Jim Cardosa, the visual merchandiser behind the whimsical "Commedia dell'Arte" display at Shreve & Co., says the biggest mistake home holiday decorators can make is ignoring what should be the natural shape of their holiday decorations.

"They take their garland or their trees out of storage and they don't spend enough time fluffing them," Cardosa says. "They put them up all smashed and wonder why it doesn't look good."

Cardosa, who has been director of the Shreve & Co.'s holiday displays for 13 years, says keeping decorations simple is a good choice. Take out a small number of beautiful items from your holiday collection, or buy new ones, and decorate around those items, he says.

"Try to really have a few items, really beautiful things, rather than a lot of tchotchkes," he says.

If you are planning on purchasing a live tree for your festivities this year, Cardosa suggests asking the tree seller

Use a drill bit that is just a little smaller than the diameter of the branch and hold the branch into place with hot glue.

"You can make the perfect tree, believe it or not, by doing that," he says. "I do it all the time."

A decorator who is interested in contemporary, minimalist designs should focus on jewel tones — such as gold, silver or copper — says Jary Porter, vice president of special projects for visual merchandising at Macy's San Francisco.

Macy's visual merchandisers have chosen to use just one color in some holiday displays, a method of decorating the amateur embellisher can easily copy.

"We are focused on a totally red environment," says James Bellante, senior vice president of visual merchandising for Macy's San Francisco. The walls, the floor, the trees and the merchandise are all red in one window. Decorate your home with red tablecloths, classic red bows on the tree, red candles and red Christmas ornaments.

"The great thing is that now you don't have to stay with the traditional holiday colors," she says. "If your favorite color is fuchsia you can do an entire fuchsia tree."

If you are just starting to get the bug to decorate for the holidays, Penna suggests coming up with a theme. If you like birds, find as many birds as you can to decorate with. If you prefer trains, look for ornaments with trains on them.

Andrew Alford, style manager for Kimpton Hotels which includes Hotel Monaco at Geary and Taylor streets and Hotel Palomar on Fourth and Market streets, says many collections can begin with the collector choosing one color and building on that color for years to come.

"If you start off with a basic, minimal color you can add to that," he says. Try gold, white or a clear color.

Hotel Monaco is a magnet for world travelers, Alford says, and travelers who collect knick-knacks may be well-served putting those items in the holiday box.

"The little items that you might find at international markets or souvenir shops make great Christmas tree decorations," he says.

For a more modern look, Alford suggests buying large glass cylinders, 3 or 4 feet tall, and filling them with winter fruits like pomegranates, oranges and lemons or round glass ornaments.

"Doing a grouping of three of those each filled with different fruits or holiday bulbs works really well in that sort of setting," he says.

Large homes have the space to create the dramatic effect of multiple Christmas trees in the living room. Buy three trees of different sizes — one small, one medium and one large — and group them together for a lush holiday display.

As for decorating the tree, buy many more ornaments than you think you'll need, Alford says.

"No matter how many ornaments you have, get half as many more," he says. "That's the key to getting that professional-looking holiday tree."

Nordstrom has thrown shades of aqua into its display this year, along with the traditional colors of red, green and silver. Customers can expect to see magnolia leaves and hand-blown glass pieces in each of the store windows.

Cuteness abounds at the Macy's store as the retailer has paired with the San Francisco SPCA for the third year in row to present animals available for adoption to visitors and shoppers alike. This year's window theme is a takeoff on an old movie theater design, complete with a movie marquee in the corner window. The dogs, puppies, cats and kittens up for adoption are housed in boxes marked "coming attractions" which have clever movie titles such as "It's a Wonderful Nine Lives."

No detail is overlooked in these boxes — the "It's a Wonderful Nine Lives" display is complete with a miniature piano and Christmas tree, family picture frames with photos of other cats, a staircase with mice on it and a pet couch fit for a movie star.

In the center Macy's window, animated cats and dogs are featured in a charming "pup-parazzi" occasion. Marilyn Meow (Monroe) and Carey Cat (Grant) are walking down a red carpet while animated dogs with cameras take their pictures. Hollywood's legendary pet stars are also honored with their own Walk of Fame along the sidewalk in front of the display.

Pets will be available for adoption from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until Dec. 26. Volunteers with the SPCA are in abundance at the windows, selling chocolates to benefit the shelter and helping soft-hearted folks with adoptions.

Yum! Trails of frosting and gum drop hedges line the outside of the Westin St. Francis' gingerbread castles, which are displayed past the seating area at the entrance and toward the bar and registration area. Chef Jean Francois Houdre has paid close attention to detail this year, placing characters in lofty windows throughout the castle. In the back of the registration area is the hotel's lush Christmas tree decorated with large glass icicles and several dozen birds nests with colorful feathers and eggs inside.

Hotel decorators use the Marriott's most striking feature — its bronze "Joi De Danse" sculpture by Elbert Wienberg located in the third-floor lobby — as a centerpiece for its holiday display. Decorators have suspended a Christmas tree in the center of the sculpture, so it looks like the characters of the "Joi De Danse" are dancing around the tree. Handmade snowflakes are suspended from the different floors of the hotel's 21-story atrium, which is covered in lights.

Capitalizing on its w
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