Hundreds of Paper Snowflakes Decorate Wendy Lau's Magical Holiday Home

Every holiday season Wendy Lau’s love of crafts and decorations kicks into high gear. She’s up and down ladders, dangling paper snowflakes and stars from ceilings and draping garlands across doorways. As much as she tries to show restraint, a little always turns into a lot, and soon she’s decorating her Toronto home with abandon. “There’s a lot of cardio for me at Christmas,” she says.

Her decorating aerobics can be traced in large part to the snowflakes she snips from brown and white lunch bags. They now number in the hundreds and are her creative strategy for a high-impact look. “I’m the paper-bag princess,” she jokes. Earthy flourishes such as dried moss (Wendy’s reusable and easy-to-store alternative to fresh greenery) and handcrafted papier-mâché mushroom ornaments supplement those statement makers.

If there’s one thing Wendy knows, it’s how to make the holiday special, even on a budget. “To me, Christmas is a homecoming,” she says. “It’s all about the cozy. It’s all about the nostalgia. But it’s also about affordability.”

Her paper-bag creations, which she hangs from her stair railings with fishing line, were an early pandemic project after she was laid off from her job as a flight attendant. (Her Instagram account drew so many followers that when she was called back to work, she took a leap to become a full-time social media content creator.)

The 18 totes she lugs up from the basement each year are filled with a mix of her handmade decorations, hand-me-downs from her mom, after-Christmas markdowns, and thrift store and roadside finds. She's always on the hunt for clear glass bud vases, cloches, and containers she can use to add wintry sparkle or turn into snow globes.

Three now-tattered paper garlands that spell "fa-la-la" and other phrases are sentimental favorites. Her husband, Kwan Chan, surprised her with the garlands early in their marriage so Wendy had something festive in their small basement apartment. "I smile every time I put them up," she says.

When creating her seasonal wonderland in the house the couple has lived in for two years, Wendy sees herself as a shopkeeper. “I pretend I’m decorating a shop window, but for the enjoyment of
us and our guests,” she says.“I like to think of my home as an installation.”

That starts in the entry, where snowflakes accented with fairy lights blanket the staircase. “They’re impactful, but I don’t know if I was going for impact as much as just thinking, Wow, what am I going to do with all these?” she says.

Elsewhere, snowflakes and purchased stars form arches that become magical backdrops for holiday photos of the couple and their friends. Above the dining table, more string lights shine from a canopy Wendy fashioned by cutting and piecing together different lengths of copper pipes. “I always try to take advantage of vertical space,” she says. She sets a wintry table with candles, baby’s breath, and glass vases.

And while her overall look is artful, it’s also simple and uncluttered—even with hundreds of paper snowflakes. “I have to include them,” Wendy says. “These things have become a big part of my story.”

The light, open kitchen connects to the family room. Draped garlands draw attention to the windows and views. During the holidays, the island becomes a prep-and-package station for homemade marshmallows, Wendy’s signature treat for her hot cocoa bar. "I always add festive touches to my kitchen. Everyone seems to end up there, and it makes cooking and baking more fun," she says.

On open shelves she built herself, Wendy stages a village with her collection of ceramic and tin houses. A secondhand hutch displays Christmas classics, including bottle-brush trees. Wendy tops cabinets with reusable faux garlands rather than investing in fresh ones every year.

Wendy infuses her home with holiday spirit each year with simple decorating ideas like crafting homemade ornaments and garlands. Easy-to-make papier-mâché mushroom ornaments and pom-pom garlands brighten the tree.

Dried moss appears in displays and serves as table runners and tree skirts. The only fresh greens are a few evergreen sprigs Wendy clips from her yard for accents. Her holiday floral of choice is baby’s breath. Typically a bouquet filler, it goes solo in bud vases. “It has that snowflake effect,” she says, and it dries nicely so it has longevity.

Guests know to look for surprises in Wendy’s displays. A mouse dressed as a chef named Gus Gus is one of them. “It’s fun building tiny inside jokes,” Wendy says. “It’s just playful and nonsensical.”