Marshall Field's Christmas Windows

A tour of the window displays at the historic State Street flagship department store features Uncle Mistletoe, Santa's ambassador of good will and Christmas spirit. The much-beloved winged elf was created in 1946 by Field's designer Johanna Viehe-Naess Osborne to compete with Montgomery Ward's Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. His partner Aunt Holly arrived two years later.

Marshall Field's became (ugh!) Macy's in 2006. Although the Santa Claus and Cinderella windows seen near the beginning of this video date to the Field's era, Macy's 2012-2013 displays are featured. Oddly enough, the latter are a nod to history at "111 N. State." Though no match in quality to the elaborate displays of yore, these windows nonetheless celebrate the Great Tree, Walnut Room, Frango Mint kitchen, Cozy Cloud Cottage, and the multistory Christmas decorations in the atriums - all Marshall Field's traditions established long ago.

Inspiration for this video came from three Christmas classics of the 1950s: the animated shorts Suzy Snowflake, Frosty the Snowman; and Hardrock, Coco and Joe. If you watched WGN-TV's Bozo's Circus back in the day, chances are you'll recall those B&W cartoons. Crudely animated, yes, but those cloying songs stuck to our memories like flypaper. That's what the Uncle Mistletoe song you'll hear in this video is like!