Posted on Nov 23, 2020 in
FEATURES
By Patti Parish-Kaminski, Publisher –
I am a staunch admirer of talent in virtually any form or fashion. And yes, it’s likely because I really don’t have any talent to speak of, so I appreciate the talent I see on a daily basis. Perhaps one of the most coveted talents – in my mind – is the ability to create something beautiful out of the ordinary. And the icing on the cake is when the creation benefits something close to my heart.
I absolutely feel this way about the talented individuals who create stunning Christmas décor each year to benefit one of my personal favs: The Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land. Our museum is truly a gem in our community, and over the years, I’ve had the privilege to not only attend educational events there but to host a few as well. Well, the events I hosted weren’t exactly . . . educational . . . but they were fun and fabulous!
This year’s Jingle Tree submission –
Whiskey Wonderland.
For the past five years, the museum has hosted Jingle Tree and invited community members to decorate trees, swags and the like to be auctioned off to benefit the museum’s programs. So, year one came around in 2015 and my dear friend Adrienne Barker, executive director extraordinaire of the museum at the time, asked if I would consider decorating a tree. Without completely delving into the responsibilities at hand, I immediately said “yes,” and so it began. After all, how hard could it be to decorate a 3’ tree? I selected the smaller tree – with full knowledge of my limitations – and then the next step happened: Adrienne asked for my theme.
Theme? Really? After much consideration, our team at absolutely! focus media came up with a traditional theme: Nutcracker. I showed up at the museum with accouterments in tow to decorate my tree on-site, and when I walked into the room that looked like a Winter Wonderland, I nearly fainted. Unbeknownst to me, the other participants were pros – designers and florists with significant talent – and me. There was plaster of Paris, hot glue guns, zip ties, floral wire, ornaments as big as your head, ladders, blow dryers – and me with my tiny tub of nutcrackers. I quickly exited the Wonderland Workshop and did what anyone would do: went straight to Hobby Lobby.
How it all began with nutcrackers in 2015.
Now I appreciate Hobby Lobby as a retailer, but I’m not one to shop for things to make things with. If I want a thing, I’ll buy the thing; I won’t make the thing out of other things. I’m just not crafty nor patient, nor particularly agile with a hot glue gun. So, I filled up my basket with everything “nutcrakerish” I could find, plus a bunch of other stuff I really had no idea what to do with. But, I felt confident strutting into Santa’s Workshop a second time because I had a lot of . . . stuff. At least I resembled a pro.
I spent nearly four hours hanging and fluffing and poking until the actual tree wasn’t even visible. I was spent, scared and likely scarred for life. Auction night arrived, and Tim Kaminski and I got ready to go. I was completely terrified. I informed Mr. Kaminski that he would likely have to be the Mouse King and buy my poor attempt of Ode to Nutcrackers. He laughed; I did not.
At the auction that evening, the trees were simply stunning – true works of art – and right there in the middle stood my Charlie Brown Christmas tree. But that night, a true Christmas miracle happened. Someone actually purchased my tree and for a reputable price. I had never felt so relieved.
And yes, subsequent years of Jingle Tree rolled around and not one to learn my lesson, I participated by decorating trees. There was the Berry Merry Christmas Tea Party Tree, the Partridge in a Pear Tree, the Christmas Classics Tree and then this year’s creation – the one with a nod to 2020. In memorializing this year, my options were slim: toilet paper, masks, hand sanitizer and the ever-popular Lysol. So, I chose the one thing we all really needed throughout this year: alcohol. Whiskey Wonderland debuted at Jingle Tree this year, and I may have had a couple of sips to get through the creative process. But this way, if Mr. Kaminski has to buy it, at least he’ll be happy. I’ll let you know how it turned out.
