U. Village facelift ushers in holiday season

Gentle music coming from violinists and silver-bell carolers, coupled with a toy soldier, Christmas tree, snowman and the Nutcracker mouse roaming the shopping center signal the arrival of the holiday season at U. Village.

From changed parking and store hours to store redesigns, U. Village is debuting its holiday facelift this weekend. For the season, U. Village is offering free valet parking, up to two hours of free childcare and gift-wrapping for donations. Shopper's Little Helpers are available to offer their services from gift ideas to restaurant recommendations.

Stores in U. Village have also been busy preparing for this holiday season; many have spent several weeks, in some cases months, ordering and decorating.

"We set everything up on the Sunday before Halloween. Basically, everyone had to stay from 7 p.m. to about 2 a.m. setting things up. The store was broken into themes and we split into groups, each focusing on one theme," said John Austin, a sales associate at Restoration Hardware.

The store was decked with themed trees, festive lights, several fireplaces and presents above shelves.

Next door, Pottery Barn opened after nine weeks of renovation. The store underwent a change that expanded it by almost 3,500 feet.

"We reopened last Saturday and we actually had a private preview the night before. We've been really busy preparing for the holiday season," said Jennifer Reeves, public relations coordinator at Pottery Barn.

Upon entering Pottery Barn, shoppers are greeted by employees, a red bed with a cozy holiday setting and a Christmas tree.

"All our holiday merchandise is now in and we've got a lot of pre-wrapped gifts out on the floor so people can grab what they want and go," said Reeves.

Kathy Fullerton, assistant manager at Ravenna Gardens, explained that this season, the focus of the store has been more toward interior decorating.

"This year, we worked on ways to make homes cozier. We had to do a total redo of the store. We set up five trees and each one has its own theme," said Fullerton.

Ravenna Gardens also participates in U. Village Friends and Family, through which shoppers can receive a 20 percent discount in the store on

Dec. 3.

Other events in U. Village for the season include the Festival of Lights Dec. 2, which will celebrate Hanukkah with the lighting of the U. Village menorah in front of Mrs. Cook's.

U. Village is also sponsoring "Peace on Earth and Mercy Mild" Dec. 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. with Seattle Mariners catcher Dan Wilson, who will be giving autographs in exchange for donations to All God's Children, the organization through which he adopted his children.

U. Village is hosting many donation programs, including the Sharing and Caring Tree, a way for shoppers to purchase gifts for needy children this holiday season. The tree, which has tags with gift items shoppers can buy to donate, is sponsored by the University Sunrise Rotary Club and Boy Scouts of America Troop 186.

The influx in events and shoppers at U. Village will be adequately matched with "more security for the holiday season," according to D.A. Humphrey, assistant director of security at U. Village.

Friday will kick off the holiday season officially, with the arrival of Santa Claus and the lighting of the Christmas tree behind Ben & Jerry's at 5:30 p.m. The free event will include music, entertainment and complementary hot chocolate from Starbucks.