Photo gallery: The retail windows of Christmas 2008

For as long as the Tiny Tims of the world have pressed their noses against store windows in December and pined for the toys they could (and could not) have, the retail window display has been a fixture of holiday merchandising and marketing plans. And there is probably no place in the world that does holiday window merchandising better than New York City.

Dave Pinter, one of the writers for the trend-watch site PSFK, recently took to the streets with camera in hand to find the most innovative holiday displays, and he has been kind enough to share them with us. Sifting through the images, Dave identified a trend that many of the retailers seemed to want to connect with, and that is a sense of tradition.

Three retailers in particular stood out to him for their efforts at connecting with the shopper's desire to feel grounded in tradition of one sort or another:

Bergdorf Goodman mixes "history and modern style using layered black and white illustrations. One window shows a stylishly dressed switchboard operator, another is about card writing."

ABC Carpet and Home use its windows to "inspire people to think about tolerance towards differing religious beliefs and being better stewards of the planet. The designers mixed different religious artifacts with pieces from the store's sustainable furniture and accessories collections."

Anthropologie "induces some nostologic chaos into their windows adjacent to Rockefeller Center. Each window takes a traditional decorative item and, well that's where it gets out of hand." (One of Anthropologie's wonderfully out-of-hand displays is seen to the right.)

View the photo gallery, and read Dave Pinter's complete analysis.