Let’s re-introduce ourselves!

It’s been a minute, so we thought that it was time to re-introduce ourselves.

Welcome to Christmas Gals! We are so happy to share our love of Christmas with others. We love to decorate and celebrate this blessed holiday all year long.

Let’s start with introductions! I’m Maureen or ‘Mo’ as everyone calls me and this is Shendra or ‘Shendy’ as I’ve always called her. We are two lifelong friends who share a passion (some say obsession) for all things Christmas.

Shendra, a busy wife and mom of two boys, with a background in fashion design and career as a professional designer. Christmas faves: twinkle lights, Christmas pajamas and themed trees!

Maureen, also a busy wife and mom of three girls, who works by day in non-profit marketing and by night loves to decorate for the holidays! Christmas faves: all things vintage, the movie Elf and Christmas flavored coffees.

A few years ago, I called Shendra and asked if she knew of any good stores to shop for Christmas décor. Since then, we have spent countless hours together shopping, chatting, decorating and creating. It was during a trip to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland that the idea of creating a blog came about. We really only thought that our friends and family would follow. We’ve both found this to be a fun way, especially during COVID times, to share Christmas love with others…even if we couldn’t invite them over for an eggnog or mulled cider in person.

Our love of Christmas started at a young age. For both of us, we have wonderfully crafty and inspirational moms who did the holidays up right when we were young. They decorated. They baked. They poured love into everything Christmas. And, today, Shendra and I try our best to reintroduce those moments to our own families.  

I wanted to write this re-introduction primarily for one reason: Debra.

Debbie is Shendy’s mom and sadly she passed away this past year after a short illness. This is one of the reasons that we haven’t posted as much on Christmas Gals in recent months. Shendra has dedicated much of her time and energy into caring for her mom…something that has been so beautiful and painful, at the same time.  

Debbie was a Christmas queen. Going to her home around the holidays was like walking through the pages of a magazine. She took so much pride in her Christmas décor and had wonderful stories about each figurine or ornament. Shendra’s family lived for a period of time in Europe, so the influence of their time overseas was evident at Debbie’s home. From German handmade Christmas pyramids to nativity scenes from Paris….everything was special.

In many ways, Debbie was a driving force behind The Christmas Gals. She clearly passed on the Christmas love to Shendy. She may be gone, but maybe in some way we can honor her by sharing love for the ‘most wonderful time of the year.’

So, let’s start this holiday season by loving each other a little more. Let’s take a little more time putting up our trees and decorating the mantle. Let’s snuggle a little longer with our kiddos. And, let’s all share love with others this holiday!

Happy holidays (all year long) from The Christmas Gals! We’re glad you visited!