Christmas a Paris
For lovers of both Paris and Christmas, there are many shops in the City of Light that sell Parisian holiday ornaments and decorations–including Galeries Lafayette, Printemps, many souvenir shops and two wonderful boutiques–Il Etait Une Fois… at 6 Rue Ferdinand Duval in the Marais (Metro: Saint-Paul) and Christmas a Paris at 7 Rue de Conde (Metro: Odeon).
Il Etait Une Fois…
And while I’ve bought decor from all of these stores, I was craving something more–something bigger than just a few Paris ornaments for my tree.
Here’s what I came up with:
Eiffel Tower ornaments
I bought about 30 little metal Eiffel Tower key chains in a variety of colors at a souvenir shop on Boulevard de Clichy. They were priced at 10 key chains for 5 or 6 euros, I believe. When back in the States, I bought a small two-foot white lighted Christmas tree at a discount store for around $10. And then I hung the key chains by the round key-holder section on the tree’s branches.
Voila! An Eiffel Tower Christmas tree!
Eiffel Tower as a Christmas tree
The second idea came to me when a family member, who knows very well of my love of Paris (everyone who knows me knows of my love for Paris!), bought a large Christmas lawn display of the Eiffel Tower at Home Depot a couple of years ago. It’s about seven feet tall, white, covered with sequins and sparkles with lights the way the real Eiffel Tower does. (I think it cost about $150 at the time, although it’s now out of stock. I have seen it for sale on eBay, however, and this year I’ve seen similar–but smaller–such displays for sale at Lowes and Michaels.)
As I now live in an apartment, I don’t have a lawn to put it on. But I came up with a great indoor solution: I use it as an ad-hoc Christmas “tree,” and I hang all of the Christmas ornaments I’ve bought during my travels to Europe on it. (I’ve been very lucky to have traveled to–and bought Christmas ornaments in–France, England, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.) Voila! My European Christmas tree!
How do you celebrate your love for Paris when you decorate for the holidays?