CLOSE-UP ON CHRISTMAS DECOR: THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW EDITION

One of my favorite things about holiday episodes is the decorations—I just love seeing how set designers deck the halls of our favorite sitcom characters.  I love it when the decorations are unrealistically lavish, and I also love it when the décor is more recognizable and grounded in reality.  This is the first in a new series of detailed posts closely examining the holiday decorations found in some classic TV sitcoms.  And when I say detailed, I mean detailed—settle down for a long post!

Of course I have to start with Mary Richards’ apartment on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  Sitcoms like I Love Lucy and The Mary Tyler Moore Show glamorized apartment living for me as a child, so they can be blamed for the fact that I now shell out a ridiculous amount of monthly rent for a tiny NYC apartment (the square footage of New York City apartments is the TV sitcom’s most lasting and egregious falsehood). 

If I had to choose just one TV apartment to inhabit, it would Mary Richards’ Minneapolis abode (I’m talking about her original studio apartment from the first few seasons, and not the larger, more modern one she moved into later).  From my “child of the 80s” perspective the 1970s was not a great decade in terms of aesthetics, especially for fashion and interior design.  But Mary’s apartment has a timeless quality (with a few notable exceptions, such as the swath of shag carpeting).  There are so many charming architectural and design elements: the sunken living room, the potbelly stove, the balcony and, most famously, the gold letter “M” on the wall.  Of course for my first apartment I got my own gold letter “M” and have had one in every subsequent apartment, a talisman that adds just a bit of sitcom to my life.

Mary’s apartment is enviable in any given episode, but in the Season1 Christmas episode, “Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid II,” it really shines.  The character of Mary Richards loves Christmas and this is evident in her decorating of not only her apartment but her office as well.  So after this rather long preamble, let’s delve in and take a close look at Mary’s Christmas decorations!  Click the pics to see larger versions, so you can take in all of the glorious details.

In the above picture we see Mary finishing up her (perfectly triangular!) tree.  Rhoda sits nearby, refusing to help, as she just got done decorating an entire department store, via her job as a window dresser.  Mary’s tree is the centerpiece of the apartment, perfectly positioned in the middle her of balcony windows.  It’s got the retro large-size lights rarely seen today, and Mary opts for a faux-snow white tree skirt.  Her gifts are wrapped in bright jewel tones—and in this shot, underneath the tree, we see Rhoda’s gift that she unwraps later in the episode.

In this shot we also see garlands and Christmas lights, very perfectly and evenly spaced (which suits Mary’s perfectionist persona).  How one chooses to display their Christmas cards is also very telling, and here we see Mary has opted to attach her many cards to long stretches of vertical ribbon placed on the wall.  My favorite element of all is the Santa head attached to the coat rack by the front door—such a cute touch!

In this next shot (above) we see the most famous decorative element (famous in my mind, after so many repeat viewings of this episode): the front door wrapped like a Christmas present!  This is such a clever way to decorate one’s apartment and one year my sister tried to replicate this look on her own bedroom door, with mixed results.  Mary opts to put the bow of the “present” on the inside door and a wreath on the outside. By the way that’s Phyllis, blocked by Christmas presents, entering the apartment in this scene.

Here we see Rhoda and the wrapped door up close and can admire the geometric Christmas tree pattern of the paper.  Also we see a few of Mary’s aforementioned Christmas cards close-up.  It makes sense that popular, perky Mary would send and receive a lot of Christmas cards (cards from her ex-boyfriends alone could fill the apartment).

This shot shows Mary’s stocking, hung by the fire (or in her case, near her potbelly stove-fireplace).  I’m a bit surprised that Mary opted for a plain, ordinary stock as opposed to a decorative Christmas stocking.  Rhoda is also critical of Mary’s stocking choice—she suggests pantyhose, as they hold more.

I just love how in this shot you can see the reflected Christmas tree and ornaments in the round mirror behind Mary.  I always coveted that tall dresser with the mirror on top—though I’ll take a pass on that ugly, 1970s-style sunflower mug.

In this shot we get a glimpse of a rarely-seen wall in Mary’s apartment (behind her pullout couch).  It gives the sense that Mary decorates all areas of her apartment, as evidenced by the beautiful poinsettia plant and retro Santa Claus figurine behind her.  That same Santa will pop in a couple other places—clearly Mary is a fan.  This shot also gives us a close-up view of that little lion picture on an easel that was always seen in the apartment.  I always imagined it was some sort of representation of “The Lion and the Mouse” Aesop fable (I think that’s a mouse by the lion), but who knows?  It’s a nice little tchotchke, regardless. 

Now we get a look at Mary’s kitchen, as she sadly eats her peanut butter and jelly sandwich on Christmas Eve (she has to work and has no time for a real dinner).  Once again there are nicely draped garlands and a version of that same Santa seen behind the couch.  There’s also a very retro elf in a sleigh—Mary was decades ahead of that whole Elf on the Shelf trend.

That wraps up the Christmas decorations in Mary’s apartment, so now let's take a quick look at her office.  Mary's love of Christmas decor carries over to her desk and a few spots in the WJM news office.

The episode starts with this look at Mary's lavishly decorated desk-- a lack of cubicle or office does not dissuade Mary from decorating.  That's the sort of Christmas spirit I admire!  Mary's desk decor is very retro, from those red felt reindeer, paper bells and snow blanket.  And everybody's favorite Santa figurine makes his third appearance, perched on the edge of Mary's desk.  In the episode's most hilarious moment, Mary wields that same Santa as a would-be weapon against intruders (intruders that turn out to be her co-workers surprising her).  There's also a fun, retro "Merry Christmas" sign on the wall behind Mary.

In those shot we get a close-up view of the little tree on Mary's desk.  I always thought it was very clever to use a gift-wrap bow as the tree-topper, and that it's pink, a non-traditional Christmas color.  Mary is upset in this shot because she's being guilted into working on Christmas Eve by her co-worker-- don't worry, the episode of course has a happy ending!

Finally, as Mary rushes out the office door, we get a glimpse of a chalkboard adorned with cards and the message "Merry Christmas Gang."  You just know Mary wrote that message and put up those cards in her ongoing efforts to spread Christmas cheer.  Over the years I've gleaned a lot of Christmas decorating tips from this episode, from the gift-wrapped door to the bow-topped tree.  We should all be so lucky to have a friend and co-worker as filled with the Christmas spirit as Mary Richards, so in her words: Merry Christmas, Gang!