'Tis the season to window shop in New York

[NEW YORK] From a whimsical enchanted winter forest-scape to candy-laden backdrops for festive fashion, New York department stores have spent a year conjuring up eye-catching holiday window displays.

"Right when they start coming down, we start thinking about what's going to be the vision for next year?" said Roe Palermo, divisional vice-president, store visual of New York department store Lord & Taylor, which is part of Hudson's Bay Co.

The store has been creating window displays since 1937 and estimates that a million people pass by the windows daily during the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Ms Palermo and her team started brainstorming with the store's marketing, advertising and digital team 11 months ago to translate their ideas into a three-dimensional display.

This year's theme is "a whimsical winter journey through an Enchanted Forest" and features five animated windows with hand-sculpted spirited holiday animals and LED walls.

High-end fashion retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, owned by Hudson's Bay, rang in its annual window display, "Land of 1000 Delights," with 85 dancers.

The windows are filled with colorful candy-inspired displays titled "The Nutcracker Sweet," with recreations of scenes from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet, a winter-time favorite.

Festive fashion outfits are displayed between rock candy, large lollipops and cotton candy.

Macy Inc's flagship store in Manhattan celebrated the unveiling of its windows displaying the theme "Believe" with fireworks and confetti. Bergdorf Goodman, operated by Neiman Marcus Group LLC, found inspiration from warmer climates, using cacti, palm leaves and gorillas.

Barneys New York Inc created displays hoping to promote "Love, Peace and Joy," with a little helping hand from Comedy Central's animated South Park series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who filled one window with characters from their show.

Bloomingdale's, part of Macy's, invited artists to create eight one-of-a-kind chandeliers for its window displays, and will be auctioning them off to benefit Child Mind Institute, with starting bids at US$2,000.

REUTERS