Every year since we came back to Paris, we go to the department stores to soak up the Christmas spirit.

The level of decorations is very variable from year to year and from store to store. I dream of one day having the magic combo with perfect displays in all the stores at the same time.

Today I take you to the BHV in the Marais and to the Bon Marché rive gauche.

The BHV

This year’s Christmas theme at BHV is “Noël en Provence”.

I found the windows pretty, but not very festive. The little goats are cute and are almost the only animated part of the displays.

The Christmas store with gift ideas is on the first floor, but what really interested me was the decorations department. It was a bit drab like the display windows.

The color was brought by the decorations.

The most interesting department at the BHV is the creative hobby department. It is very well stocked, which allows you to make a lot of Christmas crafts. You can also find everything you need to make a beautiful Christmas table.

There is also a nice department of gift wrapping paper and boxes and a varied selection of greeting cards.

The Bon Marché

The windows

At the Bon Marché, , some very cute dolls are making Christmas ornaments in the windows. As for the BHV, I found the scenes lacking in color.

The gift store

The gift store is divided into two spaces located on the ground floor and the first floor. Good surprise, this year the gifts are original, but not completely crazy and above all there is something for every budget (for those who don’t know the Bon Marché, it’s only in name).

On the ground floor, it is possible to buy personalized items. We fell in love with Christmas cookies. We chose the designs already prepared, but it is possible to personalize them with a picture.

The Christmas tree

On the 2nd floor you will find the Christmas decorations department. This area is adorned with four large decorated trees and I love going there every year.

This year, Santa Claus was in the spotlight in the decorations. There were many sporty Santa’s, some of them very funny in balls.

The decorations really had a Christmas vibe to them unlike other years where they were very or even overly original. Here are some of my favorites.

I didn’t take any pictures, but the must-see departments during the holidays (and even all year long) are the stationery/books department on the 2nd floor and the children’s department on the top floor. The children’s books, clothes and toys department is for me the most beautiful of all the Parisian department stores. The space is really enchanting, the toys very well exposed. The children love it because it is a space created for them.

On Instagram my followers like me to take them with me when I go to the department stores at Christmas so I hope you enjoyed the walk.

See you soon!