Holiday Helpers Transform Homes For Each Season!
When Dr. Krystle Balduzzi, her husband and their two daughters returned home from a Thanksgiving trip last fall, they walked into a magical winter wonderland. “It truly felt like stepping into a dream,” she said.
Their house had been extensively remodeled and needed a holiday glowup to match, so Krystle tasked Holiday Helpers with the job. They created a dazzling seasonal showcase that included creating a look for specific rooms, including a special tree for the playroom. Holiday Helpers even sourced all the décor and, best of all, completed the installation. Lois Billigmeier, her daughter-in-law Gina Billigmeier and their friend Sara Cowan have a sleigh full of tricks for transforming a ho-hum holiday into oohs and aahs and have a jolly time doing it.
“It was a total surprise for my entire family, including my husband,” Krystle said. “On the day we drove back, they came over ahead of time to turn on all the lights and candles so everything would be glowing when we arrived. The house was absolutely magical.” The family went from room to room, taking it all in with delight.
Krystle said the Linden trio is easy to work with, so much so that she’s hired them to decorate her home for other seasons. “I didn’t have a strict vision, but they came over to see my home and get a feel for my style,” she said. “Together we decided on the overall direction, gold or silver, red and green, that sort of thing.” Being from Montana, she always has loved a forest or woodland theme, so they incorporated that into the overall design.
The Holiday Helpers say the Balduzzi job was so enjoyable because it was top secret until the big reveal. Krystle went with the decorators and her youngest daughter to a Christmas Open House at C.R. Porter, which has since been renamed Bungalow, to pick out some bigger pieces. “She was happily pointing out things she liked without realizing that Lois, Gina and Sara were quietly taking notes,” Krystle said of her youngest daughter’s choices. “It made for such a sweet surprise later when those very items appeared in our home.”
Some customers have their own collections of decorations that they’ve had fun curating over the years but just need a little help pulling it all together. “They use my decorations and purchase additional items that will work,” Leanne Scannavino of Linden said, adding Holiday Helpers will also direct her to a certain store to check out something they’ve spotted and think she can’t live without. “As a result, we are able to create an entirely new look each season,” Sara said.
Leanne, who has relied on these Christmas “elves” season after season, has a cherished collection of Santas that they stage in her home plus decorate her two nine-foot trees, a seven-and-a-half-foot tree, two mantels and four garlands over credenzas. Leanne helps on decorating days. “I assist at my home because I have several vintage ornaments that I always like to put on my tree,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine doing it without their help. They are definitely Santa’s hardest working elves.”
The trio’s business has grown mostly by word of mouth. Angela Karp, owner of Sassy Pants in Stockton’s Lincoln Center, said the their magical touch at her mom Leanne’s house inspired her to have Holiday Helpers give her own home a Christmas transformation. They also decorate the family’s trucking business, Cherokee Freight Lines, much to the staff’s delight. For business jobs, they incorporate company colors and logos into the overall design. “They put up a formal flocked tree in the lobby, an eight-foot tree in the lunchroom and a nine-foot tree in the accounting department, along with a couple of garlands,” Leanne said of the magic Holiday Helpers create at Cherokee.
Over the years, the creative trio has continually raised the bar and impressed their clients. “I have given up on the Hallmark Christmas movies because I have yet to see decorations in the movies that match my own,” Leanne said.
These three holiday helpers truly weave magic and love to see their clients’ reactions when the big reveal takes place! “The most rewarding reaction we have found is from the residents of O’Connor Woods,” Gina said of the senior living community in Stockton. “They are always so happy to see us bring the holiday cheer, which warms our hearts.”
Lois said the dream team got their start when she was working in a gift shop and a customer asked if she could recreate one of the shop’s decorated trees in her home. “When I recognized my daughter-in-law’s creative talent, we became a team,” Lois said. “After several years, we found the need to bring on another person. Gina’s friend, Sara Cowan, loved holiday decorating as much as we did, so she became part of the team.”
To pull the magic together, they find unique and trendsetting décor at local businesses such as Regalo Bello, Fiori Floral, With Garden Flair, Voila and Bungalow. Each woman has her specialty when it comes to setting the scene. “To create a beautiful tree, each ornament, each spray and the ribbon need to be strategically placed,” Gina said. Lois installs the sprays, Sara does the ribbon work and Gina finds the perfect placement for the ornaments. “We bring all the necessary tools for the job, including ladders, tools, drop cloths, brooms and other tools to leave the house neat,” Lois said. At the end of the season, they are available to take down the decorations and carefully pack everything away for next year.
Gina, Lois and Sara agree that the most fun part of the job is the camaraderie they share, bouncing ideas off each other, learning from each other and laughing through it all.
