By R. Kurt Osenlund, Bucks Local News

The local gardening shop will host its annual holiday open house this weekend, and help out an area organization in the process.

Beginning on Friday, Nov. 27, Stony Brook Gardens, the one-stop gardening shop at the corner of Yard Road and Route 31 in Pennington, will be hosting its annual holiday open house, a three-day kick-off event that will unveil Stony Brook's wide selection of ornaments, lights, greenery and other holiday trimmings.

“Many people don't know about our Christmas shop, but we've been doing it ever since we opened 20 years ago,” says store owner Kris Willey.

Those who do know about the Christmas shop can expect many of the same things that have appeared in previous years. For example, a boxed set of gold, frankincense and myrh is still a hot item, recommended, as Willey says, for “someone who has everything.” Russian hand-carved Santas, glass ornaments by Christopher Radko and authentic European embroidered linens will again be among the highlights of the holiday open house. And, as always, the homemade cookies of Eleanor Nelson, a longtime friend of Stony Brook, will be served at the event, along with coffee and tea.

According to Willey, some of the new items this year include a collection of blue and silver decorations, which have been given their own wing in the shop, and more natural knick-knacks such as bird houses and hand-carved mini gourds, which cover one of the many themed trees inside the store.

“We found last year that people really like natural things,” Willey says. “And we always try to make the looks different each year, based on different colors and styles.”

Near the far end of Stony Brook's front room, an abundance of music-themed ornaments can be found this year, including charming miniature versions of musical instruments. Willey says the new collection is in honor of the Princeton Girlchoir, members of which will be singing carols inside the store on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 11 a.m. This year's open house will serve as a fundraiser for the local choral group, which, after having a difficult financial year, will receive 20 percent of all sales throughout the weekend.

Of the fundraiser, Willey, says, “it's a good thing for (the Princeton Girlchoir), but it's also a good thing for us because it attracts more customers. It's just another avenue of having more people come into the store, while also supporting a worthy organization. It opens doors. We'd like to do more things like this in the future for other local organizations.”

Other attractions and products at the open house will include an array of handsomely decorated trees, icicle lights, tree stands, candles, tree toppers, garlands and hand-painted Ukrainian ornaments. Also available will be plenty of fresh, live holiday plants such as poinsettias, Christmas cactus, cyclamen and narcissus; arrangements such as wreaths, garlands and grave blankets; and, of course, Christmas trees, in varieties like Douglas Fir, Concolor Fir and Fraser Fir. According to Willey, all of the locally-grown trees will be cut just prior to delivery to ensure freshness and longevity.

The holiday open house will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29. For more information, contact Stony Brook Gardens at 609-737-7644, or visit them online at www.stonybrookgardens.com.