Walking into Kathy Long’s home in Lehighton, you’ll immediately notice the festive Christmas decorations in her foyer.

The foyer is home to two large trees, including a “giving tree” that holds handmade ornaments guests are encouraged to take home and display on their own trees. Because Long is a storyteller, she enjoys making ornaments that tell a story, such as the tale of the poinsettia and how it came to be a symbol of Christmas, or the legend of the spider who decorated a poor family’s Christmas tree.

She also displays a manger scene in the foyer, a reminder to all who enter that Christmas is about more than gifts and decorations.

But while her home’s main entrance is beautiful, it’s just the start of Long’s celebration of Christmas. She displays dozens of large and small trees in her home each year — at last count, she had more than 70 trees, but that number is expected to grow yet again this year, when she adds the flocked trees that she recently purchased and craft supplies that she hopes will turn into yet another meaningful Christmas display.

“The collection is growing and continues to grow,” she said. “I like to reuse, I like to repurpose, and I like to remember.”

Long uses trees to remember and celebrate beloved family members and friends who have passed, including several women in her family. Her mother’s love of pink, gold and bling inspired Long to begin collecting pink trees after she passed in 2010.

Last year she also purchased a tiny pink tree and decorated it for her new granddaughter, bringing the theme full circle.

“There’s a lot of symbolism behind each tree. I like to tell the stories behind them. Some of the littlest trees have the biggest meaning,” she said. “Many are gifts from dear friends or family, including some gifts from those who have passed.”

One tree that she displays each year in her library is the aluminum tree her grandmother used. Long enjoys seeing the entire room light up when the sun shines through the library’s windows. It’s also decorated with red balls each year, just like her grandmother preferred.

A small jewelry tree in her living room proudly displays costume jewelry from her grandmother, mother and herself. The jewelry is draped over the tree or clipped on, not permanently fixed to the tree, so that she can continue to enjoy the jewelry while seeing it each day.

While Long enjoys decorating and displaying her trees each year, she also sees her large collection as a celebration of love and faith. Her sister was born on De. 25, and Long enjoys remembering her sister’s birth and legacy each year.

Long also finds symbolism in celebrating with evergreens, and with colorful displays filled with lights.

“This is the darkest time of year, and we celebrate it with the light of the world,” she said. “Christmas has many components and I try to touch on them all. There is the season of Advent, the season of Christmas and Epiphany. I always have an Epiphany tree that includes clear and white ornaments. My Advent tree features the color blue.”

Some trees have a more whimsical theme. She enjoyed putting together a candy tree for the first time last year, buying decorations with a candy theme and watching everything fall into place as she began decorating.

She also took a simple white tree, added filler, and created a snowman tree.

A small collection of trees graces her bathroom, and tree branches and greenery boughs brighten her living room.

While there are large and small trees scattered throughout every room in the house, perhaps the most noticeable — and tallest — is her family’s memory tree. It features ornaments her sons made as children, and other family memorabilia and handmade gifts. As she decorates each year, the first ornament to go up will be on this tree, where she features the antique bells that were her parents’ first Christmas ornament as a married couple. These bells are also the first to come off the tree when she begins packing trees away in the new year.

“Everything in the house has a story behind it,” she said.

Come January, when the rush of the holidays is over and after Long has invited many of her friends to view the trees, she’ll begin taking apart her collection. The smallest trees get tucked away, out of sight or on special stands where they spend the entire year on display.

The largest trees are carefully undecorated and packed away, ready to be taken out again next winter as Long prepares her heart and home for the Christmas season.