Some people put up their Christmas decorations on 1 December, some sneak them up in the last few weekends of November, but Ruth Zivkovic has had all four Christmas trees up since September.
The Jerrabomberra resident has been a lover of all things Christmas since she bought her very first Christmas tree in 1990.
“Growing up, we never had Christmas trees – we came from a Spanish family; we were quite poor, and food and education were my parent’s priorities,” she said.
“When I bought my first house in 1990, I bought a townhouse and I honestly only had the basics. I had a bed and a fridge. It was coming up to Christmas and I went to Target and bought my first Christmas tree and my obsession started there.”
Now, Ruth’s home is a Christmas wonderland with three full-sized, perfectly decorated Christmas trees in the family areas, one half-sized tree in the spare bedroom, and ornaments everywhere in between.
Usually, Ruth won’t start decorating the house until October, but with the year that has been 2020, she gave herself an early mark to help inspire a little extra pep in her step.
“This year I was having heart surgery, so I thought I won’t be able to do anything for a month, so I used that as an excuse to start early this year,” she smiled.
“I thought when I get out of hospital, I will have something really pretty to look at.”
With a collection that has grown from one to four trees and with ornaments from all over the world, Ruth said she had no intention to expanding outside her house anytime soon.
“It’s bad enough my friends and family think I am a total Christmas nut, but I draw the line with outside,” she laughed.
Working part-time at the Bredbo Christmas Barn, you might think Ruth gets sick of decorating Christmas trees, but she spends two full days decking out each of her trees.
She has a few tips and tricks for those looking to present the perfect Christmas tree.
“Fluff your tree! You can buy a beautiful expensive tree but if you don’t fluff the branches and spend time on your lights it won’t look good,” she said.
“And I have always been told by the owner of Bredbo Christmas Barn, if you can see green – you can always add more.”
The trees and decorations stay up in the house from October until the first week of February, when Ruth decides to take them down.
