This is a magical moment and we enjoy over the years even is sad years to stop by Paris and see some window shopping unfortunately this year cannot make as told you have my father in hospital bed at home. Therefore, will tell you about the noise and the presentations and hope you can make it and take pictures for all of us. This is Christmas window shopping in Paris !!!
On boulevard Haussmann, the windows will delight young and old alike during the end-of-year celebrations. True to tradition, the facades of Parisian department stores like Printemps Haussmann, Galeries Lafayette, BHV Marais, La Samaritaine, and Bon Marché Rive Gauche are decked out in since November with their finest festive decorations. The Christmas Windows of the Grands Magasins de Paris, this is an unmissable Christmas stroll that will delight young and old alike. Every year since 1909, the department stores of Paris have called on the greatest decorators to draw crowds around their bustling shop windows. These shows with constantly renewed decors give off a magical je-ne-sais-quoi and are one of the free walks you absolutely have to do during Christmas in Paris. The showcases are also the scene of surprising sketches where animated automatons and magical decorations rub shoulders in an interactive world… a real spectacle! Enchanting universes imagined and created by craftsmen and decorators with invaluable know-how, which fascinate young and old alike over the years.
The main decorations over the years on the department stores of Paris ! As I am not in Paris this year, will do this post on my black and white series, no pictures, Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Galeries Lafayette Haussmann is teaming up with illustrator Florent Chavezt and novelist Claire Castillon to honor the plant totem of Christmas: the Christmas tree. With Planète Sapin, the windows of the Layaette galleries tell in images a story imagined around Nordmann, a fir tree character from the planet Elato. We find his illustrated and colorful adventures on the facade of the store with his friends Annie, the little girl with curly red hair and the sloth with the funny mustaches. Also inside the store find the traditional and impressive giant Christmas tree under the new Art dome. Note that, every 30 minutes, the lights go out to give way to a sound and light animation during which the tree comes to life as if by magic. And also inside the store, an immersive experience around storytelling and motion-reactive video projections are to be discovered! The store at 40 boulevard Haussmann, 9éme get there on metro Havre-Caumartin, webpage : https://haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en/events/expedition-planete-sapin-an-immersive-experience/
This year, the Christmas windows of Printemps Haussmann pay homage to the world of the circus and its scenography: puppets and figurines with the heads of animals alongside a ballet of trapeze artists, clowns, a giraffe and of course Santa Claus. All in a colorful universe of yellow, green and red with glowing stars, balloons, presents, flowers and butterflies complete this enchanted decor. Of course, the magic of Christmas continues inside the store with the decor installed under the majestic Wybo dome, which puts on its winter clothes in a magical setting. The store at 64 boulevard Haussmann, 9éme get there on metro Havre-Caumartin, webpage : https://www.printemps.com/fr/fr/noel-au-printemps
The La Samaritaine makes the stars jump with a Christmas window display entitled “Paris leads the dance”. Reopened in 2021, the iconic department store in the center of Paris dots its facade with luminous stars and installs a decoration of varied choreographies. Disco, rock, breakdance or voguing, each window has its own style! La Samaritaine has decided to bet on the world of dance with showcases retracing its modern and contemporary history. Thus, characters sway their hips in the various sparkling windows to the sound of rock, hip hop and disco classics… In addition, four windows have been designed in partnership with the Centre National de la Danse: these tell, using archive videos, the history of dance since the 1930s. In a preview, the dancers of the Théâtre du Chatelet present excerpts from the musical 42nd Street. To be seen on weekends, on the floors of the store. The magic and surprises continue in the store with, in particular, a giant advent calendar, a concert, Santa’s Groove to dance in the aisles of the store and dance lessons provided by Studio Dancefloor Paris! Until January 10, 2023, The store located at 9 Rue de la Monnaie,1éme; and get there on Metro Pont Neuf or Louvre Rivoli, webpage : https://www.dfs.com/en/samaritaine/what-is-happening/news/danse-avec-la-mode
For this end of the year, the BHV Marais is putting Provence in the spotlight in its Christmas windows. For this “Christmas in Provence” edition, the BHV Marais takes us to experience the flavors and scents of Provence. Decorations, candles, fir trees, ceramic tableware and interior scents adorn the windows of the department store. Gourmands will find sweets in a chalet decorated in Christmas colours! The store at 52 rue de Rivoli, 4éme and you get there on metro Hôtel de Ville, webpage : https://www.bhv.fr/c/noel
The Bon Marché Rive Gauche adorns itself with its most beautiful decorations and invites young and old to discover how Christmas balls are created with its animated windows. Transformed into a workshop for busy mini-elves, these come in colorful and magical paintings to illustrate the birth of a glass Christmas ball. Elves blow on the glass to form a Christmas ball, turn a gear, or mix gold, pink or purple pigments. The facetious elves write messages to brighten it up with funny words. The result is a fun Christmas ball signed by illustrator duo Toqué Frères. The store at 24 rue de Sèvres,7éme and you get there on Metro Sèvres – Babylone, webpage : https://www.lebonmarche.com/fr/animation-spectacle-noel/animation-spectacle-noel.html
There you go folks, the spirit of Christmas is all around us. I sincerely hope your is wonderful surrounded by family and have a real significant Christmas together. I loan for one as my family is spread all over even in France the closest are 7-8 hours by car away. We have the spirits up regardless of the medical situation of my father, hope is a never ending star we follow to the end. Merry Christmas to all!! Hope you have the chance to experience Christmas window shopping in Paris, it is sublime, unforgettable period.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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