The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

22 economist sunsuntribune diversions saturday nov 26 2005 new generation of lights snow globes lead way in decorating trends staff photosteve somerville violet is a trendy decorating colour as diane burton sylvia burton and eileen apps found out while admiring this christmas tree at the richmond hill cana dian tire blue in shades from electric to ice is also hot along with lime green pink and purple but traditional colours such as red and gold never go out of style led lights below are popular pardy because theyre energy efficient by roger varley staff writer how do you spell christmas tryled led light emitting diode christmas lights are all the rage this year similar to the rush on icicle lights a few years ago and the newest thing in led lights are those that change from red to green and red to blue they are hot confirmed janet yamazaki a supervisor at a richmond hill canadian tire store some stores are already running out those who like them point out they use 90 per cent less energy than regular lights but the lights also have their detractors such as nancy gilford of hansens christ mas stuff a markhambased dec orations wholesaler the colours arent good she said for example the white lights are actually a bluewhite hansens doesnt yet stock or sell led lights she said she also pointed to the cost of leds adding prices will likely decrease in time a set of 70led minilights sells for about 13 or more com pared to approximately 11 for a string of 200 regular minilights and mitch levine of illumina tions a richmond hill company that custom decorates home exteriors said led lights are wired in such a way they dont allow for strings to be shortened when necessary artificial trees complete with builtin lights especially leds are gaining in popularity as are simuarly equipped garlands and wreaths because of the ease with which they can be put up without the mess of a natural tree but there are artificial trees and then there are artificial trees ms gifford cautioned the best ones have lots of tips and lights for those who prefer a natural tree theres a stand on the market that will save them a lot of time setting up once the tree is in the stand the base can be swiveled and locked to make sure the tree is straight and it comes with a reservoir for automatic watering inflatable figures are big sell ers ms yamazaki said with licenced products such as homer simpson and spongebob squarepants proving more popu lar than snowmen or santa claus es but the hottest items in that field are plugin snow globes which retail for around 150 snow globes as the name sug- staff photosteve somerville andrew vance and elizabeth goldenberg are mesmerized by this snow globe on display at a richmond hill canadian tire store gests are large inflated transpar ent balls containing figures such as snowmen and penguins that are showered with a constant flow of plastic pellets resembling snow they go out as soon as we can get them ms yamazaki said more and more people are decorating the outside of their homes and inflatables are fun ms gifford said if there is a major decorating trend this year it appears to be in colour although traditional reds and greens remain as strong as ever a variety of other colours are receiving attention trends and fads aside many of her customers want oldfashioned rich elegant items ms blackwell said one of the centrepoints of the canadian tire stores christmas section is a tree decorated in vio let but equally eyecatching are the range of blues from electric to ice colour trends for this year and next include lime greens pinks and hot purples as well as bur gundy and gold ms gifford said burgundy and golds are by far the most traditional and they sell the best she said but she added there will be a market for new colours with so many homeowners now using beiges and neutral colours in their home decor jackie blackwell of the snow man factory in woodbridge also sees burgundy and gold as being among the most popular colours but says browns amber and cop per are big in her store perhaps thats because about 75 per cent of the decorations sold at the store are handcrafted at the snowman factory i always try to be aware of whats going on but im not dic tated by it she said of trends if they say a pink christmas is hot im not doing it among popular items in her store this year are those featur ing feathers especially her fairy ornaments pinning down trends is diffi cult ms gifford said it depends a lot on where one lives urban and funky are impor tant in the gta she said on the west coast its more rustic cana da is divided as to what sells where trends and fads aside many of her customers want oldfash ioned rich elegant items ms blackwell said people want beautiful things that will last many christmases she said our customers are willing to pay a little more but lack of money doesnt mean lack of taste i think christmas is tradition al she added everyyear manu facturers come out with new stuff but the traditional works but even with traditional theres a catch made in canada rarely most christmas decorations come from china ms gifford said as for those icicle lights peo ple are still buying them ms yamazaki said hbwi rwhb 3e3hs3as2i seu locally get local exposure for your business by advertisingin york region business times our business readership includes owners managers and other key decision makers as well as chamber of commerce and board of trade members affordable advertising campaigns tailored to small and large businesses ad rates start at 70 per month and include professional copywritjng and design gill our sales department for information 9055131 717 targeted distribution of 1 6000 monthly copies