TIMELESS TRADITIONS
Nicole Eachus loves Christmas for several reasons. “But all the family time, traditions, and festive parties are at the very top of that list,” she professes. “Christmas fills me with feelings of nostalgia. Memories of the Christmas seasons during my childhood are so clearly ingrained in my mind. And now, being a mom to three little ones, I just hope I can fill their hearts and minds with all the tradition, love, and Christmas magic that I got to experience growing up.” Nicole is very keen to teach her children the core purpose of this celebration—to celebrate “the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ; an opportunity to look back at all His teachings, His blessings, and His promise to us; a time at the end of the year to spend with those we love, traditions, festive parties, gift giving, and the magic of Santa Claus.”
In the Eachus household, this holiday magic begins to reveal itself not long after Halloween. “I’m all for giving Thanksgiving it’s moment, but also, after Thanksgiving, there’re only four weeks until Christmas—that’s four weeks to transform my home, get all our traditions in, and enjoy them,” Nicole chuckles. “So, since we don’t host Thanksgiving, I recently started decorating about two weeks after Halloween. Then we get our fresh Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. We keep it up until usually the night before New Year’s Eve or soon after the New Year, depending on how many after-Christmas festivities we have.” A fresh tree is a must for Nicole and her family. “We all love going to the tree farm and picking out our tree.”
Christmastime and all its traditions were a pivotal part of Nicole’s upbringing. “This goes back to my childhood home. I grew up in a little country home and my mom transformed it into truly a winter wonderland,” she recalls. “Every arch, every doorway, every bed had garland draped on it. In our bedrooms, we had our own Christmas trees; even our bedsheets were Christmas-themed. You name it, our home felt like a Hallmark Christmas movie! So there’s no doubt that a huge inspiration for how I want my home to feel during Christmas is my childhood home.” Nicole captures the Christmas spirit by following the traditions that she saw growing up with her own children. “My kids and I make the best gingerbread man cookie recipe together. We also love to go on a festive Christmas trip, big or small.”
Traveling is one of Nicole’s favorite things to do. During the holidays, she and her family always go on a trip to celebrate the season. “Last year was our second time doing New York—there’s just nothing like Christmas in the city,” she marvels. “We hope to get to Germany and the Christmas markets there one day.” The family’s “travel tree” stands as a beautiful memento of past trips. “We have a ‘travel tree’ in our dining room, which we fill up with ornaments from places we’ve traveled to; so that collection continues to grow,” Nicole explains. Yet, as much as she enjoys travel, home is where her heart is during this time of the year. “My holiday aesthetic,” Nicole reveals, “is traditional, cozy, and has lots of intentional and meaningful details. … I want whoever walks into my home to feel like it’s a warm hug, and find it welcoming.”
This mother of three is mindful to not mess with a good thing. “I love the feeling of home and tradition for Christmas, so I don’t change it much year after year. I always drape my hallways and doorways in garland,” Nicole exemplifies. “One thing I do change each year is my color pallet—I change the color of the ribbon on both trees, which makes them look unique every year. I switch back and forth between a flocked and non-flocked tree.” When it comes to such refurbishing, Nicole puts a lot of effort into selecting a unique wrapping paper. “I’ve always been very intentional about my wrapping paper; I find new and unique places around the world to order it from. I keep the colors to my chosen palette. This helps create a cohesive look throughout our home—a little touch that I notice really elevates and finishes off my Christmas décor.”
The Eachus’ joint family Christmas party showcases their holiday home at its finest. “Our Thanksgiving and Christmas season is filled to the brim with traditions and gatherings; but one of my favorites, which my husband and I have been doing since before we were married (11 years now), is our joint family Christmas party. We invite both our families over to our home, which is all decked in whatever Christmas theme we choose for the year,” shares Nicole. “We have a nice dinner, festive cocktails, games, a ‘best-dressed’ competition, and a surprise visit from either Santa himself or, as we did last year (my favorite yet), the Grinch. It’s one of my favorite nights of the whole year—everyone is in the best festive mood and we just have so much fun. I have no doubt it’ll be a core memory of my kids’ and their cousins’ childhood.”
With her young family, Nicole is on a mission to try “to do all the things, create all the memories, live in the moment, while getting all the ‘Instagram-worthy’ pictures that we can look back on, year after year.” Her days may be messy, “but goodness they’re sweet, tantrums and all,” she concedes, noting that the kiddos simply grow too fast. “I guess if I had to give one bit of advice about the holidays, it’d be to just enjoy them—put your phone down for a bit and look around at all the good in your life; lower your expectations and enjoy your blessings. Comparison is the thief of joy—you might not have the newest designer Christmas décor that you wanted or the sold-out ribbon for your tree, but the simple moments with those we love, that cup of your favorite holiday coffee while Christmas shopping, watching a Christmas movie with your kids—those are the memories that fill the season with real sweetness.”
Editorial Director Lauren Barisic
Photographer Ellie Koleen
Hair Ashley Beckenhauer
Makeup Kristen Flores
Ellie Koleen
Photographer
Ellie is a lifestyle, wedding, and brand photographer based in Fresno, California. An artist behind the lens, her trademark airy, light-filled style and masterful camera angles make her work easily recognizable. She uses her love for all things design related as inspiration for her work. The Fresno Bee named Ellie Best Photographer for the People’s Choice Awards in 2018 and 2019.
