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Who would think that two little mice would be the beginning of a collection of Christmas decorations that would become enough to fill a home with decorations in every room. That’s what happened when newlyweds Alex and Corriene Culver painted little wooden Mickey and Minnie mice to put on their first Christmas tree.

“The choice of Disney character was random,” Corriene said. “We didn’t have a lot of money as newlyweds so buying ornaments was out of the question. So, we purchased the kit at Kmart and painted it in the evenings before Christmas. Nowadays, we always put Mickey and Minnie on the tree as a nod to our first Christmas.”

Through the next forty years, Mickey and Minnie have been joined by hundreds of various Christmas decorations, enough to adorn every room in the Culvers’ home.

“We always decorated for Christmas, usually with a live tree,” said Corriene, “but it wasn’t until we were on the Tour of Homes that we had multiple trees.”

Today, they decorate three large trees and two smaller ones. Each tree has a theme, and the themes vary from year to year.

“This year I have a reindeer bathroom with a small tree, and a snowflake theme in the other bathroom with flakes hanging on the tree and more hanging from the curtain rod,” said Corriene.

A collection of gnomes dominates their spare bedroom, complete with a gnome bedspread and paint-by-numbers kits of gnomes Corriene has done.

Other themes Corriene has had include a red and white tree, a black and white tree, and a tree decorated with just natural materials like pine cones and milk weed pods.

“This year, we found out through Ancestry that Alex and I both have Swedish blood, so I created a Swedish tree. I made felt woven hearts and gingerbread pigs then purchased straw ornaments, Tomtens and Dala horses,” Corriene said.

“I usually do a ‘traditional tree’ with ornaments from a variety of sources. Some I made, others include our grandchildren’s baby first Christmas ornaments, ornaments my mom had on her tree and ornaments from my Grandma Emrich’s tree,” she said.

Corriene’s other sources include ornaments from kits, special ornaments she bought, Boyd’s Bear soft ornaments from a collection she and her daughter started when her daughter was in high school, and ornaments Corriene creates from pictures she’s seen. She also collects Jim Shore Santas.

“Sometimes they are given to me, but mostly I purchase them,” Corriene said. “I have a Santa collection with Santas of all kinds of materials. A cherished part of my decorations are Christmas candles I had as a child.”

“Now I make an ornament each year for the six grandchildren, sometimes painted, sometimes embroidered and sometimes from felt,” she said.

Corriene doesn’t put out all the decorations every year but varies them from year to year.

“We didn’t put out our village this year, but I always have our Willow Tree Nativity and Santa collection out,” she said.

While she has less than she used to, she always likes getting new ones.

She said her most unusual ornaments is Santa made from a shotgun shell.

“I just liked the uniqueness of it,” she said.

Corriene’s decorations are not confined to trees. Shelves hold dozens of her other decorations. Some larger decorations fill walls and corners of the floor and hang from doorknobs and windowsills. The space above their cupboards is filled with decorations including small trees and their papier mache village, all tastefully done without looking “cluttered” but welcoming and cozy.

Corriene said she usually started decorating after Thanksgiving but started earlier this year because Thanksgiving was later. She takes them down around mid-January. When asked if she has help, Corriene said that while Alex doesn’t help decorate, he brings all the boxes up from the basement, which may be why he would like to downsize.

“Our basement storage room is a little full!” said Corriene.

For Corriene, decorating is a labor of love.

“I truly enjoy it,” she said.