Decking the halls

In the opinion of Lochwood residents Bob and Phyllis Beilue, nearly every holiday is an occasion for elaborate decoration. Stacks of ornament-filled boxes dominate their bedroom walk-in closet; Halloween-themed knick-knacks constitute the largest portion of their stash. But holidays not traditionally thought to be decoration-intensive also get the treatment. Valentine’s Day, for example, is an occasion for elaborate house garnishing, as is the Fourth of July and many others. The sole major holiday they don’t decorate for, Phyllis Beilue said, is Thanksgiving. “It’s not that Thanksgiving doesn’t deserve it,” Beilue says. “It’s just that when Nov. 1 comes around, we have to start getting ready for Christmas.” Most people keep the majority of their Christmas decorations outdoors — lights strung around their house’s edges and trees, maybe Santa and his reindeer launching from the roof. For the Beilues, however, the main event is inside. Every Christmas, the Beilues set up a sprawling, miniature Christmas village in their home, complete with miniature people, cars, houses, stores, the works. Though the display is positioned near a large bay window, not many people get a chance to see it, other than an annual pilgrimage of Phyllis’ former high school students who journey to have dinner and gaze at her indoor municipality. But this doesn’t concern the Beilues. Like many of the best Christmas presents, this one is a “me-to-me.”