From the outside, Deborah Martin’s home looks like a standard two-story house, modestly built and nestled in the woods along the Intracoastal Waterway.
On the inside, however, lays a collection of holiday décor that would put Santa himself to shame. St. Nicks of all colors and creeds, tinsel, striped candies, bells, garland and a pervasive red and white color scheme overload the senses of every visitor that steps through the front doors of the Palm Valley home. But that’s just the foyer.
At first impression, one could argue that Martin might be “overdoing” Christmas a tad.
What most people come to admire when taking a tour through the house isn’t the standard Christmas ornamentation, however, it’s the diverse collection of Christmas trees that are spread everywhere from the kitchen to the guest bathroom. Each tree is individually decorated with their own theme and history. Martin has even made visitors a tree “guide,” which she designed on Excel and lists the name of each tree and its location in the house. All 101 trees, to be exact.
“It’s a sickness, really,” Martin said, laughing. “My son says I am a hoarder. But it’s really just limited to Christmas.”
A few of Martin’s favorite trees are, “Tacky Florida,” “Christmas in the Wild,” “Travel Memories,” “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” and “Vintage Valentines,” which is decorated with a preserved collection of her mother’s first Valentine’s cards from the 1940s.
Martin started accumulating Christmas trees in 2002, when she moved into the Palm Valley home with her partner, Steve Williams. Collecting the trees began as a next logical step to host the extra ornaments she received as gifts or bought throughout the years. The more ornaments she collected, the more trees she needed. Eventually, she got close to 100 and decided to dedicate herself to reaching the number as a goal. In order to cut down on costs, Martin would take odd jobs at local gift shops, asking for decorative trees instead of a paycheck. The process took 12 years.
“It got totally out of control,” Martin said.
Part of the drive to collect, however, wasn’t just about showing them off to her friends and family. She makes a point to note that growing up, her mother never spent much time preparing the house for Christmas.
“My mom wasn’t really into it,” she said. “Back then, we just had an aluminum tree. I think that’s part of what got me going. It’s like I’m making up for that.”
When Martin hit her goal of 100 trees, she couldn’t resist going for a little “extra” and completed her Excel spreadsheet with the final tree, fittingly themed with Disney’s “101 Dalmatians.”
Martin said the trees aren’t just for admiring. They are imbued with memories of not only Christmases past but of distinct moments in her life.
“I really do remember as I’m putting them out every year,” she said. “I remember where these things came from and their histories. Some of them were my mother’s or some we inherited over the years or some remind me of places we traveled.”
Every year Martin begins to set up for Christmas, she is transported back over the years of her life, reliving each ornament as if it were a special memory. One tree, she recalled, is her first with her son. It is decorated with paint-by-numbers pictures instead of ornaments because at the time she couldn’t afford the “real deal.” This process of setting up and arranging takes Martin over two weeks.
It’s a process that she jokingly said her long-time partner, Williams, is a “good sport about.”
“His job is helping get down the stuff from the attic and hauling it over from the shed,” Martin said. “He also sets up the whole (backyard).
“Tell them what’s your other favorite part, Steve,” Martin asked
“Figuring out the electricity,” Williams responded, without hesitation.
Looking across the house, every lightbulb on all 101 trees blinks with unwavering enthusiasm.
