TRADITIONAL WITH A TWIST
Arlete Slenders embodies the spirit of Christmas. “It’s a great time to bring the family together and celebrate the blessings we’ve had throughout the year.” With two young grandsons around, the holidays have become even more special for her. “I love seeing Christmas through their eyes, and I’m looking forward to sharing Christmas traditions with them and starting new ones!” Yet, her celebration goes deeper than that. “It’s important to me to keep in the true meaning of the season, celebrating the birth of Jesus. Having that as the main focus is key. I try not to let the commercial side of Christmas get to me, which can be difficult when the holiday catalogs start rolling in!” acknowledges Arlete, with a laugh. “I love decorating my home so it feels warm and inviting for family and guests.” And indeed, she has achieved just that.
Arlete’s holiday décor is much like her own personal look. “My everyday style I consider to be diverse—somewhat traditional but with an edge,” she explains. “So having multiple rooms and trees to decorate allows me to incorporate various styles. My decorations range from traditional crosses and nativity scenes to 4-foot musical teddy bear nutcrackers, 6-foot reindeer stags welcoming guests with trays of champagne, and mistletoe hanging from the doorways.” Her motto? “I like adding something unexpected.”
The Slenders moved into their current home during COVID, and their furniture was on backorder for four months. “But I told my husband I still wanted a Christmas tree for the front room, although it was completely empty,” Arlete recalls. Happy to oblige, “He went to Costco and brought home just one box…he set it up, and it turned out to be only half of the 12-foot tree I had ordered,” she remembers. “We had this 6-foot tree in a room with 22-foot ceilings. It looked ridiculous, and needless to say, I needed professional help with decorating the tree! So, I called Danielle at Willow Gardens Nursery to come and professionally decorate my Christmas trees.”
Danielle continues to create Arlete’s stunning trees. “My décor grows every year when I visit local boutiques like Willow Gardens Nursery and RSVP Style. The girls bring wonderful ideas into my home from year to year, always enhancing the warmth of the holidays,” she cherishes. Arlete begins decorating whenever Danielle is available, typically in mid-November, putting her in the holiday spirit even before Thanksgiving! “I also have Stephanie and Gina from RSVP come in to decorate my home. They always come through with some great ideas and special touches. All the girls are amazing,” she gushes.
“Traditional with a twist” best describes Arlete’s holiday style. “I like to incorporate silver, gold, and bronze into my trees. One tree is dedicated to various crosses and then another is decorated with ornaments collected from our travels.” Traveling serves as a huge source of inspiration for Arlete, especially during the holidays. “I get inspired by the places I travel during the holiday season. I love seeing storefront window displays and often, too, what I see in magazines.”
Yet, there is still one more tree to decorate. “The third tree in our den is what I call ‘The Kids Tree’ and it’s mostly dairy-themed, whimsical decorations sprinkled in with whatever the grandkids are loving that year. Ornaments can range from Santa riding a cow to a stick of butter or even a corn on the cob,” which is fitting given the Slenders’ family business. “We are dairy farmers, and our operation runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we drive out to the dairy and give our employees a Christmas bag filled with dairy products and some Christmas cheer in appreciation for them working the holiday .”
This is just one of the several traditions the Slenders uphold during Christmastime. “My family, my sister’s family, and my mom have always attended Christmas Eve mass at our parish in Laton, where we all grew up,” Arlete shares. “Afterward, we all gather at my mom’s house, unload the gifts under the tree, and take a family photo on her staircase. The grandkids change into their Christmas pajamas, and I don’t know how the tradition got started but for some reason we always have Mexican food trays to dine on this night even though we are Portuguese! We open gifts immediately after dinner.”
“My husband and I always look forward to Christmas Day when our two children, their spouses, and our two young grandkids gather at our home for some ‘togetherness’ time,” Arlete relishes. “It’s a typical scene. I’m usually trying to divert the camera since I’m in my robe and not camera-ready! My son and daughter try to stop me from saving all the Christmas ribbons (since I have hundreds from past Christmases). My husband is trying to look cheerful while getting his usual gifts of socks and underwear. The grandkids are feeding the dogs See’s Candies, and my son-in-law and new daughter-in-law are sitting there graciously wondering if this scene will ever change! I hope it never does!” she joyfully admits.
It’s also a tradition for Arlete, her mom, and her sister to take an annual holiday trip to Santana Row after Thanksgiving. “It gets us in the spirit of the season. We love admiring all the beautiful decorations and it also allows us to get some mother-daughter bonding time before the hustle and bustle of Christmas.” Then, the jam-packed calendar of events with family and friends kicks into high gear. “With our friends, we celebrate by attending an annual private afternoon Christmas Eve Mass at their beautiful home. It’s such a special gathering to mingle with friends ”
During this festive time, Arlete hosts the annual Slenders Family Christmas party at her home, “which is around 60 people and happily growing each year. I’ll be honest,” she confesses, “every year I start off making reservations for the party at a restaurant, and every year my husband talks me into hosting at our house because, in his words, he will ‘help with everything’ and we know how that goes! But honestly, I end up loving the fact that we host the party in our home. It makes it more intimate, and I love catching up with everyone and having all the children around. We are making the most wonderful memories. We also have a white elephant exchange and Christmas games, which is always cause for good laughs. Santa always drops in with candy for the kids.”
Christmas is the climax of a season lived in alignment with the Slenders’ family values, where fellowship, giving, and celebration are at the core. Inspired by the reason for the season, the welcoming environment that Arlete creates for guests and family alike is truly at the heart of it all. Her home serves as the gathering point for countless memories made and those yet to come. Each year, her inspiration grows, just like her family. With a little help from Willow Gardens Nursery and RSVP Style, it will surely always look like a very Merry Christmas at the Slenders household.
It’s also a tradition for Arlete, her mom, and her sister to take an annual holiday trip to Santana Row after Thanksgiving. “It gets us in the spirit of the season. We love admiring all the beautiful decorations and it also allows us to get some mother-daughter bonding time before the hustle and bustle of Christmas.” Then, the jam-packed calendar of events with family and friends kicks into high gear. “With our friends, we celebrate by attending an annual private afternoon Christmas Eve Mass at their beautiful home. It’s such a special gathering to mingle with friends ”
During this festive time, Arlete hosts the annual Slenders Family Christmas party at her home, “which is around 60 people and happily growing each year. I’ll be honest,” she confesses, “every year I start off making reservations for the party at a restaurant, and every year my husband talks me into hosting at our house because, in his words, he will ‘help with everything’ and we know how that goes! But honestly, I end up loving the fact that we host the party in our home. It makes it more intimate, and I love catching up with everyone and having all the children around. We are making the most wonderful memories. We also have a white elephant exchange and Christmas games, which is always cause for good laughs. Santa always drops in with candy for the kids.”
Christmas is the climax of a season lived in alignment with the Slenders’ family values, where fellowship, giving, and celebration are at the core. Inspired by the reason for the season, the welcoming environment that Arlete creates for guests and family alike is truly at the heart of it all. Her home serves as the gathering point for countless memories made and those yet to come. Each year, her inspiration grows, just like her family. With a little help from Willow Gardens Nursery and RSVP Style, it will surely always look like a very Merry Christmas at the Slenders household.
Editorial Director Lauren Barisic
Photographer Ellie Koleen
