Bloomingdale's holiday windows with Out of This World theme“Out of This World” holiday windows at Bloomingdale’s. Photo courtesy Bloomingdale’s

It’s the “most wonderful time of the year!” New York City’s department stores and luxury stores go all out and try to one-up their holiday windows from last year and their competitors this year. Every year the city’s biggest stores, Macy’sBergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and more, pull out all the stops to create spectacular holiday window displays. Designers, artists, and craftsmen work for months to make every detail of the intricate displays perfect.

Many retailers take it beyond the holiday windows now, sometimes designing decoration that takes over their whole flagship store. What’s your favorite?

1. Bergdorf Goodman

Bergdorf Goodman, the department store on Fifth Avenue between 57th and 58th streets always has some of the most artistic and luxurious holiday windows, in line with its design ethos catering to city’s most fashionable clientele. This year’s theme is “Bergdorf Good Times,” which “evokes a time-honored spirit of a holiday fête but with a twist” according to the department store.

It takes almost a year from conception to completion, with David Hoey, Senior Director of Visual Presentation at Bergdorf Goodman and his team of artisans using materials like Italian mosaic tile, neon lighting, needlecraft, embellished surfaces, and more to create a dazzling mini world within each window.