Ornaments

Karen S. Kim DOWNTOWN -- As the gobbling, feathered icon of Thanksgiving is forced to give way to the mighty Evergreen symbol of the rapidly approaching Christmas holiday, Macy's Holiday Lane in the Glendale Galleria does what it can to pay homage. The store offers 22 fully decorated trees laden with ornaments for sale, nutcrackers, snow globes and tree-topping angels. "It's going great," said store manager Jilbert Shahdaryan. "We have been really busy.

Judy Seckler DOWNTOWN -- An enthusiastic pack of Wilson Middle School students donated a live Christmas tree and 40 handmade Christmas ornaments to the YWCA Domestic Violence Project, which has three shelters for battered women and their children. The 7-foot tree and gifts were delivered Friday afternoon by 12 students, Wilson teacher specialist Martha Wilson and three other advisors. The project came about when a notice was placed in the school bulletin, Wilson said.

Green hands cut from construction paper were clustered on a bulletin board in the Valley View Elementary School auditorium to form a fir tree. It may be just 7 feet of paper, but the students at Valley View see the tree as a symbol of compassion. Children tacked ornaments of many colors, with deeds of compassion written on them, on the tree Thursday morning. They call it their "hand"-made holiday tree and it's part of an ongoing program at Valley View to help the fourth-graders recognize and contribute to compassion in their everyday lives.

Claudia Peschiutta BRAND PARK -- The Glendale Historical Society is getting ready to take people back to a time when ornaments were status symbols and Christmas cards were rare. The group's seventh annual Candlelight Tours of the Doctors' House in Brand Park will recreate a traditional Victorian Christmas, complete with 19th-entury ornaments and reenactments of typical scenes from the period. Tours will be held Saturday and Dec. 18. "It's a way of connecting with the past to maybe remind people of what it was like when their grandparents were around," said museum curator Isabelle Meyer.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Every year, Glendale city officials come out with strings of thousands of lights and bulbous ornaments to decorate the city's Christmas tree. It has been a tradition in the city, coupled with the city's annual tree lighting, which this year takes place on Wednesday. But after an arson fire last year destroyed all ornaments and garnishing, decorators face a new challenge — rebuilding from the ground up. "This year we started from scratch because of the arson," Operation Supervisor Lisa Nolan said.

Judy Seckler DOWNTOWN Glendale Hallmark Gold Crown Stores are set to launch today a new selection of more than 200 Keepsake Ornaments. Get those credit cards ready. At Rosy's Hallmark Shop at the Glendale Galleria, the store will carry new designs of Barbie, Star Wars Episode 1, Dr. Seuss and Disney classic characters, Manager Gennie Roman, 25, said. "Customers with Hallmark Gold Crown cards who purchase ornaments today will receive double bonus points."

History and actors under candlelight The Victorian Doctor?s House at Brand Park will host candlelight tours of the museum Dec. 8 and 15. The museum will be decorated with greenery and antique ornaments, live yuletide music and refreshments with tableaux vivants, or docent actors, will be available in each room. Continuous tours ? sponsored by the Glendale Historical Society ? will lead attendees through the house with candlelight to preserve the historical context of a Victorian-era holiday.

With a week to spare before Christmas, several Glendale organizations gave toys to needy families Saturday, making sure disadvantaged children wake up to gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. At the New Horizons Family Center, about 3,000 families received toys collected by New Horizons, the California Highway Patrol and Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer's office. A similar giveaway took place at the Salvation Army's Windsor Road campus, where 382 families received food for a Christmas dinner as well as gifts.

It was a wonderful evening for all, the Christmas Craft Night at the Center for Children at La Crescenta Presbyterian Church on Dec.7. Youths from the community made holiday crafts, door hangers and ornaments with their family, friends and teachers. The CFC staff opened their classroom doors to accommodate this annual tradition. Magic was in the air as Santa Claus and his elf poised for picture with the children throughout the evening. Before the crafts began at 6:30 p.m., there was the opportunity to enjoy dinner in Koopmans Hall.

On Sunday afternoon when many teenagers were hanging out at the mall, about 40 Assisteens from the Glendale Assistance League spent their time wrapping gifts for Glendale families in need at the league chapter house. The gifts, mostly clothing and toys, were decorated with layers of colorful wrapping paper, buttons and bows. League mom Jo Ann Kenney helped the girls shop, league "Adopt a Family" Coordinator Diane Davies supervised her charges doing the wrapping and league Assisteens Co-coordinator Andrea Farestveit made sure the whole operation ran smoothly.

CITY HALL — It took a security cable and a lock to assure the safety of a wreath placed on the city’s veterans memorial Wednesday, a day after a nutcracker statue was stolen from Brand Boulevard. The wreath, dedicated for the first time by the Glendale Chamber of Commerce’s Citizenship and Patriotism Committee, was an effort to show appreciation for troops who had sacrificed their lives so that others could enjoy occasions like the holidays in freedom, said Mirna Stanley, the committee’s chairwoman.

Christmas came early this year — at least by Assistance League of Glendale standards. “Christmas in August” was the theme of the league’s every-other-year, eagerly anticipated sale. Hundreds of Christmas items — from holiday decorations to jewelry, silverware and crystal were up for grabs at the Thrift Alley on Harvard Street from Thursday through Saturday. In fact, if thrifty shoppers could stand the wait, all Christmas items were half price on Saturday.

Remember when you were taught how to safely cross the street as a kid? Most likely, you were told to look both ways for oncoming cars before stepping off the curb. Then to take a third look just to be sure. Only when you were certain no traffic was coming from either direction did you quickly — as in “hurry, hurry, HURRY!” — cross the street. What a concept. I’ve thought about this archaic bit of parental advice quite often this school year. Actually, I’m reminded of it almost every morning and afternoon when I drop off or pick up my youngest son at CV High School.

History and actors under candlelight The Victorian Doctor?s House at Brand Park will host candlelight tours of the museum Dec. 15. The museum will be decorated with greenery and antique ornaments, live yuletide music and refreshments with tableaux vivants, or docent actors, will be available in each room. Continuous tours ? sponsored by the Glendale Historical Society ? will lead attendees through the house with candlelight to preserve the historical context of a Victorian-era holiday.

Green hands cut from construction paper were clustered on a bulletin board in the Valley View Elementary School auditorium to form a fir tree. It may be just 7 feet of paper, but the students at Valley View see the tree as a symbol of compassion. Children tacked ornaments of many colors, with deeds of compassion written on them, on the tree Thursday morning. They call it their "hand"-made holiday tree and it's part of an ongoing program at Valley View to help the fourth-graders recognize and contribute to compassion in their everyday lives.

It was a wonderful evening for all, the Christmas Craft Night at the Center for Children at La Crescenta Presbyterian Church on Dec.7. Youths from the community made holiday crafts, door hangers and ornaments with their family, friends and teachers. The CFC staff opened their classroom doors to accommodate this annual tradition. Magic was in the air as Santa Claus and his elf poised for picture with the children throughout the evening. Before the crafts began at 6:30 p.m., there was the opportunity to enjoy dinner in Koopmans Hall.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Every year, Glendale city officials come out with strings of thousands of lights and bulbous ornaments to decorate the city's Christmas tree. It has been a tradition in the city, coupled with the city's annual tree lighting, which this year takes place on Wednesday. But after an arson fire last year destroyed all ornaments and garnishing, decorators face a new challenge — rebuilding from the ground up. "This year we started from scratch because of the arson," Operation Supervisor Lisa Nolan said.