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The New York holiday season is not one event. It is two, and there are four weeks between them. Thanksgiving falls on 26 November, Christmas Day four weeks and two days later, and almost every install we do happens inside that window. The studios that make it look effortless are the ones that started in October.
This is how we work through those weeks at Alaric Flower Design: what each holiday actually needs, what we build, and when the booking has to happen for it to be possible at all.
Thanksgiving: the table is the whole job
Thanksgiving is a seated holiday. Nobody is walking around with a drink looking at your mantel, they are sitting down for three hours looking at each other across a table. That single fact decides the design.
Centerpieces go low, or they go tall and bare-stemmed so the sightline passes underneath. Anything in the middle at eye height gets moved to the sideboard within ten minutes of people sitting down, which is a waste of the flowers and a waste of your money. We build to be looked over, not around.
The palette follows the market rather than a catalogue. Late November is the last of the dahlias, the best of the garden roses, and the beginning of the branch and berry material that carries through to Christmas. Working to what is actually good that week costs less than specifying a colour and forcing it, and it looks considerably better on the day.
Most Thanksgiving work is booked in the fortnight beforehand. It is the one part of the season where leaving it slightly late is survivable. More on the detail in our guide to Thanksgiving flowers and tablescapes, and for companies sending to clients and staff, corporate Thanksgiving gifts.
The four weeks in between
The weekend after Thanksgiving is when the city turns over. Trees arrive, lobbies change, and our install calendar goes from quiet to full in about four days. Good transitional work uses the overlap rather than ignoring it: brass and rust and deep red carry from one holiday to the other, with evergreen and cones brought in underneath.
Christmas trees, measured before they are ordered
We source the tree, deliver it, set it in a stand and dress it in the room. The height is measured against your ceiling before we order rather than guessed at the lot, which is the difference between a tree that fills the room and one that has had eighteen inches sawn off the top in your hallway.
- Tree sourced to your ceiling height, measured beforehand
- Delivery, stand and setup in the room you want it
- Dressed in your own ornaments, ours, or a scheme we design
- Takedown and removal in January, booked at the same time
Book the takedown when you book the tree. It is the slot everyone forgets, and in the first full week of January it is the one everybody wants at once.
Wreaths and garlands, made to the door they hang on
A wreath bought off a shelf is a diameter. A wreath made for your door is a proportion. We measure, and we build in fresh greens, or in preserved and dried material where the spot gets no shelter and a fresh wreath would be brown by the second week.
Garlands are measured for the mantel, bannister or doorframe rather than cut to a standard length and bunched up at the ends to make them fit.
If you would rather make your own, we wrote the history and method of holiday wreaths, and we teach it in our studio classes.
The Christmas table
Christmas dinner has the same sightline problem as Thanksgiving, with candles added. We build low and we keep the flame clear of the material, which sounds obvious and is the single most common fault in arrangements people buy elsewhere in December.
Two directions tend to come up. The traditional one is red, berry and silver, with weight and shine. The other is quieter, worked in gold, cream, cinnamon and dried material, and it tends to suit a modern room better.
Offices, lobbies and client floors
Commercial work runs on a different clock. Building management will almost always want a certificate of insurance from us before we come near the loading dock, and the service elevator has to be booked. We handle that paperwork with your building directly, but it takes time, and that, rather than the design, is the real reason corporate decorating has to be booked earlier than a living room.
- Lobby and reception installations scaled to the ceiling and the sightline from the door
- Boardroom and client-floor arrangements, refreshed through December if you want them kept
- Install outside business hours where the building allows it
- Takedown and full removal in January
If you are also planning a party, see corporate holiday party flowers. For year-round programmes, we run office floral design and residential floral design.
How the season actually runs
- Now through late November. Enquiries, site visits, measurements, and building paperwork for commercial jobs.
- The week of 30 November onward. Installs begin. Most residential trees and decorating happen in the first two weeks of December.
- Mid December. The last reliable window for a full install before Christmas. Fresh arrangements for a specific date are timed individually.
- January. Takedown and removal, booked in advance alongside the install.
If you are hosting on a particular night, tell us the date. Fresh arrangements are timed to be at their best on the evening that matters, not on the morning we install.
What it costs
Every job is quoted to the space. A wreath on a single door and a lobby install are not comparable, and the same tree costs differently depending on the floor it goes to and whether we are dressing it. Tell us the space, the week and roughly what you picture, and we will come back with an estimate. There is no charge for the conversation and no deposit to enquire.
Frequently asked questions
When should I book holiday decorating in NYC?
For a residential install, start the conversation in late October or early November. For an office or lobby, earlier, because building paperwork and elevator scheduling take longer than the design does. Install slots run in the order they are reserved.
Do you supply the Christmas tree as well as decorate it?
Yes. We measure the ceiling, source the tree to that height, deliver it, set it in a stand and dress it in the room. We also book the January takedown at the same time.
Can you decorate with ornaments we already own?
Yes, and many clients prefer it. Have the boxes out before we arrive and we will work with what is there, filling in where the scheme needs it.
Do you do Thanksgiving as well as Christmas?
Yes. Thanksgiving is mostly table work and entrance flowers, booked in the two weeks beforehand. Christmas is trees, wreaths, garlands and mantels, and it needs more notice.
What do you need from my building?
Most Manhattan buildings require a certificate of insurance from any vendor working on site, and many restrict install to outside business hours. Send us your building vendor requirements with the enquiry and we will handle it.
How much does holiday decorating cost?
Every job is quoted to the space. A wreath on a single door and a lobby install are not comparable. Tell us the space, the week and roughly what you picture and we will come back with an estimate. There is no charge for the conversation.
Do you take everything down afterwards?
Yes. Takedown and removal happen in January and are booked alongside the install, which is the only way to be sure of the date you want.
Do you work outside Manhattan?
We decorate across Manhattan and take work in the nearer parts of Brooklyn and Queens depending on the week. Ask and we will tell you honestly whether we can do the date justice.
Book the season
Tell us the space, the dates you are hosting, and whether it is a home or a commercial floor. We will tell you honestly what is still possible on the calendar.
Call (212) 308-3794, email info@alaricflowers.com, or see full details and current availability on our holiday flowers and decor page.