An Islandwide attraction, the yearly Christmas display in Edgartown seems to appear overnight, but there’s a method to the magic.

Instead of elves, the town has the Christmas Decorations Committee.

The Vineyard Gazette will hold an informal open house on Friday, Dec. 13 from noon to 3 p.m. at its office at 34 South Summer street in Edgartown.

Thanksgiving is but a poor tired drumstick now as we look ahead to the holiday season. Whether you lean toward the pew or the jolly old elf, a time to reflect or a time to give gifts, the Christmas tree or the menorah, the month of December is a flat out celebration.

They are teachers, plumbers, bankers, artists, fishermen, scallopers, shopkeepers, retirees and twenty-somethings. And while all of these roles are important, this weekend the key characteristic that binds this seemingly disparate group is that they sing.

It’s all green this weekend as the West Tisbury School hosts a fundraiser at the Middletown Nursery on State Road in West Tisbury.

Twenty years ago Norman Lobb bought too many seedlings and Danny Whiting’s family had a fallow farm field. The mistake turned out to be a business opportunity, and this winter they are selling Christmas trees at L&W Farm in West Tisbury.

A mechanical Santa wrote with a quill inside Moonstone Jewelers window, a mannequin fashioned a poinsettia dress in Alley Cat’s and a toy train zipped around photographs of snowy Vineyard days inside Island Art Gallery.

All were admired by the crowds assembled on Main street in Vineyard Haven on Tuesday, but Mix’s storefront — adorned with vintage toys stuffed in coffee cups — earned the best window award, given by four high school art students.

The wind blows hard as Mark Crossland and his crew assemble the last of 18 Christmas trees in Ocean Park. Mr. Crossland and Alisson Brasil tie a rope in a knot at the end of a pole, mount the pole in the ground, cable the rope down, and start wrapping Christmas lights around the six-foot tree.

The guys zip-tie the string to the ropes, and splice each light to prevent burn-out. It takes the crew about a week to fill Ocean Park with the trees, which for now look a bit naked in the sunlight.

But at night?

If you're not feeling quite ready for the holidays, if the
festive mood hasn't grabbed you, don't worry. You're
not alone.

With six shopping days left until Christmas, Tisbury merchants say the women will come early, the men late. Parking will be tough, but when isn't it? And though the wind may be cold the shops are warm, and the white lights of a Main street night alone make it worth the walk.

Vineyard Haven store owners are hoping this weekend will bring a rush to boost holiday business. December is usually one of the more profitable months of the year, but so far sales have been lackluster.