My "Le Corbusier meets disco ball" Christmas tree
While walking to 13 stores looking for twinkle lights, I'm reminded of the biggest lifestyle change in Paris vs. living in the U.S.
Bonjour from my living room in Paris,
Before starting my Christmas tree story, I would like to express gratitude for my life in Paris and this story is in NO way a complaint about living here. I feel very fortunate to live out my wildest dreams in Paris. My comments on life in Paris vs. Texas are more of a social study than negative commentary. I feel appreciative and lucky every single day for this Parisian life.
So, let’s get to the story…
The day after Thanksgiving, I embark on a seemingly easy errand. I need Christmas lights for our très grand Christmas tree. I search all over Paris for the perfect lights to cover our 8-foot Christmas tree. Thirteen stores and 15,000 steps later, I end up at BHV, the best department store in Paris for holiday decor and anything home related. It’s a massive department store in the Marais, selling everything from sink faucets to Sandro leather pants.
During my extensive lighting hunt, I’m missing American conveniences. Specifically, I’m missing American Amazon. Yes, we have Amazon in Paris, but it’s not the same. Over the summer in Austin, I ordered all of Lia’s birthday decor on Amazon and it was delivered to my front door within 12 hours. That kind of convenience simply doesn’t exist in France. Of course, Amazon is problematic in a lot of ways, but it would have saved me about 5 hours.
Why was I determined to find Christmas lights on Black Friday, the worst day to shop in person? Because I promised my 4-year-old that we would decorate our new tree over the weekend while listening to the Oak Ridge Boys’ Christmas album. Like a lot of mums, I strive to create those iconic childhood memories for my daughter. Growing up, Christmas was a really big deal in our household and Santa visited our house every year on Christmas Eve. For the past 2 years, I’ve been searching for a Santa to visit our Paris apartment. News flash, Santa doesn’t make house calls in Paris.
Back to the tree, this year’s theme is “Le Corbusier meets disco ball” so think LOTS of silver. It’s a modern look with a sense of style and humor at the same time. She’s coming along well, but my Virgo rising is taking over. I might redo all the lights. lol. We’ll see how ambitious I get this week. For now, I’m enjoying our half baked Christmas tree.
On an admin note, you probably noticed that Postcards from Paris looks different this week. After a year of consideration, I moved my newsletter to Substack for efficiency and ease. On the old platform, a lot of my family and friends (including my own mother) weren’t receiving the newsletter. So, I made this change. Plus, now all the Postcards will live in one place and you can revisit them or share them with friends at a later date. I’ll post on here more frequently about life in Paris, all things interior design, and edited style. Stay tuned for more. Thank you for your continued support. I’m so grateful!
Bisous,
Allison
The Aquarius in me would leave it just as it is. It’s an original Lia James design.