By Ivan Pereira
The Christmas season may be winding down, but an Ozone Park store is going to continue to help shoppers ring in the spirit with its enormous selection of holiday decorations, trinkets and gifts.
For the last 15 years, House of Holiday, at 90-02 Atlantic Ave., has offered holiday gifts from September to January but unlike other shops that offer a few cards, ornaments or lights, the store has two full floors of merchandise.
Its owner, Larry Gurino, said people from as far as Connecticut have flocked to his store to pick out the right decoration that would add that extra sense of cheer to their Christmas.
“It’s a fun, exciting time of the year,” the 46-year-old father of two said as he was tending to customers last week.
Among the items available for purchase are ornaments of all sizes, artificial trees, lights that hang from roofs, walls and ceilings and homemade wreaths and centerpieces.
The second floor is filled with a wide selection of trees, including ones with themed ornaments already set on the evergreen. Some of the choices include a New York Yankees-themed tree, an Elvis-themed tree and a Christian-themed tree.
“You can’t get all of these ornaments in one place anywhere else,” Gurino said.
The store’s most sought-after gifts are the pieces for miniature Christmas villages. The owner said many customers make their villages personal and they always seek the right piece.
“Say if your son is a police officer, you want to put a police station in the village. It’s all sentimental,” he said.
Gurino said he has a long experience with Christmas sales. He used to sell trees outside the store’s location and at the time the three-story building used to be a factory that created artificial trees.
When the factory closed down in 1996, Gurino bought the property to create a piano store, but he wanted to keep the location’s holiday traditions alive. Every September through the end of January, the store scales back on its piano showroom, which turns into a winter wonderland.
Initially, House of Holiday was secluded to one room on the first floor, but over the last 15 years it has grown to include two floors. Gurino said he is not done with the expansion and has recently launched houseofholiday.com to include online sales.
The owner said he would love for customers outside the tri-state area to purchase items from his store because he enjoys spreading Christmas cheer without having to ride a sleigh.
“It’s about the birth of Christ and giving and receiving,” he said.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
