Southern Christmas Show

This year's Southern Christmas Show brings a taste of New York City to Charlotte: Four holiday displays that were in the windows of Manhattan's Lord & Taylor department store last Christmas will be showcased at the 41st annual shopping event

This year's Southern Christmas Show brings a taste of New York City to Charlotte: Four holiday displays that were in the windows of Manhattan's Lord & Taylor department store last Christmas will be showcased at the 41st annual shopping event, which opens Thursday.

“The windows there are very competitive,” says David Zimmerman, president of Southern Shows, which runs the Southern Christmas Show. “The stores try to outdo each other every year. They're so elaborate. It's a shame they're up for only a few weeks.”

The lavishly decorated windows are animated and represent four sensory pleasures in old-fashioned settings: a music room in Vienna (sound); a dinner in a New York mansion (taste); a Parisian patisserie (aroma); and a scene of children playing in the snow (feel).

They were created by Spaeth Design, which also has done work for Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy's.

“The folks there are very excited the displays are going to be seen again because they put in hundreds of hours of work creating them,” Zimmerman says.

Zimmerman hopes the display – which will be situated near the show entrance, amid lampposts and antique automobiles – will bring back childhood memories for people who grew up in Charlotte.

“As a kid, I remember going to see the displays at Belk and Ivey's when they had stores uptown. It was a big deal. But we really don't have anything like that here anymore.”