, you know, main tree with the classic look.
- [23:04]
Alison Stewart
Someone wrote when our son was small, we would go to the dollar store and look for items that could be decorations. Hair ribbons and gold and silver were easy to clip onto. Our outdoor tree in the yard. That's such a sweet one.
- [23:18]
Danielle Blundell
Such a creative reuse.
- [23:20]
Alison Stewart
We wish you all well in your holiday decorations. My guest has been apartment Therapies Danielle Blandell, thank you so much for coming to the studio and fielding our listeners calls.
- [23:29]
Danielle Blundell
Absolutely. Thank you.
- [23:30]
Alison Stewart
And thanks to everybody for sharing.
- [23:34]
Bic Soleil Advertiser
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- [24:01]
Bic Soleil Advertiser Partner
Let's go.
- [24:04]
Marshall's Advertiser
Oh my gosh. Have you been to Marshall's lately? They have all the brand name and designer pieces you love, but without the jaw dropping price tags. Alright, so here's the trick.
- [24:13]
Alison Stewart
Truth.
- [24:13]
Marshall's Advertiser
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