Synopsis
For Angela and Matt Kuncaitis and their six children, Christmas is a simple holiday celebrated with handmade and homegrown embellishments. Forgoing perfection and glamour in favor of character and charm, the family has made the holiday season a time when their down-home philosophy can really shine.
'We were not trying to duplicate the life we had before', Angela explains of the family ove from a typical suburban home several years ago. Our goal was to roll back the hands of time and immerse ourselves in a simpler way of life. Angela has transformed the once-scruffy farmhouse, now dubbed Maple Valley Farm, into a captivating home. It is especially warm and cozy at Christmas, she says.
Angela's thrifty decorating skills shine even brighter during the holiday season. After Thanksgiving the family starts harvesting the greens, rosehips, boxwood, winterberries, dried sunflowers, and hydrangeas they will use to decorate the farmhouse.
Bundling branches and berries into bouquets and garlands is an activity young and old alike can share, explains Angela. We use anything and everything we can find on the farm.
When the decorating is done, names are drawn for the family's gift exchange. Instead of store-bought rolls of paper, Angela and her brood turn paper grocery bags inside out and cut them into pieces of gift wrap.
One of the many simple pleasures the family enjoys on Christmas day is an ice-skating party on the near-by frozen lake, which is followed with for hot cocoa and marshmallows roasted over a hand-warming open fire.
I couldn't be more pleased with the life we have now, growing and raising our own food and bringing up our family in an atmosphere that is beautiful and completely peaceful, Angela concludes. Christmas reminds us of all our blessings.
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