Doyle’s Cedar Rapids home bursts with aura of the holidays

CEDAR RAPIDS — From foyer to fence, from breakfront to bathrooms, from mantel to manger, John and Jan Doyle's 4,200-square-foot house on Chestnut Ridge Road NE fairly bursts with the aura of Christmas.

It's a parade of elegance, warmth, nostalgia — and downright whimsy. Look up at the immense Colonial Williamsburg chandelier in the foyer, lush with green boughs and red berries resting on gleaming brass arms. Look out at the classic cherry breakfront in the adjacent dining room, adorned with a lavish garland draped in asymmetric beauty; it's by a handsome table set for the family's Christmas Eve dinner.

And just for fun, in the home's lower level is a Santa descending in his hot air balloon. A stately bathroom is punctuated by a white Roman bust wearing a jaunty red cap. And in the kitchen — a cake stand holds a bevy of handmade chocolate mice, their long tails belying their maraschino cherry origins.

'We had so much fun doing these,' says the ebullient Jan Doyle. 'We thought of all the things we could be doing — but here we sit, making mice. People will think, 'Get a life!''

And she breaks into laughter.

John Doyle, 78, a low-key retired builder of upscale homes, designed, constructed and landscaped their home in 2006.

'They call us 'the Christmas people,'' he says, referring to the 20-by-15-foot room the couple reserve just to store holiday decorations. Come the season, he enthusiastically enters into the decorating mode, using his tall ladder to reach shelves or peaks in the rooms that sport 9-, 10-, 11- and 12-foot ceilings. Eleven trees of various sizes are seen throughout.

And yes, he and Jan together create cinnamon gingerbread men ornaments and the chocolate mice.

'I just do what I'm told,' John quips.

Jan, 80, has a thing for chandeliers, so they have six — five crystal and one brass — all of them decked with boughs and berries. Besides the opulent foyer and dining room ones are two in the kitchen above the granite island, one in the sunroom and one in the master bath accenting the his-and-her vanities.

But Christmas is not just decorating for the Doyles, devout Catholics who keep their eye on the core of the holiday. In the handsome family room on a broad fireplace wall are the letters J-O-Y in gold glitter.

Says John: 'The 'J' is for 'Jesus first;' the 'O' for 'Others second,' and the 'Y' for 'Yourself, last.''

And for about 40 years now, the Doyles have had a Christmas Eve tradition. Jan Doyle bakes a Waldorf Astoria red velvet cake, decorates it with candles and the words 'Happy Birthday, Jesus.' Then the family (including three adult sons, Terry, Shawn and Dan, and five grandchildren) gather around the table.

'I wanted to create a tradition for our family ... so I settled on having a birthday cake for the baby Jesus. Everyone gets in a circle and we sing 'Happy Birthday,'' says Jan, beaming.

Then the family sits down to a feast, usually the sons' and grandchildren's favorite foods.

When the three boys were young, Jan started another tradition. The family could each place a piece of straw to make the baby Jesus' bed 'more comfortable' in the manger. The straw represented each good deed they did unbeknownst to others. When Jan got up one morning, 'It was like a bale of hay in there,' she says, erupting into laughter. 'I thought, 'Those little fibbers!''

She knew that if her three rambunctious boys actually had done all those good deeds, their 'halos' would illuminate the room. Not detecting a glow, she ended the 'tradition.'

The 'Christmas house' year-round has three bedrooms, three baths, two fireplaces, two patios, a deck, a spacious lower level and a four-stall garage, sitting on little over one-third of an acre near AEGON. John Doyle estimates its market value to be in the $400,000 range.

What household with the name of Doyle would not have some Irish showing? John's office in this season is a tribute to the Celtic: A tree outfitted in shamrock ball ornaments and pooled with a shamrock tree skirt. On the desk are Irish memorabilia. Jan is Polish and she introduced a whiff of nostalgia: her father's violin rests quietly at the tree base. Adjacent is a lovely Father Christmas — robed in emerald green.

The 8-foot family room tree is a vision in gold: Swirls of gold mesh garland and gold ball ornaments are topped with streaming ribbons from a burnished bow. The cheery sunroom with its cathedral ceiling holds a 10-foot white tree with red berry garlands encasing the branches, creating a stunning visual effect.

And what is beauty, if not to be shared? This the gregarious couple are doing, holding seven open houses this holiday season.

'I just love it when people laugh and have a good time,' says Jan.