Holiday Travels

With Thanksgiving only days away, the season of holiday travels is upon us. I hope that your holiday travels are smoother than Steve Martin and John Candy's in the classic Thanksgiving movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. (For fans of the movie, I'd like to pointout that the ChristmasAttic does carry pillows. "Pillows? Those aren't pillows!" Yes, fortunately, they are.) Holiday travel is always a little hectic, but usually worth the result. If it's not, perhaps a Christmas cruise is in order next year?

If you are lucky enough to be where you are going to stay for the holiday, then maybe you could include some foreign destinations in your home decorations:

Italy -- Nativities

Germany -- Handmade wooden angels

The United States -- Nutcrackers handmade in Virginia

Poland -- Blown-glass, hand-painted ornaments

Zimbabwe -- hand-painted tin ornaments

If you have the travel bug, collecting ornaments that represent all the exotic places you have been helps give your tree a personal touch. They also make fun conversation pieces for your holiday parties or dinners. When I was a child, some of theornaments on our family tree I liked most were those we found while traveling. My favorite were clothes-pins painted with bathing suits and snorkeling tubes commemorating our December trip to Jamaica one year.

Travel ornaments are a great way to incorporate places you have lived in your décor. I lived in Paris for a time, as anyone who sees my tree can tell.

I know that visiting Paris is not always feasible -- not that that stops me from bringing it up weekly to my husband -- but moving within the U.S. is common. Glasses, pillows, and dish towels are all inexpensive ways to keep your prior homes and all the memories you have of them part of the present day.

Just as you can bring the places you've traveled home and keep the past part of the present, you can send your friends and family around the country ornaments specific to Washington D.C. to remind them that they are in your thoughts. The most popular is the Official White House Historical Association 201o christmas ornament. Each year the ornament represents a different presidency, and this year it is McKinley's. (Okay, he's not one of the top 10, or 20, but it's still a pretty ornament.) You might also attach a holiday D.C. notecard to a gift you send this year, or tie this Santa-and-Rudolph-on-the-Capitol ornament onto your package's ribbon.

All Things Nutcracker

Nutcrackers have been a holiday favorite all over the world for hundreds of years. According to German folklore, the gift of a nutcracker brings luck to your family and protects your home. They are the "Watchmen" of a house. These days, nutcrackers appear in many forms. Santas, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Ebenezer Scrooge, and even Shakespeare now appear in nutcracker form.

Making nutcrackers has long been an old world art, and collecting nutcrackers a holiday tradition. Nutcrackers also make wonderful symbolic gifts.

Nutcracker collections traditionally begin with a king. He must be displayed in a prominent location so that he can watch over his kingdom. The next piece to add should be a soldier, with a sword, lance, or pistol to protect the king. The third piece should represent good luck: in Europe traditionally a chimney-sweep is a standard lucky charm. Then comes a drummer or a prince. The drummer will drum out the good news of the kingdom, while a prince allows for the king to have an heir. Those who serve the king follow, including more soldiers to protect the king, a baker or a butcher to feed him, and some musicians to entertain him. From there your collection can grow simply as pieces inspire you. Enjoy collecting!

Germany is home to a long line of nutcrackers. Steinbach is one of the largest and oldest German nutcracker makers, and still operated by the Steinbach family. But nutcrackers also come from Virginia, where "The Nutcracker Man" Glenn Crider makes them by hand. We are happy to welcome Mr. Crider to the shop on November 14th, where he will be signing his creations.

Giving nutcrackers and adding to your own collection can be an annual holiday tradition. And if you like the nutcracker theme, a nutcracker ornament can be another way to take part in it. Christopher Radko and David Strand make blown-glass nutcracker ornaments,while the German pewter company Wilhelm Schweizer has translated the German nutcracker tradition into a hand-painted pewter ornament.

All of this talk of nutcrackers makes the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy song play in my head. If a performance of Tchaikovsky’s ballet is what you are looking for, you have a few local performances to choose from this season. The Kennedy Center's production takes place November 24-28. The Warner Theatre offers a wider array of show times for the Washington Ballet's production, December 2-26. Tickets can be purchased online. As a memento for a child seeing The Nutcracker for the first time, we offer ornaments of the four main characters: Clara, the Nutcracker, Drosselmeyer, and the Mouse-King. The ballet is one of my favorite holiday traditions, as it is for many people. Looking around the shop at all of the nutcrackers, I think I understand what made Tchaikovsky choose to make one the hero of his story. There really is something magical about them.

Fay's Favorite Things for November

The Christmas Attic owner Fay Carter has a few favorite things as we approach the holidays:

1. The Happy Couple

This winter wedding scene is made of hand-painted German pewter. This piece is a perfect wedding present for those winter weddings.

2. Kiwi Blown Glass Ornament

With Thanksgiving approaching we begin to think of the harvest. Fruit and Vegetable ornaments are a fun and festive way to decorate your house.

The kitchen is the perfect place for a small food tree. Let's face it -- even if you try to keep everyone out of the kitchen at the holidays, it never works. The kitchen is the center of everything so your guests will feel welcome. (And if they feel welcome in your kitchen, maybe they will help you cook the feast)

3. Cherry Blossom Lantern

Ornament designer Eric Cortina makes this beautiful hand-painted, Japanese-inspired lantern. The bright pink stands out beautifully on the opulent gold background. In Washington D.C. we pride ourselves on our spring Cherry blossoms; we always look forward to seeing their beautiful colors. But why wait until the spring? By decorating your holiday tree with one of these ornaments you will be reminded of the Cherry Blossom Festival in December.

4. Santa Stamp Ornament

Considering this is our Christmas Attic exclusive and Fay had a hand in designing it, we are glad this is on her favorite's list. In this unique piece, Santa is surrounded by an assortment of vintage Washington-themed postage stamps. Each piece is unique with a different assortment of stamps. On the back of Santa's cloak is written Washington, D.C., which makes this a great Christmas gift for relatives and friends scattered around the globe. The proceeds for this ornament go to providing free parenting resources through the Learning Community.

5. German Paper Advent Calendars

So many fancy advent calendars are available these days (we even carry a few styles) but the classic inexpensive paper advent calendars are still a favorite. Fay still buys them for her adult children to open every year. The countdown to Christmas is ready to begin.

Industrial Farmhouse

I recently spent a fall weekend in Philadelphia. The weather was crisp and cool, and the air smelled of apples and pumpkins. All over the city, in restaurants, shops, and hotels, were signs of the hottest trend in decorating right now: Industrial Farmhouse.

The hallmark of Industrial Farmhouse -- and yes, it's a comical name -- is the reuse of antique woods that have either been refurbished or are left in their weathered state. I learned that one company has even bought old water-towers and such just to sell the antique wood.

But you don't need to buy a water-tower or tear down a barn to make Industrial Farmhouse part of your decor. Any re-purposed wood is a great place to start. For example, I visited Pumpkin, a restaurant, market, and café that incorporates antique, distressed window panes to their modern, minimalist decor. (If you visit Philadelphia, Pumpkin is a must-visit with only seasonal, local ingredients on their menu.)

A place that I had hoped to go visit but ran out of time to see was Terrain. I have been looking at their website religiously -- not only because as a web master I hope to get some ideas, but because I want almost everything in their store. They seem to have mastered the industrial farmhouse trend effortlessly. Check them out.

French Market is also popular again (which makes me especially happy, considering I adore all things French), and we are starting to see it combined with elements of Industrial Farmhouse such as antique wood. The two work well together, and one sign of a successful trend is when people begin to incorporate elements of it into existing styles. Alternatively, to make your Industrial Farmhouse look a little fancier, you can juxtapose the repurposed wood with the opulence of velvet (again a hot item), or add sparkle by wary of mercury or chandelier glass, as described in my last blog entry.

Returning to the shop after my weekend away, I realized that we have been using the Industrial Farmhouse technique for over 30 years -- we are in an old tobacco warehouse, after all. It's always amusing when you discover that you are on the cutting edge of a trend, when you haven't made any changes. As we all know in the decorating game, everything old ends up new again at some point, which should reassure all of us that the best approach is to take what we like of the latest trends and make it part of our own personal style. Industrial farmhouse or pastoral penthouse, what matters it that it's comfortably your house.

Holiday Hues of the Season

Is it time to give your décor a seasonal make-over? Here are a few trends that will get you started for fall and also carry you into the holidays. The must-have is anything with deep rich colors, and the fabric to covet is velvet. Incorporate these elements into your décor with a mahogany candle or a velvet pumpkin.

To integrate a little sparkle with your rich colors, add a hint of shiny antique silver. Mercury glass is an elegant but affordable way to get a little shimmer. It is a double-walled blown silvered glass that has a mirrored sheen to it. With a few candles near by, it produces a warm glow. Or for a more antique look, choose chandelier glass instead, which will give you a similar effect.

These tips will carry you into the holiday season as well, so with just a few new fun pieces you can decorate for two seasons. When it comes time to get your home ready for Christmas family trees are always special. Adding a set of ornaments in a rich color such as burgundy will give your favorite tree a new look even with all your favorite family ornaments still hanging in their usual places. Mercury glass again makes a wonderful addition, reflecting your lights and making the whole tree glow. Pull it all together with bows you have made from a richly colored velvet ribbon.

As always when decorating, a small change can give a room a fresh, new look. Allow yourself to be inspired by anything you see.

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness"

August gives way to September, and while summer doesn’t officially end until the 22^nd and the weather hasn’t begun to change yet, Labor Day weekend always feels like the end of the season to us. We’ve had a great summer here at the Attic, and between Christmas in July and Halloween in August, we’ve had a lot of fun trying to make a hot and humid summer our own. Still, I think we are all ready for the cooler days and crisper nights of autumn.

Hopefully you’ve completed your back-to-school shopping, so why not take the opportunity to give your house a fall make-over? In a few short weeks, the baskets of summer flowers and garden tomatoes and cucumbers will be gone. Maybe your house needs some new decorative touches, like a ceramic bowl with a gorgeous autumn leaf motif you can use for bread or an arrangement of seasonal vegetables, a luxurious velvet pumpkin or two to symbolize the abundance of the harvest season, or some candles in fall colors by Root. These are the highest quality soy-based, dripless candles, made by a family-owned Ohio company that has been making candles since 1869. We love them, and are thrilled to carry them in an era when some of the famous brand candle companies have been bought up by large corporations that have sadly not maintained the quality that made them our grandmothers’ favorites. (Some of those more famous candles have a distinct chemical smell these days, unfortunately.)

Speaking of pumpkins, as the days and nights turn cooler the idea of drinking a pumpkin spice latte in an oversized mug while reading a good book sounds to me like a wonderful idea. If it sounds good to you, too, we’ve got you covered: we have a delicious pumpkin spice latte mix, the mugs, and even the books. Or if lattes aren’t, so to speak, your cup of tea, come in to see the latest wines. My own policy? Lattes in the morning, wine in the evening, and I’m a happy woman.

Finally, to put us all in the spirit of the season, here are the first few lines of John Keats’ wonderful ode, “To Autumn”:

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core

Santa's Off-Season

People ask us what a Christmas store does in the summer. Of course, we do carry merchandise that is appropriate to the summer season. Alexandria sees a large number of tourists when the weather is hot, and they are happy to see a bunch of red, white, and blue when they come in the door. But meanwhile, Christmas is never far from our minds, and we spend a lot of our time looking out for new holiday products and placing orders so that the shop is full and magical when the season comes around. You’d be surprised how early we need to place orders in order to guarantee we will have our pick of all of people’s favorite lines and designers.

Most of all, we love getting people thinking about Christmas all year round. To that end, we celebrate Christmas in July. For us, Christmas is a state of mind, not a date on the calendar. We love it, and we like to pass the cheer on to those around us. The way we see it, holiday festivities should not be limited to just when there is snow on the ground; the warmth and joy of the holidays are never out of season. Besides, seeing Santa in a bathing suit always makes people smile.