It has begun!

The first weekend in November we always close, paper over the windows, and redecorate the shop for the holiday season. Behind the cloak of butcher paper there ensues a frenzy of activity. Boxes full of new merchandise come out of hiding, lively holiday music is played to spur us on, and a tremendous mess at first we make! We started papering over the windows about 6 years ago. It keeps distractions to a minimum, allows us to work quickly and adds nicely to the suspense. We can hear passersby giggling and whispering outside the windows, and some will tap on the glass and ask “How’s it going in there?”

Slowly….out of the jumble of boxes, paper, bubble wrap and packing peanuts…a pretty little shop emerges. In all honesty, it took twice as long this time to pull the displays together! We have just as much merchandise in a space nearly half as large. For awhile, we all had doubts whether we would get everything placed, but we managed to shoehorn it all in!

Doesn’t it look cozy and sweet?

The elves did a fabulous job and on the morning of November 3, when we opened for our annual holiday open house, our customers agreed. It was a wonderful day!