Atlanta ( CNN ) -- By now , Christmas merrymakers have packed away the decorations and may even have paid off their holiday shopping sprees . But while the rest of us have moved on to Valentine 's Day , Cin Davidsen is still surrounded by glittery Christmas ornaments . Since the end of September , Davidsen said , the showroom she manages has been a veritable glitter explosion . She works at North Star by Premier , a wholesale showroom in Atlanta 's AmericasMart , and last month she presided over the store 's 2011 debut of over 7,000 holiday decorations . Every January , retailers from all over the world flock to AmericasMart for the eight-day holiday shopping frenzy called the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market . More than 4,500 exhibiting wholesalers within AmericasMart 's three city blocks show off their wares to visiting shop owners . It 's the kickoff to a year 's worth of holiday shopping for boutiques , gift stores , florists , interior decorators and chain stores . So what can consumers expect to finally see in local shops , many months from now ? `` There 's a real trend towards vintage ornaments this year , '' said Justin Spath , a buyer for the Santa Claus Christmas Store in Santa Claus , Indiana . `` We 're seeing a lot of retro ones , back to Victorian and even 1950s and '60s . There 's a lot of people going back to the traditional Christmas look ( more ) than they have the past few years . '' `` The trends that I 'm seeing for this year that are different are the mixed colors , '' said Kim Casto , owner and buyer for GeNell 's Flowers in Piqua , Ohio . `` Like , really bright . I think people want to be festive and happy . They want that bright colorfulness ( to ) bring into their home . '' Whimsical Christmas ornaments have been popular at Joseph Warren Miller , said the wholesale store 's owner , Margaret Hooper . `` It 's traditional red and white with hints of lime green . That lime green has really become one of the traditional colors for Christmas . It just pops . Everything that it 's on , it just pops . '' Nickie Sfamenos , the showroom manager for wholesaler Regency International , said their line of peacockish blues and greens was a particular favorite of stores in New Orleans . She said icicles and anything with a snowy look were popular with wedding planners for winter nuptials . East Coast area stores and large aquariums will likely carry some of North Star by Premier 's `` Under the Sea '' line , which features whimsical fish and bright Caribbean colors , said Davidsen . Another of the company 's lines , `` Calypso , '' is popular in the Deep South and South America , she said . Wholesalers like Neal Goldman , the president of North Star by Premier , recently finished a year 's worth of work designing ornaments , overseeing the manufacturing process and fulfilling clients ' orders . And now they 're starting all over again . `` Most of our product is hand-produced , '' Goldman said , noting that all the company 's glass ornaments are blown by artisans , not machine-made . All the glitter on the ornaments is painted on by hand , added Davidsen . `` The production times are significant . So by taking orders in January , we ship ( the holiday merchandise ) in proper time for the retailers to get it in time to show for Christmas , '' Goldman said . Like many wholesale companies , North Star by Premier goes overseas to design its decor lines and have the ornaments manufactured , Alice Goldman said . Her husband , Dan , and son Neal run their 62-year-old family business . `` It 's a long trip '' to design the ornaments with the factories , she said . `` They work seven days a week , and they 're gone for five weeks and change . '' Once the designing and manufacturing is done , the merchandise has to travel back to the United States by boat , she said . `` We start delivering in May and June . People want their orders from May through November , because they have to get the merchandise into their stores , into their stockrooms . '' And while all that work is happening for the current year 's holiday shipments , wholesalers are already thinking a year ahead . `` Right now we 're already thinking about items for Christmas 2012 , '' said Danny McDonald , the vice president of Regency International . `` We 've just gotten through the big shows , and we see the trends and we see what people are asking for , and we actually start thinking about it and putting our basic thoughts down right now . '' They send the next year 's artwork and manufacturing directions to factories starting in June , McDonald said . In July and August , his company will send people overseas to start working with the factories , finalizing their 2012 ornaments and decorations in September and October . It usually takes between 90 and 120 days to manufacture a wholesaler 's line of products , McDonald said . Many wholesalers choose to go to Chinese factories to manufacture their ornament lines . Those 90 to 120 days encompass gathering raw materials and wooing a skilled workforce away from steadier jobs in computer manufacturing , he said . Once the merchandise is made , the wholesalers send sample ornaments to their showrooms , which , by October , are being decorated for the next Gift & Home Furnishings Market . It often takes three months to completely decorate a showroom . By comparison , it 's relatively easy for the average consumer to choose from a dizzying array of shiny ornaments in a store . According to Hooper , shoppers did so with enough verve last holiday season to deplete a lot of the inventory that boutiques had been holding on to . Hooper said for the last two years , many of the retailers visiting her store have been nervous about the economy . Instead of buying a lot of new merchandise at AmericasMart , they 've been stocking shelves with ornaments left over from previous years . `` A lot of our customers , whether small or large , indicated that the fourth quarter Christmas sales were outstanding , so they were able to deplete a lot of that inventory , '' she said . And now those boutiques and specialty stores are ready to replenish their stock . `` Generally , my budget is several thousand dollars for each showroom , and so far I 've been doing my job , '' said Casto , the Ohio flower shop owner , as she looked around the Gift & Home Furnishings Market . `` For us , we usually spend around $ 20,000 every time we come in January , and about $ 15,000 when we come back in July . '' Casto said this was her 16th year coming to the market . `` I 'm wearing very comfortable shoes , because it 's like a marathon , '' said Spath , the buyer for the Indiana Christmas store .
Retailers buy Christmas ornaments 11 months in advance . Wholesalers create the ornaments 2 years in advance . The retailers then sell them to consumers at a price that is lower than what they would have charged for their product if it had been produced on time and under budget. Christmas 2011 will bring vintage-feeling ornaments as well as bright , whimsical colors .