Rachael Ray Gets Emotional Showing off Holiday Decorations Following Her Devastating House Fire

Rachael Ray is bringing the holiday cheer this year, even after a devastating house fire destroyed her family’s home this summer. During Tuesday’s Rachael Ray Show, the chef and host gave a tour of how she decorated the home where her family is currently living, a guest house that wasn’t damaged in the fire.

“This year, we’re not putting up trees because no families are coming to visit and we lost our main home, but we absolutely would not let the holidays come and go without some decoration,” Ray said, adding that in the past, her family has celebrated with nine trees around the house. The decor began with “the doodles I made on pages of my notebook at three o’clock in the morning” and transformed into what fans then saw on tour.

Ray’s temporary home is covered with tons of garland wrapped around windows and doors, as well as festive bright lights and some of the items the family was able to save from the fire. Showing off a metal horse head sculpture, the Food Network star explained, “In the center of our back table — saved from our house that burned — is a horse sculpture that is exactly the same as one my mom had in our house when I was a little girl. I found it in a flea market, no kidding.”

Despite all the love and effort, she put into making this year’s holiday special, Ray admitted it still was difficult after losing the family’s main home. “It honestly makes me want to burst into tears how much I miss our trees,” she explained. “These partridges and pears and sugared fruits and things, they do make me feel at home and nostalgic and grateful for the family I have and the life I’ve led.” Ray then expressed how much gratitude for her friends, community, and “people so dear to me that helped me bring Christmas to life, even when we’re not at home.”

Ray and her husband, John Cusimano, were shocked when their 15-year-old home caught fire, despite them cleaning the chimney twice a year, she told Entertainment Tonight in September. “I think initially we were just in shock,” she told the outlet at the time. “We listened to our first responders and we left with the clothes on our back and the flip-flops and Ugg shoes on our feet.”