It’s time to break out the boughs of holly and deck the halls. This year, why not add a little Swarovski, some Tiffany and a bit of Christopher Radko, too?

The holidays certainly bring out our festive sides – about 80 percent of American homes feature seasonal decorations, which has become an $18 billion-plus industry.

“We’re all children again at Christmas. We love to give gifts, we want to see the lights and we wait all year long to embrace these fun traditions. We love to decorate because we can dress up our houses and treat it as a gift to ourselves and get away with it. Plus many decorations – whether it’s ornaments or trains or something else – have their own story and it’s fun to relive those stories every year,” says Kendra Heinlen, owner of the Morgan House in Dublin, which sells holiday-themed items.

While most adornments are the staples – a tree, some stockings and a wreath – there are plenty of trimmings to consider if you’d like to add a little luxury and extravagance to the yuletide. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Ornaments
Nothing personalizes Christmas quite like an ornament. Each of these conversation pieces has a history – who bought it, when was it received, what’s the significance, etc. – and each has the powerful ability to connect us to this time of year.

Loot Style in the Short North (www.lootstyle.com) has a bevy of ornaments ranging from $4.50 to $40. The collection includes fair trade pieces (which provides better income sustainability for those who make them in developing countries) for $12.

Tiffany & Co. at Easton (www.tiffany.com) sells a handful of holiday items, including its Notesmerry Christmas Ornament which entails an elegant script of “Merry Christmas” inspired by handwritten letters. The disc-shaped piece is made of bone china and sells for $50.

Polaris and Easton both harbor Swarovski Boutiques, which is refining its signature sparkle this season, offering new interpretations of exclusive edition holiday ornaments. The 2009 Christmas Ornament, Annual Edition reflects a shining star and, for members of the Crystal Society, a second version is available in Golden Shadow Crystal.

Swarovski (www.swarovski.com) also sells two more exclusive adornments for the tree – the Angel Ornament, Annual Edition 2009 and the Christmas Kris Bear, Annual Edition 2009.

The Morgan House in Dublin (www.morganhse.com) is the only full Christopher Radko dealer in Columbus (some Christopher Radko pieces are available at Saks Fifth Avenue). The ornaments retail between $45 and $70 with a handful selling for up to $1,500. Heinlen admits the Radko line is appealing because the pieces are lined with silver and therefore give off a unique shine, and because they’re not mass reproduced. Although Morgan House customers have requested these holiday staples for years, this is the first year they’ve been carried in the gift shop.

Get really personal with your ornaments by making your own pieces out of glass at Glass Axis in Grandview (www.glassaxis.org). The shop holds classes each month for aspiring glass blowers to conjure up their own creations, and a holiday sale is set for the second weekend of December and will include hundreds of ornaments made by local artists.

Trees
Emulate nature in your home, without dealing with messy pine needles or cumbersome, unsightly plastic branches. Frontgate (Easton location) has many signature trees in its repertoire, including the Designer’s Christmas Tree, which showcases ornaments on the grandest scale and was created at the request of professional designers. Depending on size, the artificial tree comes with more than 1,200 lights, weighs between 72 and 128 pounds, and sells for $699 to $1,099.

If the Designer’s tree is too glitzy for your taste, pick up Frontgate’s Denmark Fir, which has the fullness and majesty of a real woodland fir, the Colorado Blue spruce or the Fraser Fir artificial trees. Frontgate (www.frontgate.com) also has an impressive line-up of original wreath designs, including the Estate Indoor and Outdoor Wreath for $149-$499, with sugar pinecones, weather-tested ilex berries, sweeping cypress and millilamp bulbs.

If you’d like to exchange tradition and size for extravagance altogether, try Swarovski’s Magical Christmas Tree, which glimmers in clear crystal and flaunts a shining star in Golden Shadow crystal. Also, Saks Fifth Avenue (www.saksfifthavenue.com, Polaris location) sells the Salzburg Creations 18-inch Filigree Sconce/Gold holiday tree, with handmade filigree flowers, cloves and faux pearls.

Trimmings
Add a major “wow” factor to your holiday décor with these unique embellishments. Caterina Ltd. (www.caterinaltd.com) in the German Village features all things European for those desiring some ethnic flavor this season. Included in its Christmas room are German smokers, which were initially made around 1850 by the woodcarvers of Heidleberg, Germany to unite the custom of lighting incense cones at Christmastime and their craft, and nutcrackers, authentic and hand carved and reminiscent of the original nutcracker which was made in 1870 by German Wilhelm Fuchtner.

The store also features German pyramids, a precursor to the modern day Christmas tree, hand painted ornaments from a variety of European countries, and Hungarian stockings with hand cut appliqués.

For centerpieces – and guaranteed conversational pieces – Swarovski makes charming rocking snowmen and winter squirrels, twinkling mittens, sparkling cookies, festive hearts and star blossoms, adding an extra shimmer to dark, cold nights.

Saks sells pieces from the Karen Didion collection, hand painted collectibles focusing on Santa’s accoutrements, including “Dear Santa,” “Extra Good Santa” and “Toymaker Santa.” All pieces come with a hangtag signed by the artist herself.

Make things really come alive in your home with mini poinsettias from the Franklin Park Conservatory’s Botanica gift shop (www.fpconservatory.org). According to Barbara Carruthers, FPC/Botanica’s visitor services manager/buyer, Botanica also offers a wide selection of plants in seasonal colors and foliage plants such as holly and evergreens. However, many customers gravitate toward nontraditional seasonal plants this time of year. Bulbs for forcing – including paperwhites and amaryllis – are popular, as are bonsai and orchids.

Alicia Kelso is editor of Luxury Living.


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Looking for more ideas for that perfect addition to your home? Check out the Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s annual Winterfair event, extended to three days this year from Dec. 4-6 at the Multi-Purpose Building at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. This holiday artists’ market offers unique and beautiful handcrafted items for the home, office or gift giving. Visit www.ohiocraft.org.

The Dublin Women’s Philanthropic Club’s annual Christmas Tour of Homes is at 1 p.m. Dec. 6 to raise money for several initiatives that assist needy families. This year, the tour includes six beautifully and uniquely decorated homes in the Tartan Fields area. The tour begins and ends with its signature reception at the Country Club at Muirfield Village. Past tours have included homes with a ‘Hunting Tree’ complete with bugles, equestrian gear and a fox hiding near the top. Another home used feathers in their garnishes going up the stair railings and had a year-round Christmas room. Two years ago, one house was chosen because it included a Christmas tree in almost every room of the house. For more information or tickets to this year’s event, visit www.dublinwomensclub.org.  

Finally, the Central Ohio Diabetes Association Women’s Board Deck the Halls event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Dec. 3 at five Upper Arlington homes decorated for the season. Several activities take place at the homes, including a Jingle Bell Boutique, Café Fa La La, Dasher’s Dining Ornaments, and Rudolph’s Raffle. Additionally, the Women’s Board hosts the Candlelight Celebration cocktail party from 7:30-11 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Smith Bros. Hardware Building downtown. Proceeds benefit the camp and youth programs of the Central Ohio Diabetes Association. A map and tickets to both the tour and celebration are available at www.deckthehallsfordiabetes.org.