it's beginning to look a lot like "christmas"

Yes, that's the word. I think there's entirely too much of this "happy holidays" and "season's greetings" stuff going on! Who cares if Santa goes and stands on the steps of City Hall, after all, we have separation of church and state and all that! To me, it's still christmastime, and 'old Saint Nick' really is not a religious fellow to me at all, it's just an excuse to have some fun!

I think, what the season is really about is gift-giving and parties! It's all sales, festivities and fun activities, to help us enjoy the time of year where it is dark in the morning, dark at 4:00 in the afternoon and the weather is cold. This year, preparations for christmas have started long before the traditional black friday beginning to the holiday season. Trees are up, stores are decorated, and the Rockefeller Center tree will be lit in a week. They are working like crazy to get it ready, here's a sneak peek!

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Businesses take this all very seriously, after all, retailers depend on the holiday season for a big portion of their business, us included! If you take a look at robertachiarella.com, you'll see all kinds of promotions and discounts to help people acquire some great jewelry at more affordable prices. In these tough times, who wants to cut back on jewelry?

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So, we went through our list, checked it twice, and rolled back prices on over 100 items, taking $10 off here, $20 off there, to give customers some great bargains for gift giving! We'll also gift wrap your jewelry, and a big shipment of boxes and ribbons has been delivered to the studio. We've got a holiday "2 for 1" special, so if you buy 2 items, we'll buy you a christmas present from our special section. The new 'mi prima' bangle is selling quickly, people loved it when I first made this piece years ago, the re-introduced bracelet is available in three colors and is makes a beautiful gift!

If you're in town, make sure to check out the store windows, we walked past Saks the other day and the windows were covered over while the elves prepare another beautiful display, I think it'll be unveiled next week. So, even though I haven't even gotten ready for thanksgiving, the whole city is preparing for christmas! It's a good thing we're all going over to cousin Diane's house to enjoy the day with the whole family. By the time I get back, Santa will have taken up his seat on the sleigh and the christmas season will be in full force! Ciao.