A snowy miniature village with figures skating greets visitors in the foyer. The dining room table is laid out in a luxurious silver theme. In another corner of the house, reindeer stand in a pile of what looks like real snow. Christmas music is piped into the living room. Yummy cookies, warm apple cider and homemade chocolate are served. Of course, the focal point is the gorgeous Christmas tree.“I finished my decorating on October 31,” said Mrs Simmons. “That was my goal so I could relax during the months of November and December and just enjoy the Christmas scene. The decorations have been up for a while. I never get tired of them. Both my husband and I enjoy Christmas. Of course, we added a little bit here and there after October 31.”Having everything ready to go at Hallowe’en meant the house was prepared for a big Thanksgiving family dinner. The decorations also survived a first birthday for one of their four grandchildren.“We put pink and lavender balloons around the Christmas decor and it was quite pretty,” said Mrs Simmons. “We had a house full of children for the party, and they all loved looking at everything.”The Simmons are both retired. Mrs Simmons once worked as a wedding decorator, so she has some professional experience with making rooms look good. She also dabbles with painting.“I have always been very creative,” she said. “I like to do different things. I like to do things with my hands. Every year I try to do a different theme for Christmas. I have a huge collection of Christmas decorations. We have boxes and boxes of different themes of Christmas decorations. I don’t have to go out every year to shop for decorations, although I do add to the collection every Christmas.“My favourite piece this year would be my Christmas tree. We have had some problems with the tree falling over. So we tied it upright with nylon. We put up silver butterflies to cover up the nails.”