Each year as the holidays approach, the Ziegler home undergoes a stunning evolution. Starting November 1, Loren and Robert embark on a two-week labor of love to transform their beautiful Foothills home into a magical Christmas wonderland.
“The process of decorating is the joy for us,” says Loren. “Whether it’s placing each ornament on the tree or hanging a wreath in a window, we feel a sense of nostalgia and excitement. We can express our personal style and show our love for our home.”
Loren and their son Daniel tackle the interior and exterior décor, while Robert handles the outside lights on the home.
“It has become a tradition to start with our main Christmas tree to kick off the decorating,” says Loren. “Our main tree holds all of our life memories. We have ornaments from our travels, homemade from our kids and lots of other special moments are captured on our tree. It’s like going down memory lane.”
Beyond the central Christmas tree, there are a total of 13 decorated trees throughout the home. “The other trees in our home are all themed: classic movies, classic Disney, Disney villains and Halloween, horses, a picture frame tree, handmade crochet, coffee/kitchen theme, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, books, and the Grinch,” Loren says.
Additionally, there are nutcrackers and Santas on display that hold special meaning for the Ziegler family. “We love the representation of nutcrackers as a symbol of protection,” says Loren of the 15 nutcrackers found in their home. “We have five main Santa decorations that we love for the symbol of ‘It’s better to give than to receive,’ and when our kids were much younger, served a reminder that ‘He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake.’”
The decorations, from the ornaments to the décor, are collected from a variety of locations, from places just down the road to far-flung travel destinations and everywhere in between.
“Our ornaments are from all over - traveling on trips, vacations, hometown events, Bradford Exchange, Disney, Macy’s,” Loren shares. “We buy our decorations from a few places like Frontgate, Home Goods, Lowe's and Michaels.”
Looking around the home, it may be hard to choose a favorite spruced-up space, but Loren shares that she is particularly fond of the family room. “We love that we can see many parts of the house as well as the outside from our family room. The lights are all so magical. And I love the front of our house. It reminds me of a Christmas country cottage.”
While the magic of Christmas can be found throughout their home, for the Zeiglers the holidays truly are a time to gather.
“Christmas is so special because it involves family,” Loren shares. “It’s a time when we all get together a little more often and spend time together doing things for others. We spend time baking, shopping and watching as many Christmas movies as we can.”