Making them shine

At this time of year, even doctors make house calls. It’s the season for visiting others at tree-trimming parties and Hanukkah happenings. And whether or not you’re the host, you have your own halls to deck.

Holiday decorations, which are designed to push our nostalgia button, no longer have to look as if they came from merry old England or turn-of-the-century Bavaria. Many are now created for boomers who want to play house like June and Ward Cleaver.

Even Christopher Radko, the emperor of ornaments, has added 1940s bubble lights to his line of nutcracker-sweet baubles.

This year, postwar Futurist designs return to the forefront. The stars -- or perhaps they are snowflakes -- on a felt stocking ($76, from www.garnethill.com) have a 1950s abstract artistry. The trend is also clear in glass ornaments handblown into Atomic Age shapes, and in lead-crystal dreidels that would look right at home on a 1970s Lucite table.

Glitter and metallic decorations have always had a home for the holidays, but this year’s crop can be as organic as a pearlescent pine cone or as machine-made as metalworker Michael Aram’s Skyline menorah, a collection of brushed stainless-steel candleholders that resemble the legs of a Florence Knoll cabinet.

Want a shot of pure glamour? Try highly reflective surfaces. A silvery star tree-topper with mirrored inlays makes a refreshing change from the traditional golden folkloric angel. For a sputnik spin, zoom out and get mirror-finished ornaments that resemble tiny satellites and spaceships.