17 Nov 2012 A Traditional Christmas
by RaeLynn Callaway
The final home in our holiday tour belongs to David and Janet Speights in Morrilton.
When you enter through the front door, it is easy to see the Speights Family loves the holidays! Janet has her home beautifully decorated from top to bottom.
In the entry and at the base of the stairs sits her main tree. It is embellished with traditional red and green decorations. The staircase behind continues the theme of red and apple green. Descending from the staircase Janet uses a white, flocked garland with white ribbon trimmed in red. This sets an icy background and makes the red and green balls and berries striking.
In the living room there is another tree that follows the red and apple green theme. It sits beside the mantle that displays all the Speights stockings — one for everyone in the family. “There is a lot to be said for simple decorations,” Janet said. “I love a traditional Christmas.”
The upstairs rooms have themed trees according to the room color. “This year Elizabeth decorated her own tree. I absolutely love seeing the creative, inspiring side come out of her.”
The Speights Christmas traditions start early. “The day after Thanksgiving the Christmas music starts and plays into the first week of January,” Janet said. “I love Christmas and I always have.” Having her family — two sons and their spouses along with their daughter — home for the holidays means more than anything. And spending time with the family means more than that. The Speights learned this first-hand when their home was destroyed by a tornado in 2005. “We were able to salvage a lot, but there are still times when I go to look for something and remember, ‘Oh, I don’t have that anymore,’” Janet said. “I love that we can all get together on Christmas Eve. Everyone spends the night, and we share Christmas morning together. We play board games, video games, eat and just enjoy being together.”
