Here we grow again!

This year has been a busy one so far! We've added another great place for you to browse and shop - Trendy Tree! RAZ is the focus on this site, but you'll also find more of our collectible glass ornaments too. The newest items from the RAZ Christmas 2009 collections can be viewed on Trendy Tree. We'll eventually get them added to the other sites too but you can get the jump on seeing them on Trendy Tree first.

Tree Time!

Halloween is over and its time to put away the ghosts and skeletons! Time to get your thoughts together for this year's tree!

We have many request each year from people doing charity trees. Beautifully decorated trees are auctioned off and proceeds go to specific charities. Themes have been chocolate/peppermint; marine animals; ice cream treats; The Wizard of Oz and more. This is a great fundraiser and is "fun" work.

Now is a good time to get out your Christmas tree decorations, sort through them, discard damaged items and bring new life to the keepers. Color combinations are virtually unlimited. Old fashioned multicolor is always popular along with red/green; pink/green; brown/red with chocolate and peppermint; gold/white; silver/red; silver/blue; purple/pink; naturals with cones/berries/twigs/nest/nuts.

One of my favorites is the use of browns as in chocolates, light and dark mocha. Inge-Glas has large balls, chocolate and coffee items from the Cafe Espresso' collection that will bring a uniquely different theme to your decorating. These large balls look great on flocked trees, wreaths, tabletop decorations or scattered down the center of your dining table. Ornaments of Hot Chocolate - Ice Coffee - Chai Pur - mmmm Hot Chocolate - Espresso - Espresso Perk - are simply stunning! You won't find these at Wal Mart or Target! Check them out today.

Where do our ornaments and decorations go?

Our ornaments have been shipped all around the world! Primarily ornaments and decorations have been shipped within the USA but frequently we get requests as far away as South Africa, London, Australia and Canada frequently just to mention a few.

It's interesting to hear from people why they need particular ornaments and decorations. We just shipped three dozen bananas to Florida for use in a Carmen Miranda display! Last year The Original Popcorn Garland by Stephen Douglas was used on the set of "As the World Turns!" It's a fun business!

Send us your unusual or special requests and we'll post them here to share your stories!

Halloween is coming!

Halloween is on a Friday night this year.....great for partying all weekend! Fall is such a great time for entertaining...hay rides and hoe downs, trick or treat, costume parties. It's a big event around our place! Halloween Party Ideas!

Post some of your favorite Halloween Trick or Treats here!

The 4th is approaching rapidly! Many customers are already choosing their new ornaments for 2008 and some have purchased to replace favorite and treasured ornaments. Items were sometimes broken when taking down the tree or misplaced. A customer recently asked me about the old fashioned "angel hair" decoration. I remember this decoration well....the haziness and blur it gave to the old fashioned multicolor lights and also how it tangled and seemed to get into anything you were touching))) I saw a box of this, new and unopened, in an antique store not too long ago. Does anyone know where new angel hair can be purchased?

We have a new addition to our ornament shop for our customers.....GUND teddy bears. These child safe bears by GUND are beautiful, well made and so soft and cuddly. You just can't resist squeezing and touching them))) More styles and products will be added along as we prepare for the Christmas season.

Get out of the heat while you can and check out our Christmas items......Christmas has a way of sneaking up on us)))

Inge-Glas

New 2008 ornaments from Inge-Glas of Germany have started arriving! Many of the chocolate covered fruits, chocolate desserts and ice cream cones came in last week. The new chocolate ornaments are simply delicious! The chocolate looks so real! Visit our websites to check them out. Order early! Chocolate items won't last long.

New Items

Great news! New items have arrived and include a selection of Holiday Lights from Merck Family's Old World Christmas.

Old World Christmas lights radiate a cheery glow. They have become a fixture in many houses at Christmastime and a part of Christmas traditions. Since 1985 when the first Santa Light was introduced, families have enjoyed adding a jolly new fellow to their collections each year.

Candle lit votive lights are NEW for 2008. All hand-painted and glittered, they are certain to brighten up your holidays!

New Items!

New Items arriving this week from Old World Christmas! About 100 new items are coming in this week and among these are several different types of "inside art" ornaments. Old World Christmas has retired its inside art ornaments so there will be a very limited supply remaining from them.

The intricate art of painting on the inside of glass bottles and ornaments began centuries ago in China. Through a tiny opening, skilled artists delicately paint fine details of images, thereby preserving the poetry of daily life. Depending on its intricacy, one ornament can take up to several weeks to complete.

These ornaments are very unusual and delicate. It will be hard to part with them!

Updates:

Thanks! We've received so many wonderful comments about the new website www.southernbellesandwhistles.com and we appreciate it so much!

We still have so many new items to list and are hard at work getting this all done. Old World Christmas will be shipping again in 3-4 weeks; Inge-Glas will start shipping around the first of May and Raz Imports will start around May.

We have many new items from Santa Klaus and Company that haven't been listed yet, so check back with us soon to see those items. Most of the new Santa Klaus items will be on the Southern Belles & Whistles site as are the Raz 2008 Christmas and Inge-Glas. Most of the new Old World Christmas items are listed on both sites.....but we still have about 100 more OWC to list!

A new feature coming soon is a slideshow of some of our favorite picks of ornaments and decorations!

We hope you visit us again soon.....and leave some comments!! We want to hear from you)))

Jeannie
www.southernbellesandwhistles.com
www.pencechristmastreefarm.com

New Website!

Well we have exciting news! Our trees are growing and so is our Christmas ornament inventory! Our present website has just about reached its limits and we've created a secondary website - Southern Belles and Whistles - this website will host most all of our new items from Raz Christmas 2008. Hundreds of new items are on order and will be arriving late Spring, Early Summer. Visit our new site and tell us what you think!

http://www.southernbellesandwhistles.com

Jeannie

Oh Susan I'm so sorry! Maybe someone will read this and have some ideas on where you might find a replacement.......be sure to try Ebay of course and there is another ornament collector's group...Yulelog....check it out.

Jeannie

Christmas Ornaments

Hi....well....here it is....I've started a blog)))))) And I expect participation))))) Lets talk about your favorite type of Christmas Ornament.......like the ones you can buy from http://www.pencechristmastreefarm.com or.....what was your favorite ornament as a child?