What a special gift it was to meet and talk with so many of you at our Members’ Christmas Opening last Friday. We’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us. Christmas will be here before we know it, and sharing our excitement for the collectibles, gifts, and décor in our collection is something we look forward to year after year. We had a great time getting to know you and learning more about what makes Christmas special in your families too. We hope you found new ideas and inspirations – maybe even reminders of cherished memories – that will help make this holiday season really special.
Sharing the Spirit of Christmas Traditions
What we love most about our Members’ Christmas Opening is getting together with so many of you, sharing the excitement of another beautiful holiday season. As the afternoon passed, there was a tangible positive energy – folks mingling, reminiscing, and smiling over familiar pieces that brought back feelings of home and the child-like anticipation of wonderful things to come. Molly Pool, who curates our Christmas collectibles, noticed how quickly several of you were drawn to certain collections – like the Department 56 villages. This year, we added the well-loved Christmas in the City and Dickens’ Village collections to our assortment, and so many of you were happy to spot new pieces to add to your villages at home. The National Lampoon group in particular – with brand new pieces to see as well as popular ones that flew off the shelves early last year – generated a lot of excitement and a few laughs too.
In addition to the villages, conversations seemed to spring up around several of our other collectibles as well, like the amazing hand-crafted nutcrackers, Christmas pyramids, and incense smokers from the famed Erzgebirge region of Germany – with its ancient forests and exquisite wood, perfect for carving. Over the generations, Erzgebirge woodcarvers have held onto the traditional manufacturing techniques and the dedication to quality that make these remarkable pieces so special. Their craftsmanship recalls a simpler time, full of love and tradition, when handcrafted keepsakes like these became priceless treasures to be passed on to generations of family. If you didn’t get a chance at the event, come back and take a look at the new train set located among the German smokers. New cars are added every year – and with them the beginning of a new tradition.
And beyond collectibles, our decorated trees full of unique ornaments and surrounded by beautiful décor and gifts – including both new and returning collections – drew their own attention too. Our gift wrap station was a busy stop during the event, and everyone marveled at the gift tags that local calligrapher and lettering artist Cheryl Dyer created for each individual present. The Toy Shoppe was a popular place to explore for both kids and adults – with lots of delighted giggles and reminiscing going on around the adorable plush sloths and vintage-style toys.
Gift-shopping and tradition-building were a big part of the afternoon of course, but all good get-togethers need delicious food and drink to make things even more festive. Also joining us for the event, Myrtle & Cypress Coffeehouse provided a variety of specialty coffees and teas for everyone to enjoy as well.
Join Us This Holiday Season
In short, we had a wonderful afternoon, and we hope you did too. As we head into another beautiful holiday season, the upcoming weeks are full of more special events and seminars to come, including our annual Holiday Gala on Thursday, November 21st. Ticket sales for this year’s event will support the incredible work by Keep Omaha Beautiful, a local non-profit organization whose passion for making our community a more beautiful place to live and work couldn’t be more closely aligned with our own. Look for more information in the coming weeks – we look forward to seeing you again soon.
