Woman's Holiday Decoration 'Obsession' Sparks Debate Online

Sami Riccioli intended to spread a bit of Christmas cheer this spring, but the Pennsylvania mom has received some backlash online.

The 39-year-old recently shared an Instagram video (@sami_riccioli) praising her husband Anthony, 40, for converting their basement into a storage room for all of her holiday decorations.

The shelves were stacked from ceiling to floor and filled with boxes full of ornaments and ribbons. Riccioli wrote: "Marry the man who supports your decorating obsession. I sure am lucky that my husband made my Christmas room dream a reality..."

She told Newsweek: "I have spent way too much I care to admit on decor."

In the second quarter of 2023, Thanksgiving had a popularity rating of 79 percent, followed by Memorial Day and Christmas with 78 percent, according to a survey from Statista. Other favorite holidays for Americans, including both national and religious ones, are Father's Day, Veterans Day and Mother's Day.

Riccioli said her love for Christmas began in 2019. She told Newsweek: "I didn't feel like taking down the Christmas tree so I made it a valentines tree, and then it just snowballed into every holiday, and then it became multiple trees at once.

"I usually have a tree in almost every room of my house during Christmas as well as the front porch and basement. For holidays like Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, New Year's Eve, St. Patrick's Day, I have multiple trees up for those holidays as well."

The video was shared on April 4 and has 3.2 million views and almost 58,000 likes. But the highly organized room seems to have ruffled a few feathers.

One user said: "This is the most pathetic thing I've seen on here yet."

"Hoarders: Privileged Edition," said another.

While the room was designed for her personal stash of decorations, Riccioli does run a business that involves holiday decorating.

"Usually, people that leave negative comments don't follow the account or know anything about me. I worked hard to buy all of this and have created this business from nothing. They can hate all they want, but I'm the one that has to live here, not them. "

But it's not all negative. Some users have revealed they are "obsessed" with the color-coordinated storage boxes, giant nutcrackers and the white Christmas tree.

One user said: "Comments don't pass the vibe check. If you have the money and the space and it brings you joy and doesn't hurt anyone, what is the problem?"

"Wow! That's an impressive room. So organized!!" praised another.

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