Holiday Traditions

Happy Monday! We won't be crafting this week and instead I'll share with you one tradition that I like to do at this time of the year -- I walk around New York City to admire the lights, decorations and store windows decked out for the holidays.

I think that traditions are memories that you keep

forever and I think Lord and Taylor would agree with me.

This year, Lord and Taylor asked their Facebook fans to share their favorite holiday stories and the response was overwhelming! Lord and Taylor chose twelve stories and executed these in their windows -- a great collaboration, don't you think?

Here are my favorites:

A DISCO CHRISTMAS

"My first year in the city, I thought I would be spending Christmas alone, so I was thrilled when I was invited to a co-worker's annual tree trimming party. It wasn't at all what I expected...let's just say Kate had a flair for decorating. Not only did she have a silver tree and a disco ball, everything in her place was covered in silver tinsel! Well, it was the 70's after all. When else could you actually have a "Disco Christmas"? - David Engleman (Chicago, Illinois)

HOLIDAY DRESSES

"My grandmother was an amazing seamstress. Each Christmas she created the most beautiful outfits for my mother and her sisters. While I don't have her "sewing hands," I carry on the family tradition by giving my daughters new holiday dresses each year." - Linda Bennett Marblehead (Massachusetts)

DECK THE HALLS

"I love decorating for the holidays although my cozy city apartment (aka 350 sq/ft. studio) does not accommodate my grand ideas, it never stops my holiday spirit. Instead of "decking the halls," I simply decorate the fire escape!"

- Sarah Currie (New York, New York)

A TOAST ON CHRISTMAS EVE

"Christmas is all about family. My husband and I were actually married on Christmas Eve, so our first Christmas together is still one of the most memorable. Our tree only had one ornament, but with every year and every child (and every grandchild) our tree, as well as our family, has grown larger than anything we could have dreamed when we toasted to our future that first Christmas Eve." - Lorraine Adams (Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey)

OUR GINGERBREAD HOUSE

"It isn't Christmas at our house unless something is baking in the oven. Every year we bake all of my grandmother's great recipes while always adding a few of our own. We may have even perfected the art of building a gingerbread house. From stained glass windows to candy cane fences, gumdrop pathways and chocolate chip trees, nothing can rival our architectural masterpiece. - Nicolina Ferrara Somers (New York)

Lovely traditions indeed!

By the way, for every new fan Lord and Taylor

gets on its Facebook page, they will donate $1 to

the American Red Cross in Greater New York.