Christmas Tradition, New England Style

There's a light snow falling in my little corner of central Massachusetts, and the ground is covered with a thin layer of white. I've decided to spend the day in a long flannel nightgown and cozy robe, with a new pair of slippers on my feet and a piping hot cup of coffee beside me that my youngest daughter hand-labeled with some paper as tape as my "hot brewing morning potion." Never mind that it's well past noon.

There's a wonderful tradition in the Boston area that I was lucky enough to experience recently. It's the Enchanted Village, a collection of vintage store window displays that used to make their appearance at the old Jordan Marsh department store each year, along with freshly baked blueberry muffins. The department store is long since closed, but the village lives on thanks to a local furniture store that bought the displays and offers them free to the public each year in a nice, warm space where fake bubble snow falls from the sky every few minutes to the lovely strains of "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." They offer the blueberry muffins, too. They're not free, but they are worth the indulgence!

I hope you enjoy these photos of Boston's famous Enchanted Village!