Store window Christmas displays have been a 30-year tradition for the owners of Crystal Gallery on East Canal.

This year the display has expanded from four to six windows, each with a different Christmas scene to depict Christmas around the world.

Store manager Katy Jarrell began pitching ideas to her mother and shop owner Norma Kleinfeld in September.

Once the themes were agreed upon, the family gathered supplies. For the around the world theme, Jarrell ordered mannequins online, Kleinfeld’s husband Roland built a Germanic inspired sled, and Jarrell re-decorated and rebuilt the top of a Christmas themed carousel Kleinfeld built for past window displays.

The scenes include a nativity and Christmas scenes inspired by the ancestry of the Kleinfeld family; a Spanish inspired scene for Norma and a Germanic inspired scene for Roland, said Jarrell. The largest display is of the Christmas carousel that features mannequins in costumes inspired by the Christmas traditions in various countries.   

Details like the canvas star covered backdrop, the faux-snow covered floors and the lighting, angled to shine down on Jesus in the manger, are time consuming to put together, Jarrell said.

“We love children and we do this as a gift to the city,” Jarrell said.

Her mother Norma was first inspired to create elaborate Christmas window displays by the Maison Blanche in New Orleans, Jarrell said, and the family plans to continue the Christmas tradition.