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Saturday, December 22, 2007
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A home for the holidays
Staff Writer From his multitude of animated Christmas angels to the dozens of blue Santas peering at visitors from multiple shelves, Bob Jenkins views his indoor winter wonderland extravaganza at his Motley home as his Christmas card to the community.
Last Tuesday, Jenkins and the Staples Motley Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a special holiday open house at his two-bedroom home in Motley to share his holiday decorations - the best-kept secret in Motley during the holiday season.
Jenkins, a retired antique dealer, has nearly every inch of the interior of his small home decorated for Christmas, many of his decorations were garage sale finds. His entire basement is used for storage year round for his Christmas decorations. He and a few friends take about five to 10 days to decorate for the holidays. The entire home is lit on Thanksgiving Day, a time when Jenkins enjoys being home alone to walk around and fondly remember all the memories behind his treasured items.
Jenkins doesn't light up the exterior of his home. So when the Christmas lights are on inside his home, it appears to be glowing in the darkened night.
"Because I can't enjoy it on the outside," Jenkins said with a good-natured laugh. "I've got to have my Christmas fix."
Jenkins usually opens his home through the holiday season to friends and people who call and ask to make an appointment to see his decorations but last Tuesday was the first time he hosted a holiday open house along with the Staples Motley chamber.
Sandy Carlson of rural Staples said she enjoys coming every year to see Jenkins' home.
"It's like going to Christmas concerts," said Carlson. "It's a tradition."
"This is my Christmas card to the community and to others," said Jenkins.
Jenkins keeps his holiday decorations up starting on Thanksgiving until Epiphany, or Jan. 6, the culmination of the Advent/Christmas season and the Twelve Days of Christmas. Last year he had about 90 visitors.
Jenkins' favorite decorations are his blue Santas, or Pere Noel, the French Santa Claus. This year his home featured a white rose Christmas tree, which had one white rose in memory of his late mother, Marcella Jenkins, who died of Alzheimer's disease in 2005. The white tree also contains a dozen long-stemmed red roses. Nearly every piece in his Christmas display has a story to share. Jenkins used to live in New Orleans and has a Mardi Gras-themed tree to pay homage to his former home.
"I'm starting to work on next year's already," said Jenkins. "I don't have a lot of green and silver ornaments so I'm working on that."
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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