Bernice Lindahl has a lot of holiday memories and many of them come out in her holiday decorations which she faithfully puts up year after year.

Sunday, December 9, 2001

Bernice Lindahl has a lot of holiday memories and many of them come out in her holiday decorations which she faithfully puts up year after year.

Lindahl, who moved here in 1971, lives in northwest Austin and has been been decorating since her children were little.

"When I started, all I had was a small nativity scene," Lindahl said. "With that, I could teach them the true meaning of Christmas with baby Jesus."

Each year, Lindahl said, she does more and more decorating and at one point, her garage was full of lawn decorations, lights and other Christmas items.

"I just love to be out there," she said. "I start right after Halloween. It takes about three weeks to do."

It appears that Lindahl’s love of Christmas decorations has become a family affair, as well.

She and her sister used to get together each year after New Year’s and create cut outs of camels, sheep and cows, saw them out and place them in their yards.

"It was a lot of work," Lindahl said. "Especially when we had to build a manger."

Now, she does much of the decorating herself, securing angels and Christmas stars to trees and bushes around her yard and stringing lights on pine trees. Her younger daughter helps her string icicle lights on the roof.

Because she’s doing much of the decorating herself, Lindahl said her showcase has lessened a bit over the years.

"I used to have an electric Santa Claus on a sled, looking like he was going down the chimney," she said.

Immersing herself in her decorations helps to get her in the holiday spirit.

"I entertain a lot of people over Christmas," Lindahl said. "My neighbor enjoys my lights more than I do."

A fire in her basement following the 1998 ice storm almost did away with Lindahl’s holiday decorating altogether.

"All my decorations were in the basement, where the fire started," she explained. "I had two beautiful Christmas trees (down there). It all burned and I had to start over."

Lindahl went on to say that during the ice storm, a tree in her front yard fell onto her house and ripped down electrical wires and made contact with the fuse box.

Just when it looked like she was experiencing the worst, Lindahl said she received holiday help from generous people, including the Salvation Army.

Due to the fire, Lindahl was unable to be in her home for about two months. Friends even told her the house couldn’t be fixed up.

But her luck changed.

"My son worked so hard to get the house fixed up for Christmas," said Lindahl. She still gets emotional when she thinks about it. "I hadn’t been in the house very long and everyone brought food over for Christmas, even though the turkey had burnt."