It’s the Season!

The decorations are up everywhere… wreaths and lights and Santas and menorahs.

Down in West Portal, my favorite’s the Manor Coffee shop, which does wonderfully homely over-the-top seasonal decor every year. It’s got everything this year – star-shaped lights and Snoopy and a Nutcracker, and even a Santa breaking through the ceiling.

Of course Union Square is all brightly lit, and as usual there are puppies and kittens up for adoption in the Macy’s windows, causing a traffic jam as people stop to squeal over the cuteness . Tiffany has a carousel theme, and Neiman Marcus the huge tree in the front atrium.

But the one I liked best was simple and ethereal in the upper windows of Bulgari – floating candles.

Over in the Westfield shopping center, it’s looking a lot like Christmas, too. It’s busy and bright, and pleasant to wander through. They have an interesting light show around 6 p.m. every evening this season: colored lights and pictures are projected into the dome.  The images of toys and candy are for kids, but what fascinated me was the precision and the alignment.

Before the actual show starts, they project colors into the dome, making it look like stained glass. But the compartments are actually the inner sculpting, and the lights sort of color them in. It would be so easy to get this wrong – but they don’t.

Our neighbors in Midtown Terrace have Santa’s Court lit up again like last year and the year before.

And in our own neighborhood, someone’s put wreathes and bows on our entrance signs. Thanks, whoever did it.

Happy Holidays to all!