Well off Vietnamese families go to town on Xmas decorations

Christmas has become an occasion for homeowners to show off their decoration skills, especially those who grew up in a Christian family, like Ha Phi in HCMC’s Nha Be District.
Passionate about Christmas, she prepares begins preparing to decorate her place almost two months in advance, working to make her home very neat and beautiful. In a two-storied house with a floor area of 98 square meters, she has chosen to display a 1.8 meter tall Christmas tree. Decorating the tree only takes about two to three hours, Phi said. An antique street lamp painted red adds a European vibe, she felt.

In addition to the Christmas tree, Phi has decorated other spaces like the dining room, kitchen and the garden for the whole family to enjoy the festive atmosphere.
“Usually my family decorates in the evening, when everyone is free. It takes about two weeks to finish decorating the house.”

Ngo Thuy Hang, loving “the most wonderful time of the year”, has decorated a duplex apartment in HCMC’s District 2 a month before Christmas. The 36-year-old mother and her daughter rearranged the living room and decorated the two-meter-high Christmas tree with string lights, ribbons and pearls. Hang also used a screen and projector to set the tree against a backdrop of a window of snow.

Hang also spent time decorating the kitchen, dining room and piano corner. Even small items such as dishes and tablecloths were chosen to match the Christmas vibe. On social networks, many people have commented that the apartment with its baby blue tone looks like a place in fairy tale.

Not a Catholic or a Christian, Vu Ngoc Huong Trang likes to decorate her house for Christmas. This year, the 29-year-old mother who lives in Hai Phong’s Hong Bang District has chosen to keep it simple.
In the living room, a 1.5 meter tall Christmas tree with many ornaments was set up at the beginning of December. Gift boxes and red bows make the tree match the interior of the house and still stand out.

Unlike most homeowners, 33-year-old Kim Chi Tran in Hanoi’s Bac Tu Liem District did not buy a Christmas tree this year. Instead she had a wooden sculpture made. Early in December, Chi’s husband bought about 60 wooden sticks and started making a handmade “pine tree.”

The tree took shape over two days. Later, Chi bought more decorations and ornaments to embellish the tree and give it a beautiful look.

Phan Thi Thu Huong in Hanoi’s Nam Tu Liem District came up with the idea of making a paper pine tree as a way to save costs and strengthen bonds between mother and son in pandemic times.
Huong and her son took cardboard and rolled it in the shape of a cone to make a frame, then glued pieces of folded brown and checked paper stripes. The final step was to use a glue gun to attach pieces of orange, cinnamon and other colored ornaments, and attach some pine branches to the paper tree.

Huong and her son also made their own laurel wreaths of different sizes from eucalyptus, pine branches, oranges, cinnamon and ribbons. “Paper pine and laurel wreaths are made very quickly, the materials are easy to find and the cost is low, all children can participate in making them,” Huong said.