From acrobats to Thirties showgirls, the lavish store window displays lighting up New York this holiday season

By Sadie Whitelocks

PUBLISHED: 19:24 EST, 26 November 2012 | UPDATED: 19:29 EST, 26 November 2012

Getting into the holiday spirit stores across the country have transformed their window displays into theatrical sets stuffed with fir trees, tinsel and twinkling lights.

Opting for a traditional motif, Saks has dressed the facade of its New York flagship with snowflakes, while Lord & Taylor's windows depict a number of festive scenes from Santa in his workshop to children playing on snow-covered slopes.

However Barneys has taken creativity to new heights, with a Disney collaboration that re-imagines Minnie Mouse and her pals as runway models, strutting down the Paris catwalk in designer gear from the likes of Balenciaga, Balmain and Lanvin.

Time travel: Berdorf Goodman's windows were inspired by entertainments such as the Ziegfeld Follies, Vaudeville revues and Busby Berkeley's Hollywood musicals of the 1930s

According to Fashionista, Disney's animation team brought a real-life model to the studio to get the perfect runway walk and facial expressions for the project.

Sarah Jessica Parker was recruited to unveil the holiday window designs and scores of shoppers turned out for the event.

Moving away from the traditional: Bloomingdale's' windows are influenced by James Cameron's new film titled Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away, which hits theaters December 21

Live show: Contortionists and clowns of Cirque du Soleil delighted crowds of onlookers as part of the official unveiling of holiday windows at Bloomingdale's flagship location

Sales of themed Disney merchandise stocked in store will help benefit the Sandy relief effort.

The Jazz Age is a huge trend this winter, with the imminent release of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, and two big-name department stores in Manhattan have opted for retro themes.

Henri Bendel's shopfront harks back to the Roaring 20s and Gilberto Santana, the store's assistant visual merchandiser, worked with the Brooklyn Museum, which has thousands of old dress sketches, to get the required look.

Vintage feel: Henri Bendel brings the roaring 20s back to New York

Authentic: Henri Bendel's assistant visual merchandiser, worked with the Brooklyn Museum, which has thousands of old dress sketches, to get the perfect look

Similarly Bergdorf Goodman has recreated a super-luxe version of 'the sumptuous atmosphere of the Ziegfeld Follies, the verve of Busby Berkeley’s Hollywood musicals, and the bounce of Vaudeville revues,' according to a release.

Designs from labels such as Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Alexander McQueen have been used to dress mannequins, who appear as Thirties showgirls.

Meanwhile Macy's, which was the first department store in New York to do holiday windows, goes back to basics with a Magic of Christmas theme.

Festive theme: Saks' Fifth Avenue flagship store features a snowflake light show projected onto the building

Minimalism: This year Saks' windows are all about snow

Its windows celebrate holiday traditions 'through the ages', taking inspiration from iconic New York scenes, The Nutcracker and Miracle on 34th Street.

One of the most colourful holiday displays comes courtesy of Bloomingdale's.

Its windows take lead from James Cameron's new film titled Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away, which hits theaters December 21.

Theatrical: One of the holiday window displays at the Lord & Taylor flagship in New York

Christmas cheer: A Lord & Taylor window shows a snow-covered Central Park

John Klimkowski, Bloomingdale’s creative director of visual merchandising, worked for months with Paramount and Cirque teams to bring the project to life.

The art of window dressing has a long history, reaching its heyday in the mid-20th century.

In 1938, Lord & Taylor ditched merchandise in their Christmas windows completely, instead displaying bells that swung in sync to the sound of recorded chiming bells.

Main attraction: Barneys' Disney window displays were unveiled by Sarah Jessica Parker

For a good cause: Sales of themed Disney merchandise at Barneys will go towards the Sandy relief effort

And when air-conditioning first became available, Neiman Marcus filled a copper tubing tree with coolant to frost its branches.

During the Fifties Washington, D.C.’s Woodward & Lothrop even put live penguins on display.

Today, in most cases teams of 30-100 people start planning the windows a full year in advance.