over the top

over t h e top

a tree trimming tradition at grandma's

My grandmother has been decorating what she calls “overthe-top” Christmas for twenty years now. What began as a Christmas party in Midland, TX is now a family tradition that is well known in the paper, on Instagram and now on YouTube! Each tree is themed and has meaning and significance for Norma.

Norma Robb Thomason is the second of seven children, 3 boys and 4 girls. Each fall, her surviving siblings come to help deck the halls, including decorating NINE Christmas trees throughout her home. It takes about three weeks to decorate and 96 boxes are stored in the attic when it’s all over. Her sister Joyce and brother Jerry travel from Memphis, sister Annette comes from Missouri and Aunt Booty drives up from Austin.

It’s a family tradition that every time they’re together, they make 6 pounds of fudge with their secret family recipe. The night their daddy died, Grandma asked her siblings, “what are we gonna do now?” Her brother Larry answered, “we’re gonna make fudge.”

gingerbread

a tree full of sweet treats

Norma has 5 children, 9 grandkids and 10 great grandkids. This tree is styled for the grandchildren and great grandchildren. It’s full of sweets, popcorn, rocking chairs and gingerbread ornaments. A sign that tops the tree reads, “Who needs Santa? I’ve got Grandma!” This tree contains 269 ornaments that Grandma has hand made, including burlap bows sewn with jingle bells. She also tied checkered red bows on miniature wreaths, as well as hand made cinnamon stick ornaments. It’s loaded to the max as no other ornaments can fit, so 17 elves sit atop the built-in shelves behind the tree. The traditional colors of red and green are accented with the browns of the burlap and gingerbread men. It sits in the family room next to Grandma’s red upholstered sofa, plenty of chairs and piles of throw blankets. This is the room you’ll find the men watching the football game and the children playing with toys on the floor.

There are signs of Santa everywhere! Gingerbread houses and garlands deck the halls and mantels.

Sammy's handmade garland is the perfect accent to this sugary scene!

traditional

the largest tree

The largest of all the trees is located in the formal living room. 727 ornaments adorn the branches of this extraordinary tree. Spinning ballerinas represent her granddaughters who danced ballet. There are ceramic dolls, hats and mirrors from a trip to Bath, England with Norma’s sister Joyce. Special ornaments like a street car in San Francisco represent her brother Sammy who lived out there. A miniature luggage rack ornament remind her of a cruise she took with her entire family on in 2004. Susie’s little sister had an ornament made with their grandfather’s handwriting. “All my love, Horace” was taken from a love letter he wrote Norma and is forever encapsuled in this glass ornament. Turquoise and silver peacocks embellish the mantle and coffee table to put the finishing touches on this elegant wonderland.

This piece-de-resistance is an homage to Norma's family as well as her travels, two things she holds dear to her heart. Can you spot the tiny, twirling dancers?

I'm on the lookout for a tiny bellhop to go with this darling luggage cart!

lowcountry

a southern tree

The Low Country Tree is a collection of all things loved in the southern part of the United States, 420 lovely ornaments to be exact. This tree is primarily adorned with greens, whites, and touches of pink. A special ornament hangs with a picture of all 4 of Norma’s granddaughters. Real Spanish Moss from Jekyll Island was brought back home to decorate the tree. Norma was told it might be full of bugs and to microwave it for safe keeping. Later, Susie picked up oyster shell ornaments from Savannah, GA, one of Grandma’s favorite cities to visit!

On a birthday trip with her three daughters, Norma visited 'Lady and Son’s,' Paula Deen’s restaurant. As a special treat, they came out of the kitchen to sing Grandma "Happy Birthday." Then they visited 'Bubba’s' (Paula Deen’s brother’s restaurant) on the river.

The Low Country Collection is Susie’s line of exclusive ceramics at shopfromsusie.com. She named it after her grandmother’s love for Savannah.

Miss Cayce's is a local favorite here in Texas. If you've never been, check out our video on youtube. There's so much to see, and their supplies are endless!

safari

a party tree

All 97 of the ornaments on this safari themed tree were purchased from Miss Cayce’s in Midland, TX. Norma bought two more of everything on this tree so two of her daughters could have their own tree just like it! Fur garlands, feathers, zebra striped and leopard print ornaments pop against the green branches. Norma lived in Midland for 55 years. If you ask the girls at Miss Cayce’s, they still remember Norma’s trees and her extraordinary parties. Last year, Susie took her grandma back to Miss Cayce’s to tour their magnificent warehouse.

Full of sparkle, a guilded butterfly alights on these bedecked branches...

cowboy

a cattle rancher's tree

Grandma married Windell Thomason after she lost her first husband Horace to heart disease. Windell was a rancher and oilman from west Texas. He was the kindest, most loving man any one of us ever met. He would always tell Grandma how beautiful she was, and she would say “let me clean your glasses, better yet, let me leave them dirty.”

The Cowboy Tree is for Windell. It features 7 horseshoes from Windell’s ranch and one from the Kentucky Derby! It has one mule shoe hidden in the branches. 100 and 150-year-old barbed wire wrap around the top. The cotton was hand picked by Norma on Windell’s ranch. She pulled the prettiest cotton which reminds her of picking cotton as a young girl. Over 162 ornaments decorate this sentimental tree including 6 Cowboy Santa dolls.

Grandma's second husband, Windell, to whom she dedicates this tree

Cotton picked by Grandma from Windell's ranch

Peacocks, trollies, masks and voodoo dolls adorn a feathery menagerie of purple and green

new orleans

a cajun tree

New Orleans has a special place in Norma’s heart. She's visited seven times, including a trip with Susie after her high school graduation. The city, the trolleys, the plantations, the cemeteries, breakfast at Brennan’s, Café du Monde, Pat O’Briens and Emril Lagasse’s are among her most loved places to visit. All decorations on this tree were purchased on a trip she took with her daughter two weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit.

One year, Norma hosted “A Cajun Christmas.” All the women and girls wore boas and masks while the little boys threw candy during a makeshift parade around the living room. “When the Saints Go Marching In” blared through the record player in the front room. Cajun turkey and chicory coffee were on the menu. If you don’t know, chicory coffee is served “black as the devil, strong as death, sweet as love, and hot as hell!”

for mama

a tree for mother

Mama’s Tree is the newest addition to the forest of Christmas trees at Norma’s house. It’s displayed in the kitchen and is full of vintage and new finds and 105 black, white and red ornaments. Norma’s mother’s silverware is wrapped in checkered napkins with little red bows and Grandmother Robb’s (Norma’s mother- in-law) cookie cutters are hung on the branches. This year, Susie added one of Norma’s hand-sewn aprons as a tree skirt. The serving spoon and fork are tied with a black and white checkered bow and act as the tree topper.

A tribute to both her mother and mother-inlaw, displaying vintage cookie cutters + her mama's silverware

We detailed more about Norma's mother and her hard work, lovingly raising a large family in the Spring edition of HomeMade Magazine

Rememberances of Norma's father and his days working as a pressman

childhood

a 1940's tree

This tree represents Christmas in the 1940’s. Grandma and her brothers and sisters can’t remember what was on the top of the tree but she uses a paper hat to remind her of her daddy. Roy Jackson worked at the newspaper underneath the printing press. The ink dripped on their heads so the pressmen would make hats from the newspapers to catch it.

Nowadays, our newspapers aren’t wide enough to make a pressman’s hat. Norma’s little brother Sammy made the paper hat for this tree. Sammy passed away this February. From their memory, their childhood tree had multi colored lights, red balls, hand-strung popcorn, paper chains, and tinsel.

henry viii

a mini tree

On a trip to England with her sister, Norma bought these ornaments at Henry VIII’s castle. Stuffed dolls represent the king and his six wives! Grandma and her sister Joyce met two dear men on their tour of England. The girls struck up a quick friendship when they began to poke fun at the sisters for saying “Mama this” and “Mama that”. The men would say “Are y’all gonna tell mama?” after every conversation. Norma found a painting inside the gift shop of an ugly, old lady and told the boys, “There’s Mama!”. This small, flocked tree beautifully offsets the gold accents and vibrant tudor colors

To this day, they laugh about it and hope those men are doing well. They owned an antique store in San Francisco and she always meant to send them a Christmas card.

christmas light scavenger hunt

hop in the car together + find some christmas cheer, right in your own neighborhood. check off the items as you go + see who can spot them all first!

decorative wreath

heavenly angels holiday star wrapped christmas gifts Santa's sleigh inflatable snowman a snow globe reindeer candy canes icicle lights decorated lamp post nativity scene twinkling lights