A Peppermint Tree for the Museum

Peppermint Land

or The Diningroom at the Historical Museum:

 

 

        Snowy white frothiness with layers of red peppermint swirls, pearl garland, and long slender icicles bedecked my tree at the local historical museum.  In the tree land of peppermint swung red striped santas, peppermint fairies with ethereal wings, handmade peppermint paper doll ornaments (click here for details of those while they were in progress), blown glass confections such as chocolate cake and plum pudding, and (of course!) a myriad of peppermint swirled bulbs.  My goal was to have the onlooker experience that age old line: "While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads" which to me, not having any experience with actual sugarplums, means revealing childhood imaginings of walking into the Candyland board game, or seeing the candy house that Hansel and Gretel admired, being ushered into the Land of Sweets by the Sugar Plum Fairy herself in the Nutcracker, or like entering into that "swirly twirly" peppermint tree land that whats-his-name discovers in the Christmas movie "Elf" (the one scene I super liked).  --All of it somehow linked to the magic of Christmas, the magic of the North Pole, and a firm aesthetic love for that bold pattern of red that so lovingly fringes a pure white peppermint or swirls around a candy cane.

       I super wanted to decorate a white artificial tree with my peppermint swirl collection for the museum open house and did find a fellow Quester who lent me one but I ended up using the six foot white tree, along with my own two foot tree, simply as a backdrop on the window seat of the diningroom to frame the nine foot live tree that was the focal point.  A six foot tree was simply too small for the huge diningroom and I'm thankful that my Mom talked me into using the large live tree.  The live tree (which of course is glorious in its realness and rich pine scent) added green to my strictly red and white collection and after the first day of decorating (while my poor, ill husband was watching our two babes--thank you!), I was miserable about the addition of green.  However, I toted two little girls, some whole-grain pretzels, and some bags of fluffy white fiber-fill type batting to the museum the next day and while the girls ate pretzels and snuck ornaments and toys from the other room's displays, I slid fluffy layers of "snow" batting amongst the tree decor and added a layer of pearl garland (in homage to the bedecked Victorian trees) and although green is still assaulting the purity of the red and white, I was better pleased overall.

 

       As Mom expertly swirled peppermint-colored cording and ribbon on the food table and I added in my peppermint teapot, I think I love it.  And once Mom and I's baked peppermint confections of cookies, cupcakes, peppermint-white chocolate popcorn, and peppermint punch are added, I know I love the room's theme.  What fun to explore the simplicity and richness of a curved red line and to think about the magic of Christmas!  I am so thankful for the beauty of a peppermint.