When sadness comes knocking at the door, sometimes the only way to feel better is to try to make someone else happy. That is exactly the philosophy behind the Christmas decorations of an Italian woman living in Andorra, who, year after year, transforms her home into a magical world.
Pasqualina Gaultier is originally from Calabria, in southern Italy. For years, she organized all kinds of parties, fashion shows, and beauty contests. Yet she always preferred working behind the scenes, personally taking care of every decorative detail.
Her mission: to bring happiness to everyone, even if her own life has not always been easy. Perhaps the love we put into making others happy is, in the end, the best therapy for soothing our own pain?
This year, her Christmas décor has undergone a remarkable transformation and has grown significantly. Many outdoor elements have been added that were not there last year. This year’s Nativity scene is built around a completely new concept. Could you tell us the story behind it?
This year I wanted to create something truly exceptional, because it has been a very unusual year… not in a lucky way, quite the opposite. I did it for everyone who loves Christmas, for everyone who comes to look at this landscape. It’s a fairy-tale, magical space that offers dreams and wonder above all to those who step into it.
What’s important is that I never make drawings: everything is in my head. I set up boxes and cartons, then add paper, and little by little I start to give shape to the structure…
In November my grandson was born. We traveled to Italy and I held him in my arms. I looked at him in silence, and it was as if he were speaking to me without words, as if he were trying to send me a message. In that moment, I connected with him in a deep and unique way. It was a very powerful feeling, so intense it felt like we were one person, able to understand each other perfectly without saying anything at all.
So we could say that this year’s inspiration was born from that message of love with your grandson?
Yes, I was inspired by love, but also by my husband’s illness. It’s a mixture: love for the new generation, for my grandson, that connection, and also suffering. At the core, really, the word is always love. But it’s a love with two roots: the experience I went through with my husband’s stroke, which caused me great pain — far more for him than for me, of course — and then the love for my grandson.
Could you remind our readers what you did before? What filled your days and your heart — those things that make people smile and enjoy life?
I worked in events. I had a 5,000 m² park, and we were a whole team. It was a park the town hall had entrusted to me to manage, and we organized birthdays, parties, and various events. I always had children around me; when I first held them, they were little, and they grew up with me and with my son. We won awards, we organized Carnival, live Nativity plays… It was a village of 5,000 inhabitants, and I lived immersed in that life. We also organized Miss Calabria for Miss Italy. I have always been surrounded by that vibrant, festive world.
But there’s one thing: I like to do everything by myself. I didn’t want anyone at my side. This need to express myself… even now, even here, I need to do it alone.
So expressing your emotions through decoration is something intimate, part of who you are and how you communicate?
Yes, ever since I was little, I’ve always done that.
And what awakened this need to express yourself through decoration? Is there a memory, an event from your childhood, a person… that triggered it?
No, no. I know my father made a lot of things with his hands, but then I was just born like this, I think. As a child, I imagined many things. In my mind, I created another life for myself — a life that wasn’t actually mine.
So you were escaping from a very difficult life and sublimating it. This idea of sublimating suffering through sets and scenes was already, in a way, a way to escape your own childhood pain?
Exactly.
In the end, your decoration is, each time, like a summary of your life, isn’t it? An expression of your soul…
Maybe, unconsciously.
And this collection we see today, I imagine you’ve built it up over the years. Are there pieces that are especially dear to you?
Yes, of course there are little things I love more than others: my fairies. When I lost my first husband, I created an entire collection of fairies. What I’m going to say may sound strange — after all, they’re only figurines — but they helped me a lot.
They helped me because going through what I went through was very hard, for me and for my son. The world of fairies allowed me, how can I put it… to forget the misfortune, the bad luck, the tears — to forget everything. It transported me to a magical world.
And for people who don’t feel like putting up a Christmas tree, what would you say to motivate them?
To encourage someone to put up a Christmas tree, I invite them to come here, to look at the figures, to pay attention to every detail, to all the little scenes… and then to ask themselves: “Why not create my own tree too? After all, I also have the right to a little joy at home, a little light.” Because a Christmas tree brings light, hope, and a touch of magic into the home.
Is your house open to everyone?
Yes, it’s open to everyone, and admission is free. Because everything that comes from the heart is priceless.
What magical word would you like to send out to everyone?
For the coming year, I wish children above all good health, and that they may achieve their dreams. And for parents, I wish that they bring hope to their children, that they help them understand that life is hard, but that we can still preserve a bit of magic — yes, that’s the word — because children need magic.
Christmas must be magical, so that children can say to themselves: “I can make it. If I try, I can get there.”
And finally, as tradition, I must ask: what are your plans for next Christmas?
For next Christmas, I would like to bring what I usually create at home into a larger space, where everyone can come and enjoy it. A place where even those who don’t have a car can come and discover it, and think: “Ah, it’s worth going, there’s something really special there.”
