With garlands, family traditions, and loads of good cheer, this New York home hosts a real country Christmas

Horses and Snow

Christmas arrives each year on hooves at the upstate New York home of Bob and Caroline Boniello. Caroline and her daughter, Jennifer, are accomplished equestrians, so horses rear up in every room of the Georgian brick-style house, in the form of wood carvings and delicately painted details. Son Michael's preferred sport is skiing, and Caroline gives a nod to his love for snow by artfully sprinkling flurries of artificial white stuff — "the paper kind, not the kind that sparkles," she specifies.



Tannenbaums

For the Boniellos, this festive time is not about sparkle or razzle-dazzle reds; it's about gently glittering snow and muted gold organza ribbon. Rather than collecting shiny-bright ornaments, this family collects trees, decorating no fewer than eight Tannenbaums for the season, including several cut pines and an everlasting tree made of twigs.



Lights and Garlands

One of the trees serves as the backdrop for another favorite tradition: gathering family photos taken during Christmases past, putting them in silver frames, and attaching them to the branches with hunter-green ribbons. Like the garland that Caroline crafts each year of fragrant white pine and fresh lemons, this is a thoughtful celebration that doesn't declare Christmas — rather, it addresses the holiday with the softest tones, exactly as one should approach a horse.



Gold and White Tree

Gifts reside under the tree in the family room, which is decorated with gold ribbons, white lights, and folk art ornaments; following the European custom, the Boniellos celebrate Christmas on the evening of the 24th. The wooden horse, a flea market find that Caroline rehabbed by stripping away a layer of worn-out wool, is like a vignette from The Velveteen Rabbit.



Pine and Lemon Garlands

Seventeen-year-old Jennifer's riding boots stand at attention beside an antique sled stenciled with a gold horse. Cascading down the banister is a garland of pine and fresh lemons. Caroline attached fresh lemons from Costco to white-pine rope using a wide rug needle and floral wire. "Go right through the middle of the fruit," she says. "They'll stay looking and smelling good for the season.




Sculptural Furniture

The silhouettes of simple furniture, such as the corner cabinet and the sideboard, seem as sculptural as the carved wooden horses the couple collects.



Christmas Kitchen

Winston the Westie naps in the kitchen; above him hangs a wrought-iron chandelier draped with pine garlands.



Antique Window

Bob crafted the mirror from a salvaged window frame and gave it to Caroline on her birthday. The wooden swan is by Three Point Designs.