Golly, almost too much to mention; and then, where do i begin?? Well, let's start at the beginning. While we have always emphasized our European imports, we also carried a large selection of American-made items as well. Over the last few years many of these have dropped by the wayside. Wood World and Margaret Furlong went out of business while Annalee and United Design sent their production overseas, just to name a few. This year we went on a crusade, if you will, to fill the gaps. We succeeded in spades!!

Finally, we have been able to obtain Beyer's Choice carollers, and we couldn't be happier. This is the line so many try to knockoff, but can't, and still made in Pennsylvania. 2008 marks the thirtieth anniversary of this popular collectible line, and we are proud to be their newest dealer! Santas by Vaillancourt are still made in Massachusetts. These chalk-like Santas are molded in vintage chocolate molds and then lovingly painted by hand, each a limited edition, and just gorgeous! Every Christmas people ask us if we have Vaillancourt Santas and we have had to say "no"; now we can say "yes" enthusiastically, since we finally found them (they do not exhibit at trade shows and do little advertising). On the west coast Cynthia Webb designs exquisite decorations out of pewter, her medium of choice. We will also have some maple wood ornaments and a few simple toys, made here, and without any lead paint. Imagine that!

There are also some new lines coming from Europe, of course! In Frankfurt we found Sebastian, a Danish company that makes Christmas decorations in various Scandinavian countries. These are all sure to delight all of our "Scandihoovian" friends (sorry about that). For the connaisseurs of Italian glass ornaments, rejoice! We were finally able to get a shipment in from "Bella Italia". We haven't seen any Italian manufacturers at any of our trade fairs for years now, but a search deep in our files put us in touch with our friends in Bellagio, and presto! come and see for yourself the artisanship from Italy.

Detlef Greiner-Perth is a new German company making some very different and facinating glass ornaments, clear with designs inside. I can't describe them very well, but they are way unique! Wandera is another new German supplier for us, with some really great wooden Christmas ornaments. Now something for all our Polish friends: hand carved, wooden figurines and smokers, made in (you guessed it!) Poland. Really unique pieces carved with excellent detail. We will have a shipment of matrushkas and more, direct from "mother russia". Last year, our old supplier botched our shipment and was banished to the gulags in Siberia (we hope). We also found a new maker of olive wood ornaments, nativities , and decorations hand-carved in the holy land, and sure to please all.

Not to worry, of course we will have loads of all the newest introductions from all of our regular suppliers that you have come to know and love. There will be more sports items this year than last; look for your favorite teams. Finally (and none too late, some smart alleck will say), there will be a lot of other new lines and additions that I'm just getting too darn old to remember! Old age is not for sissies, but my 85 year old friend "Jack"tells me not to complain about it because "it's only a temporary condition".