So long, Sandy — hello, Santa! We used to chide the stores for rushing the season before we’d even sat down to turkey, but ever since the hurricane hit, we could use a little Christmas and Hanukkah right now, especially since some of us are still in the dark.
Happily, the city’s department stores’ holiday windows have never been brighter. And while several unveilings are still to come — Bergdorf Goodman and Saks won’t be up and running until Monday — The Post got a peek at them all.
At a time when many people are in need, it’s good to see so many stores featuring a charity component as well, reminding us that this is, after all, the season for giving. So let there be light! And may our city forever stay vibrant and bright.
PHOTOS: CHECK OUT ALL THE HOLIDAY WINDOWS
LORD & TAYLOR
424 Fifth Ave., at 38th Street
THEME: “Wish for Tradition”
DRAWS: They say God is in the details — and no holiday windows are more detailed than the Lord’s (& Taylor’s). This year — for its 75th anniversary of window-dressing — L&T unveiled five meticulously composed holiday tableaux from around the world. One is set in the Central Park Zoo, complete with the Delacorte Clock and a pool of ball-balancing, frolicking seals; another at a champagne-filled, leather-sofa’d soiree in a sleekly appointed high-rise. Add some recorded holiday music — including a jaunty “Jingle Bell Rock” — and you’ve got a guaranteed “awwww” machine.
DON’T MISS: Santa’s study. You can read the titles of his leatherbound book of wishes.
BERGDORF GOODMAN
754 Fifth Ave., at 58th Street
THEME: “BG Follies of 2012”
DRAWS: The curtains won’t be drawn back until at least midday Monday — or whenever windowmeister David Hoey thinks they’re ready — but the details he’s shown us are gorgeous. Inspired this year by the living tableaux BG did for Fashion Week, Hoey and his elves decided to pay tribute to great performers of the jazzy ’20s and ’30s: Think all-girl orchestras, Busby Berkeley high-steppers, Ziegfeld showgirls. New this year is BG’s first animated display, a many-sided, mirrored moving star resembling a psychedelic snowflake.
DON’T MISS: A window carpeted in a million feathers, drawn from everything from turkeys to peacocks. Check out the antique chandeliers, the silver-plated double bass — and the mannequin in a beaded, strapless Badgley Mischka gown who’s draped over the piano. The musical theme extends all the way to the Men’s Store across the street. Who knew accordions could look so glamorous?
MACY’S
Herald Square at 34th Street
THEME: “The Magic of Christmas”
DRAWS: The store that gave us the Thanksgiving Day parade, Santaland and the world’s first escalators salutes the season and itself with a series of beautifully designed windows. Be on the lookout for animated nutcrackers, ballerinas and elves; a re-creation of the first parade — as seen by a 1940s family watching it from their window — and video “snapshots” of revelers enjoying the season at landmarks all around the city.
DON’T MISS: The Make-a-Wish window, whose touching videos show the hopes and dreams of children with life-threatening illnesses, and which tells you how you can make a difference.
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE
611 Fifth Ave., at 49th Street
THEME: “Snowflake Spectacular”
DRAWS: Saks loves its snowflakes! This year, it’s spinning off yet another snowy fable, “Yeti Story,” about an elusive creature who’s rumored to be holed up on the department store’s roof, clapping his hands and causing it to snow. And no, it’s not Donald Trump: The yeti has better hair. Check out the kaleidoscope in the center window for some interactive fun: One of the child mannequins is wielding a vintage Super-8 camera that’s really a video cam, capturing the crowd.
DON’T MISS: The official unveiling Monday night shortly after 6, when dancers from American Ballet Theatre perform along Fifth Avenue, and a 3-D light show flashes across Saks’ facade.
BARNEYS
660 Madison Ave., at 61st Street
THEME: “Disney Electric Holiday”
DRAWS: Last year, Barneys went totally (Lady) Gaga. This holiday season, it’s taken a 180-degree turn, heading dizzily into Disney. A short animated flick fills its windows with the adventures of Minnie Mouse in Paris, where she and her friends strut down the catwalk in (animated) haute couture to the strains of Michael Giacchino’s peppy, percussive score. Eyeing the models are the usual band of New York fashionistas, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Harper’s Bazaar editrix Glenda Bailey, who looks more forbidding than Cruella de Vil.
DON’T MISS: The credits, which tell you who’s wearing what. They unscroll quickly, but we spotted Minnie in Lanvin, Mickey in Balenciaga, Snow White in Nina Ricci — and Goofy looking very Michael Jackson in Balmain. Check out the display from across Madison Avenue, and you’ll enjoy the fireworks in the other windows, as well as the line of lights that snake up the Barneys’ facade like neon ivy.
BLOOMINGDALE’S
Lexington Avenue at 59th Street
THEME: “Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away”
DRAWS: The sexy world of Cirque is enacted with tiny tumblers, acrobats and aerialists, some more animated than others. There’s an ethereal under-the-water scene where figures who look like sea anemones flutter around a red-haired beauty one astute observer called “Ariel the Mermaid meets the Queen of Hearts.” And then there’s the blonde in a star-spangled blouse and striped red-and-white pants who, when the strongman hammers a pedal at her feet, shoots up to the sky. Circus feat — or subliminal campaign for Hillary Clinton 2016?
DON’T MISS: Getting interactive — and yes, there’s an app for it (details on the windows). Or simply stick your head through one of the lipstick-red peepholes in one window and have your face appear on top of some Cirque-like body; photographic proof available at facebook.com/bloomingdales.
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