It’s that time of year again where it feels like you need a New Years Eve Party Dress. Here are a few styles to help inspire your holiday wardrobe!
Platinum Paiette by Scala
Golden Samantha Sequin Dress by French Connection
Tried and Blue Dress by ModCloth
60′s Green Party Dress from La Vintage
The Christmas season is one that is full of joy, laughter, and happiness as well as stress, hustle, and sky-rocketing gas prices. In the midst of all the Christmas commotion, there’s nothing better than coming home to the scent of a freshly cut and decorated fir tree. These days it seems Americans lean towards the pre-lit, store bought, perfectly symmetrical, mass produced Christmas trees. In my own home there was talk of ending the tradition of a live tree after this year! Blasphemy. So for all the Christmas traditionalists out there, here are the best trees to buy for your home!
Balsam Fir
Balsam Fir’s are known for their wonderful scent. They are very similar to Frasier Firs and are not very expensive. They hold their needles very well so they are perfect for a tidy home.
Blue Spruce
Blue Spruce trees are also a great choice. Many consumers consider Blue Spruce trees to be the most attractive you can buy. The down side is they are notorious for shedding their needles endlessly! But, if you don’t mind a little extra vacuuming they can add the perfect touch to your family room.
Scotch Pine
Scotch Pines are known for their fantastic bright green coloring. They hold their needles well, but aren’t great if you have an overdecorated tree or lots of very heavy ornaments.
Happy hunting!
Old, if not particularly jolly.
The grandaddy of the them all, this is the traditional (and increasingly ancient) depiction of the original St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas became known for his generosity toward youth when he contributed dowries to three daughters of a local man, so that they wouldn’t have to go into prostitution. Now, I bet you didn’t know that.
Still not jolly in excess.
Eventually, he shifted to this character. The red robes became more prominent, the beard got approximately ten feet longer, and he now wears bishop’s robes and holds the staff which many Father Christmases in Europe continue to make a feature of their costumes.
Jolly, no longer old.
This depiction comes from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and is a representation of what had become the primary visual representation of Father Christmas (called the Ghost of Christmas Present in the story). The robes are green, the man is featured feasting and excessively jolly. At this point, Americans have not yet created their own aggressively commercial and nationalistic Santa Claus.
Santa Wants YOU.
Here he is. This Santa was illustrated by the famous cartoonist John Nash for Harper’s Weekly in 1863, dead smack in the middle of the Civil War. It features Santa in his now traditional fur lined coat and stocking cap, giving out presents. Here the presents are for United States troops – but the illustration is undoubtedly to bolster the morale of a northern populace growing increasingly sick of war.
Santa wants YOU (to buy).
What would an American Christmas be without product placement? This Santa, featured in the classic (and gorgeous) advertising campaigns waged by Coca Cola in the 50s, has become our national brand.
The tiny island of Murano, in Venice, Italy, is home to many of the finest and most respected glass blowing shops in the world. This year, a group of Venetian artisans set out to create the world’s biggest glass Christmas tree.
World's largest collection of hookahs (Credit Vinicio Tullio @ trekearth.com)
The tree, consisting of hundreds of hand-crafted blown glass-tubes lit from within, is truly a wonder. At 7.5 meters tall, it accomplishes the immodest goal of being the biggest glass tree in the world as well.
A few words about the venerable Christmas tree:
Originally (and we’re talking the 15th and 16th century here, doll) the only decorations allowed were roses (they symbolized the virgin Mary) or apples (they symbolized the local populace’s desire to eat apples).
In the 1700s, especially in Germany and Austria, the ornaments became so confectionery-centric that they were called “sugar trees”.
Sears and Roebuck were the producers of the very first artificial Christmas tree, just so you know who to send your angry letters to.
President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Theodore Roosevelt was so shocked, shocked I tell you, at the ever-growing practice of evergreen Christmas tree harvesting that he tried to ban it in America. Luckily his son talked him out of it, but he wasn’t the last Roosevelt to get involved with Christmas trees; years later, Franklin Delano Roosevelt converted part of his acreage into a Christmas tree plantation. Today the Christmas tree industry (about 30 million trees are sold every year) is still going strong. They’re responsible too, according to the National Christmas Tree Association – for every tree sold or cut down, one to three seedlings are planted.
Lord love a Christmas tree, and, as we sign off, let’s not neglect to mention the finest tree ever displayed in America:
Hark, the Herald Nostalgia Sings! (© 1965 United Feature Syndicate Inc.)
Happy Holidays!