A home for the holidays Family decorates every room for Christmas

The first family of Christmas might not live at the North Pole after all. Instead, they might reside right here in Rutherford County.

The Baynard family, who live in the Chase community, make decorating their home for the holidays a family affair. With a tree in every room - and on the back porch - it takes a team effort to transform the Goode's Creek Church Road house into a Christmas wonderland.

"Christmas is right at the top of my list of favorite things," said Lisa Baynard. "It takes about a week to put everything out. We all work on it - everybody does something."

The family looks for Christmas decorations throughout the year. Some of their best finds, Lisa said, come from thrift stores.

"We like old stuff," she said. "The older, the better."

This year the family's most unique ornament is a leaf from Canada, which came from one of the many trips daughter Laura-Lee went on this year.

Each bedroom features a tree unique to the individual taste of each person. In son Izaiah's room, a white tree is transformed with blue lights to a pale, Tar Heel blue. The ornaments include sports teams. In Laura-Lee's room, vintage Disney ornaments passed down from a great-uncle hang on traditional, green tree.

The master bedroom is in the colors that match the room, but it isn't Lisa's favorite. That would be a tree in the living room, covered in old ornaments that she refers to as her "rustic tree."

"That is my favorite corner in the house," she said. "It also has a sled and a bear that belonged to my grandmother."

The kitchen and dining room aren't left out of the decorations. The decor in those rooms during the year is Coca-Cola art, and at Christmas, the small tree between them features Coca-Cola ornaments.

The family has some non-traditional trees, too, made from old ladders. In the living room, a ladder has been strung with fishing line with various ornaments in gold and red hanging from each strand.

"We have to have red and gold, because that is my husband, Eric's, choice," she said.

Each decoration and ornament has a story, Lisa explained. There are pine cones that hang on various trees that were made by a child at her church who has autism. Pages from hymnals out of their old church have been repurposed and turned into ornaments.

People ask her why she takes the time to decorate each room. Her answer is simple: We like Christmas.

"We like to celebrate the reason for the season," she said. "Nobody else in my family decorates like this, but it's something I've always done since I had my children."

The tradition is following her daughter, Holly, who is now married and decorates her home for the holidays as well.

Lisa has been asked to decorate others' homes, and has lent a hand to help them. She recommends that if someone wants to go to the extent she does in decorating, that they do so with a plan in mind.

"Don't decide what you want to do at the last minute. Have a plan in mind all year," she said.