OLD WORLD IN OJAI

Designer Nathan Turner preserves the magic of his family's European holiday traditions within the rustic refinement of his California home.

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I am one of those people who really love Christmas.

I think you hold on to the traditions that you grow up with, and then expand on them as you get older. At least that's been true for me. Growing up in California, I spent the holiday with my mother's extended family on their cattle ranch. Our heritage is like a Northern European melting pot, with Swedish, German, and Danish ancestry, and as a kid, it felt so magical to be part of a big family with old-school traditions. We celebrated with a fish dinner and all kinds of Scandinavian desserts. The food felt festive, like something we could all participate in.

I carry on these traditions. For instance, I cannot let the season pass without breaking out my great-grandmother's cookie molds, which depict bucolic European scenes in amazing detail. I still have her handwritten