TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Suncoast Pasco News

Holiday Memories Twinkle In Rhonda's Home

ADVERTISEMENT

By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: December 24, 2008

Among a forest of designer Christmas trees, a simple ceramic handmade holiday tree holds a special spot in Rhonda Warren's New Port Richey home.

Warren makes sure it sits in a prominent spot in the elaborately decorated holiday home. The Warren house sports 22 Christmas trees with themes of everything from Mickey Mouse to M&Ms, a plethora of ornaments and lights, and at last count, 25 gingerbread houses.

The holidays are a time for Warren's creativity to shine. But mostly, they are a time to evoke strands of memories connecting her to people and holidays of the past. They are even more precious to Warren than the holiday glitter.

That's why the little ceramic tree that Warren made when she was 14 growing up in upstate Beacon, N. Y., is important. Warren gave the tree to her grandmother, who sat it on her coffee table every year during the holidays until her death.

"That tree always has to be where I can see it," Warren says. "Grandma is watching us every year."

The holidays have always been a family time for Warren. When she was a young child, her father would take his children out in the car to look for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. With eyes not yet blind to magic, Warren and her siblings saw Santa in airplane lights overhead and Rudolph in all red lights.

That magic has stayed with Warren. She starts decorating her home for the holidays in October during her days off as a nurse at Tampa General Hospital. For several weeks, she spends four straight days a week from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. getting her home ready for the holidays.

To put it mildly, decorating is a process. Warren takes it seriously. "It's bringing to life all those things still sitting in a box that you cherish." Some things like the little ceramic Christmas tree have their own special places. Others can be placed according to Warren's whims for that year.

Decorations have been put in their own storage space the year before. She unpacks them, all lovingly stored in their original boxes, and decorates from the back of her house to the front. At the end of the season, she will pack them all away, organized for next year.

Her house always has room for all of those original boxes, she says. "I'm creative with storage."

All the long hours and careful organization come alive with holiday festoons and frills lovingly adorning every corner.

Her house features trees to suit all occasions. There is a patriotic-themed tree and one with crayons and another one with peacock feathers. There is a tree with cat ornaments, with all her three cats having their own ornaments. There are trees in her living room, bathrooms and dining room. The trees in her bedroom put her to sleep at night with the magic of their lights.

Ask Warren questions about the ornaments on all those trees, and she is sure to tell you a story. "Every time I open a box and unpack decorations, it's like opening a book of memories. It brings around people who aren't here any more. It's always a pleasant memory."

She holds an ornament of Belle, the heroine of "Beauty and the Beast," that is part of a tree with figures from Walt Disney World.

As a wish maker with Make-A-Wish Foundation, a wish-granting organization for children with life-threatening medical conditions, Warren accompanied a child whose wish was to see Disney World and who loved the character Belle. The child's mother sent Warren the ornament of Belle after the little girl passed away.

Warren touches the ornament. The child has become another one of Warren's links to the past. "Every year, she has Christmas with me," she says and smiles.

Cheryl Bentley can be reached at 727-815-1069 or cbentley@suncoastnews.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT