Leave it to a French decorator to make Christmas look like an antique shop came to life. Brice G. of Clérey, Aube, France, has packed his display with every festive figurine and holiday treasure imaginable, centered around an old oval frame onto which he’s projecting Santa and His Elves. C’est magnifique!
Brice is a longtime AtmosFAN with a history of creating ornate indoor displays for both Halloween and Christmas. He continues to find a way to adorn his French countryside home with funky old keepsakes, antiques, and tchotchkes – all imaginatively arranged around an AtmosFX Decoration or two. Heck, he once even hosted his daughter’s 30th birthday party in a historic castle with a Bram Stoker’s Dracula theme, complete with Paranormal Passage Decoration Collection, among other AtmosFX Decorations. When Brice decorates, he commits. (You can read about that here.)
This year’s Christmas setup showcases his talent for blending vintage aesthetics with digital decorations. The centerpiece is an old oval photo frame – glass removed, background turned upside down to reveal its satin wood finish. “A white background would have made the video’s colors more striking, but the one I used, in satin wood, gives the images a slightly vintage feel,” Brice tells us.
He projects Santa and His Elves Decoration Collection in disc mode onto the oval frame, creating a window into Santa’s North Pole operations. The projection sits on what appears to be a vintage cabinet, flanked by nutcrackers standing at attention and surrounded by a delightful chaos of Christmas collectibles – gingerbread figures, plush snowmen, miniature Santa figurines, and twinkling lights.
The clever part? Brice kept his technical setup from Halloween, using a fake piece of furniture in the foreground to hide the video projector. In this case, only the background changes with the seasons – a smart approach.
The result is a display that feels both nostalgic and magical, like stumbling into a French country home where Christmas has been celebrated the same way for generations – except now Santa’s elves are actually moving in that old oval frame on the mantle.
Don’t forget to send your Christmas displays, indoor or out – you can do so using this simple online submission form. Every submission will earn you points redeemable at the AtmosFX online store. And if you are selected as a future AtmosFAN of the Week, not only will you inspire fellow decorators around the world – you’ll earn a free decoration collection, too!
