Some stores have added high-tech twists in recent years. At Bloomingdale’s, cameras have been incorporated into displays, and photos will beam from the windows as well as from the retailer’s Facebook page. At Macy’s there are touch screens to design a 3-D ornament that be sent back to your cellphone. “It’s all the kids who totally get how to do this,’’ Olszewski says.
Still, it’s largely left to the reindeer, snowmen and jolly St. Nick to spread the cheer.
Some highlights:
—Tiffany & Co.: Using the familiar (and nearby) Central Park as its reference, Tiffany fashioned a miniature wonderland anchored with a carousel.
The carousel animals, including zebras, lions and giraffes, take off in the Christmas Eve sky to deliver holiday gems to presumably good girls and boys.
—Saks Fifth Avenue: Snowflakes and bubbles are the stars here, elaborating on two previously popular themes for the retailer. The windows tell the story “Who Makes the Snow’’ (the picture book is being sold exclusively at Saks), which features a girl searching for the source of these magical, visual treats. A light show projects against the facade of the building to make it appear as if it is snowing.
One-of-a-kind dresses by Alexander McQueen, Rag & Bone, Nina Ricci and Olivier Theyskens, among others, add a little fashion to the fantasy.
—Bloomingdale’s: The flagship store on 59th Street uses as its centerpiece some of its vintage shopping bags — made bigger and better with movement that allow passers-by to peer inside.
Some of the bags have been reproduced, and a different one will go home with shoppers each week through Christmas.
—Lord & Taylor: Inspired by a 1941 illustration by Carl S. Wilson called “What is Christmas Made Of?,’’ the store asked local children to draw just what they think constitutes the holiday.
The favorites: picking out a tree, trimming it with all the bells and whistles, ice skating in Central Park, building a snowman and waiting for Santa. They’re among the themes incorporated into windows.
