DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

           The annual airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas has become as much a part of Christmas as Santa and Rudolph.    Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, Snoopy's decorated doghouse and Linus' classic recitation on the true meaning the season have become true baby-boomer Christmas icons.  Throw in Vince Guaraldi's classic soundtrack, and you have an animated special that has defined a generation. A Charlie Brown Christmas was not the first time the Peanuts characters were animated.  In the early 1960's they appeared in a series of commercials for the Ford Motor Company. A Charlie Brown Christmas was conceived, written, animated and produced in only six months, and was finished only a week before the air date.  The first airing, on December 9, 1965, was sponsored by Coke. A CBS executive who watched a preview was disappointed and declared the program, "A little flat....a little slow", and said he thought Peanuts was better suited

           In spite of the use and abuse of ultra modern engineering and the rushing hullabaloo of the 21st century, people often seem to become nostalgic when it comes to home decorating for Christmas.  Norman Rockwell's creations-marvelous pictures of Victorian villages under the snow, children eagerly waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus while carolers walk around the villages singing Christmas carols.  Thinking to families decorating a beautiful Christmas tree and drinking hot cocoa with marshmallows, makes our hearts feel merry.  These "old world" visions are the reasons why a lot of us desire vintage Christmas ornaments for decorating our homes.  However, truly old vintage ornaments can be difficult and expensive to acquire.            Not so long ago the nostalgic desire for items from the past has caused a boom in the artistic creation of vintage hand crafted Christmas ornaments in the last 10 to 15 years.  A lot of online and regular

BLOOMINGDALES: "SPARKLE"     Created by Alison Eden, this octopus-like chandelier was made with only recycled and domestically made material and mosaics.                      Macy’s in Herald Square -    Showed off its legendary display titled "Believe,” which inspires onlookers to have faith in the magic of the holiday season. The theme also salutes the department store’s nine-year commitment to its letter writing campaign that raises money for the Make-A-Wish foundation    Each of the six windows portray iconic holiday scenes created by designer Roya Sullivan, which includes Santa’s “Communication Station,” a Christmas-themed pinball machine, the North Pole and more.                            

Bergdorf Goodman    This year, the folks at Bergdorf Goodman want to take shoppers on an adventure around the world — a dream world, that is. David Hoey, the retailer's senior director of visual presentation, characterizes the department store's displays as "delirious remakes of the classic dioramas seen in natural history museums." He cites the work of Henri Rousseau and 12th-century Chinese watercolor mountainscapes as inspiration for the lush, larger-than-life windows, each of which depicts a unique destination — and is each assigned its own designer wardrobe, from Marc Jacobs' resort and Gucci spring to custom CD Greene and fall Roberto Cavalli and Dolce & Gabbana.                 Barneys New York    Barneys New York delivers with its artful windows every holiday season — but this year, the luxury retailer definitely wins on biggest variety. It tapped a series of artists across mediums and categories to interpret a them