The climate probably plays a hand too. With Danish temperatures at freezing point this time of year, there’s little else for it but to hunker down inside or make the most of the snow outside.
Not long after, Anette visited New Zealand on holiday and met a Kiwi called Keith. A few months later, he followed her to Denmark and asked her to marry him. Keith achieved his goal, and the couple returned to New Zealand the same year and they have since gathered four children about them.
Now, living in semi-rural Whitford, Anette insists on creating beautiful, personalised Christmas scenes inspired by Danish traditions, even during the hottest summers.
The magic is spread wider to the family’s close friends, with a mid-December party giving guests an authentic festive Danish experience. It’s a popular affair that puts smiles on the faces of everyone who attends, and for those who haven’t already decorated their homes, a promise to do so the next day.
The lead-up to Christmas is a fun time, although preparations are taken seriously and start six weeks before the main event. For the Danes, this is on Christmas Eve.
“Christmas shouldn’t be stressful and I want the family to enjoy it, so I make sure I’m organised. I have a schedule and stick to it.”
“The kids love it too,” says Anette, although they do complain about the relentlessly cheerful, Christmas carol soundtrack she has on continuous loop for the entire month.
She does draw the line at decorating the bedrooms though. “We need some sane spaces.”
The look Anette creates is green and natural and in every corner and on most horizontal surfaces are baskets full of greenery, candles and exquisitely handcrafted festive symbols. Not any old greenery will do. This year Anette went to Waiheke Island to find the perfect cedar branch for one arrangement.
There are miniature Christmas trees shaped from lilly-pilly, what was once a live squirrel in a forest setting inside an old leather suitcase, and a Christmas advent calendar with each date a different ornament handmade by Anette.
Twisted tree branches decorated beautifully are a common sight in Danish homes in December, but one branch often isn’t enough for the Gay household. This year there are five pieces of bedecked willow on display.
In the lounge, a mirror resembles a lattice window and one willow branch now hangs permanently in front. The wall colour throughout the home was chosen to team with the dominant colour on the Danish flag, which in a happy coincidence is also the colour of Christmas, red.
Anette believes the home should be a special place.
