#4 Christmas Theme

A Birds Eye View. The Hothouse area is snowy and bright. Every year I try to have a theme that brings the outside in . This year the cardinal's brilliant red color pops right off the white birch branches for a festive natural look.

I love it when the design in my head goes from drawing to the display and loses nothing in translation....it doesn't happen often.

The cardinals have small clips for easy placing.

Our HiHo relishes and toppings have been stocked and make great hostess gifts.
Remember just because the shop is full of wonder holiday treats doesn't mean we don't have great furniture choices this time of year.
The set of dishes are sold, however the vintage etched crystal stemware is waiting for the right home, a set of ten.
We even have the famous Aunt Sadies pine scent candles with a cardinal label.

#3 Christmas Theme

A retro Christmas....an unexpected twist in a romantic shabby chic setting.

I ordered the bulk of this rooms holiday merchandise in August....maybe July. It was my intent to redo our rustic cabin room and present it as a mid century modern room, moving forward. Not that I was going to get rid of all things rustic, I was just going to integrate those items into other places in the shop. Well, long story short I never got to it and decided doing a complete room makeover would be better suited for after the new year. HMMMM, what to do about all that retro merchandise I ordered??? Make the Haute' Haven room have a huge surprise factor and do retro Christmas in there. WA LA!!!

#2 Christmas Theme

I knew I wanted traditional Christmas colors and the mantle over in the card area. I just wasn't sure about spreading the candy theme around the corner. You can see from my drawing....at first, I was thinking of using topiaries with the candy and striped paper. Then I went on the hunt for plaid paper. I found it! The hat boxes were an eleventh hour find and the cherry on the top of this display.

The butler is so ugly he's wonderful and the Dark Almond Bark, is boxed in red plaid tins. Don't you love it when everything falls into place??

#1 Christmas Theme 2009

In an attempt to blog posts of this year's Christmas themes (in some sort of a timely manner) , I have decided to post each theme in the order in which I created them in my mind. What do I mean by that? OK, lets see....in the Spring, when HiHo introduced candy at the counter area, it was because we had always done well with candy during the holiday season. So I would say in April it became clear that the Headliner Room would showcase traditional colors and a Candyland theme for the 2009 Christmas season.Peppermint Bark, Ribbon Candy, Melt-a-ways, Candy Canes, we have them all this year.Lots of options for small gifts, paired with tons of nostalgia, books, candles, boxed cards, boiled wool pom pom garlands, mistletoe and many other treats.
Vintage furniture in playful colors, lend a whimsical playful feeling to this room. The pair of chartreuse chairs are from the Metropolitan Opera House they are outlined in tassels and are FANTASTIC!!! I took a photo of this rooms featured tree....blurry, coming soon. Hint, hint we did a little monkeying around :) with this tree.
In my mind, since August, this themed room featured a hanging clear pail light fixture loaded with candy, I'm happy to say in real life it does too. Stay tuned for many more shots of the 2009 Christmas themes at HiHo and the stories of their inspiration.

In the Begining of Last Week

Lets see what have I been up to????

I have been working and working....and not much more. The shop is set for Christmas and the Open House weekend was a success. Every year we transform the shop in one weeks time from Fall to Christmas. Each year I challenge myself to top the displays of the previous year. It takes a lot of planning, lots of support from family and friends, but most of all many continuous hours of merchandising and decorating by yours truly. I LOVE IT, on so many levels. The transformation started last Monday night when the HiHo elves arrived and went right to work...Daughter Aubrey with friend Lucy Carol and Maggie Ms. Ashley Claudia and Liz Steph Robin and Vicki Mr. HiHo and son Everett Eva and daughter Whitney Natia and WhitneySusan

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching may I just state how grateful I am for these elves. I have not had a moment to take shots of the finished rooms but I promise to post them soon. Whats next??? I see sleep in my future :)

Boxed Note Cards...

....a Season's Greeting. Each year I ponder whether we should offer boxed cards at HiHo. We have carried a few, but I have never found ones that felt like they belonged in our merchandise mix....until this year.

Please forgive my flash on the boxes, I assure you the photos are wonderful. Well....and charming, sweet, nostalgic and melt your heart squeeze a cheek fantastic.

What does a green Christmas mean to you?

Customers keep asking what the themes are going to be here at HiHo this holiday season. Every year I keep them a secret, you see each year we decorate every room of the shop in a different theme and or color.
But I'm pretty good about not sharing the themes, I like the element of surprise, the weekend of our open house. The different reactions to the huge transformation that takes place in only a few days...are always fun.

However I decided to share these pictures... giving you a hint of what a green Christmas theme maybe at HiHo. Wink-wink.

You really didn't think I was going to spill the beans did you??? Oh...thats a hint too!