Hope you are all tucked away safely in your home during this winter wonderland. Well there’s isn’t that much of the white stuff in Toronto so far but I’m sure I’ll be biting my tongue sooner than later.

Ever dreamed about (ok well maybe just wondered) what it’s like in the Big Apple during the holidays? Thanks to TV & movies I think we all may have a romantic idea of what that may be like. I’ve actually been there during that time and what you don’t see on TV or movies is ALL the people who are also there. Lots and lots of people. Like LOTS!

but – something that I love about New York during the busiest time of year is the big department stores and their holiday themed windows. Other than the big Bay store on Queen Street and fancy Holt Renfrew on Bloor, which you only see living in Toronto we don’t really have all the big & grand department stores that New York has.

I just love how each store uses this time of year to really be über creative. They each manage to take something that has be DONE. TO. DEATH. and find a way to re-invent it or show a new perspective. It’s creativity at its finest. I always wonder about the person who’s behind the idea. Like “what is going on in that person’s head?!”. It’s especially nice to see stores going all out after a couple tough years.

Here’s some highlights from some of the biggest players this year (click on image to see larger view):

Macy’s: The theme is Virginia for the holiday by Macy’s east director of windows, Paul Olszewski. (ref: wgsn)

Lord & Taylor: The overall look of the windows created by Lavelle Olexa is very similar to previous years, an update incorporating social networking sees quotes from Facebook fans talk about their most precious holiday memories in Share the Joy. (ref: wgsn)

Henri Bendel: Visual director Gilberto Santana has brought the Bendel girls together with the classic Nutcracker in his fun and cluttered display with a brown-and-white striped look. (ref: wgsn) 

Bergdorf Goodman: Bergdorf Goodman’s senior director of visual presentation David Hoey sticks to a traditional look in the travel theme Wish You Were Here, with different scenarios created to look like film stills. (ref: wgsn)

Barney’s New York: Simon Doonan at Barneys has created the whimsically cluttered windows under the theme Have a Foodie Holiday. The windows pay homage to ground breaking cooks and gastronomical geniuses. (ref: wgsn)

Now didn’t that just make you all worm and fuzzy inside? Window shopping? Window art is more like it.