Email
Print
del.icio.us
diggA Very Teri Christmas
Entertaining maven Teri Bennett does the holidays in grand style
By Heidi Losleben
Photo by John Christenson
Bennett—finalist in the Today Show’s 2004 “Domestic Diva” contest, home décor and entertainment specialist for Mall of America, decorator, and entertainment editor for Lakestyle Magazine—is passionate about prepping her home for the holidays. And does she decorate! Though her efforts may seem over the top, the reasons behind them are anything but. “No matter where I am in the house, I want to be reminded it’s Christmas,” she says simply.
She takes great care in trimming each of the five Christmas trees situated throughout her home—all of them the real deal. “I love the smell of pine in the house,” she says.
You can set your calendar by Bennett’s holiday decorating. She begins the day after Thanksgiving and spends the next few days completing the transformation. Though the design inspiration is her own, she is quick to dismiss the idea she’s a one-woman show. “I enlist everyone—husband, sons, sisters, nieces, in-laws, the nanny, a guy from the neighborhood—it’s all part of the fun.”
She leaves one tree largely unadorned except for white lights and positions it immediately inside the front door along with a basket of candy canes. As holiday guests arrive throughout the season, they’re encouraged to say a prayer and hang a candy cane on the tree. Bennett’s original Prayer Tree used pinecones to represent each guest’s prayer, but a book her son brought home inspired her to switch to candy canes. The book suggested the shape of the canes represented a shepherd’s staff, and the red and white signified the Holy Spirit and blood of Christ. “I think it’s important to invite Jesus to Christmas,” she says.
She also welcomes guests with a table covered in chocolate treats—plates and jars of goodies such as fudge, chocolate-dipped pretzels, English toffee, and malted milk balls. “Guests can help themselves as soon as they come in the door, and it takes dessert off my hands,” she explains.
A second tree sits underneath a stairway, decorated in apple and pear ornaments, simple white lights, a gold coin garland, and an elegant red velvet ribbon. A beautiful 12-foot tree gives the great room’s stunning view of Lake Minnetonka a run for its money. The tree is adorned with white lights, glass ornaments, velvet ribbons, and garlands of copper mesh and of branches and berries.
On the second floor, Bennett’s sons, ages 11 and 16, have their own “family-style” tree near their bedrooms. “This is where we hang all kinds of homemade, fun ornaments,” she says. Baked gingerbread men, clothespin reindeer, ornaments showcasing her sons’ school photos over the years, white lights, and a popcorn-and-cranberry garland maintain the made-with-love feel.
A “nature” tree in the upstairs family room complements the wintry scene outside. Woodsy decorations such as birch bark, birds’ nests, birds, and dried hydrangeas share the spotlight with an assortment of patinated bells, maroon glass ornaments, a brown velvet garland, and more white lights.
Photo by John Christenson
A biannual event dubbed Christmas Coffee is another of Bennett’s holiday traditions. She invites some 200 women over for cappuccino and cookies. To keep things simple, she uses the same wording on her invitations each time so people recognize the event and know what to expect. On alternating years she invites couples over for an elegant, evening affair, which she has catered. For either event, each guest is asked to bring a Toys for Tots donation. “The first year we filled half a pick-up truck with toys,” she says. “Last year we filled two pick-up trucks.”
Bennett avoids much of the stress associated with the season by viewing it from a unique perspective. “When you think of entertaining as taking care of people, it’s not difficult; it’s not work,” she says. “And when people feel they are taken care of they’re happy—they don’t care if you burn the roast.” Put that way, over the top doesn’t seem like a bad idea at all.
Heidi Losleben is a St. Paul writer.
11 ISSUES (1 YEAR)
