Cathy Gillman unpacked her 17 boxes of Christmas decorations and five big bags of artificial greenery early this year—and for two good reasons: She’s expecting her first grandchild soon, and her home will be one of the stars in Neighborhood Church’s 55th annual Yule Parlor Parade set for Friday and Saturday, Dec. 2 and 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
All during the 39 years of their marriage, Cathy and husband Jerry have decorated for the season, she said, during a recent interview in the French Normandy Palos Verdes Estates home where they’ve lived for the past 26 years.
But, of course, this is special year. More than family will fill their festooned home as preamble to the season.
“Jerry does the outside lights, the interior greenery and the tree lights,” Cathy explained, “and I do the rest.” The “rest,” in this case, means allocating destinations for the contents of those 17 boxes and all the greenery. Describing them, she pointed out that two boxes contain the 219 ornaments that vie for a display spot on the 8-foot-tall living tree that each season adorns their living room. The other 15 boxes hold all sorts of other holiday accessories, she added.
“But, of the ornaments, I really like 150 of them a lot, so they always appear at the front of the tree,” she confided. One of those might well be a gingham-covered Styrofoam apple acquired during their first year of marriage plus a newcomer, an expensive, hand-painted Polish-made glass Santa she bought last year at Rogers Garden. “I have a collection of Santas,” she noted.
High among her list of sentimental favorites are the “foreign-born” ornaments her Mother brought from her many visits abroad over the 30 years of her widowhood. Small and often wooden and hand-painted, they reside off-season in a special, round holiday-decorated cookie tin. When called on to display their uniqueness, they hang from a stylized, metal-branched tree boldly stationed on a sideboard during their brief moments of seasonal fame. Each one holds a memory, and each one is dated, Cathy said, reminders of her Mother’s travels, which ended when she died last year.
Preparing for the holidays rings a familiar bell for Cathy, who was born in South Gate, the oldest of three children. “My Mother made a lot of decorations in those days,” she said. “I remember some that she made from egg cartons.” Christmas, she said, was always a special time. “We were a close family.”
Cathy’s attachment to seasonal decorating might well have developed in the classroom where she taught—mostly kindergarten–in the Palos Verdes Unified School District from 1969 to 2008. “We always did the seasons,” she said. Her assignments took her to Silver Spur, Lunada Bay and finally Cornerstone schools. During her long tenure in the classroom, she was named K-2 Teacher of the Year in 2001. And quite coincidentally, both her daughters are teachers. Her son took another course. He’s an attorney.
As a young mother, Cathy said she was involved in P.V. Juniors and the National Charity League. In addition to decorating, she said she likes to cook and entertain. Husband Jerry, who’s worked in commercial and industrial real estate for 39 years, is a trustee of the Peninsula Education Foundation. For fitness, he exercises on the Par Course he renovated in Lunada Bay, and takes his bicycle out for a Saturday morning ride—that is, of course, when USC isn’t playing. The Gillmans are regulars among the tailgate crowd. “We arrive pretty early to set up,” she said, and “by game time, we’ve gathered a crowd of 20,” she added, reflecting on those five busy, home-game Saturdays.
But now it’s time to decorate the tree, a job she assumes once Jerry places the lights. This year, in addition to the bounty of ornaments that demand her attention, Cathy Gillman fully expects to add a new one for her first grandchild.
Christmas Dinner is the theme for the Gillman home. A formal living room and adjoining dining room are accented by tastefully treasured antiques. In the generously decorated dining room, a Welsh dresser from 1760 reflects favorably on the dining room table and chairs. It is described a “truly a family home, ready for returning generations.”
Christmas Open House in Rancho Palos Verdes will be honored as one of the last homes built on the Peninsula by well-known architect Lowell Lusk in 1985. The owners decided to trade city views from Mulholland Drive to be closer to family. The hosts were attracted to the house by the spectacular views of Terranea, Catalina, a nature preserve and the ocean beyond.
Drama takes a bow in the form of a bridge over the pool to the entrance. Steps leave from the main floor to the master suite and guest room and further to other bedrooms. The kitchen has recently been upgraded and provides the canyon view.
The all-white house is softened by its many windows and skylights, and newly installed dark wood floors anchor the structure.
A Christmas Eve Feast will be celebrated in a remodeled 1950s Palos Verdes Estates Mediterranean-style home that displays its charm along a narrow patio with views of the ocean.
A lovely garden shares its space with an entertainment area and private play yard.
The interior art collection and color palette echo the Far East. To the right of the entrance, the dining room doubles as a warm, paneled library enclosing a handmade, solid Bobinga wood table.
The living room features luscious fabrics with custom cabinets and flowing drapes. Wood floors throughout lead through a comfortable family room into a cook’s kitchen illuminated by a gigantic lantern created especially for this space.
The five bedrooms and offices are unique, and the master bedroom features a 12-foot ceiling, a carved four-poster bed and a cabinet that houses an hydraulic lift, which powers the hidden television.
Tea, Christmas music, handmade gifts, the vintage shop, and baked goods will be offered in Neighborhood Church’s Fellowship Hall all during the time of the tour.
Sponsored by the Women’s Fellowship at the church, tickets will be $30 until Tour Day, and $35 on Tour Day. They can be obtained in person by visiting the church between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays, or by check or credit card before Nov. 25. The church is located at 415 Paseo del Ma, Palos Verdes Estates, Ca 90274. For more information: 310-378-9353. A map to the tour homes will be included on all tickets. PEN
