Holiday 2025


Dear Readers and Residents of Darien,

What a blast it has been to put together our holiday issue for you, starting with our cover story – Ode to Joe, contributor Peter Saverine’s thoughtful take on our beloved Joe Warren and the decades of joy he has brought to us as our own ubiquitous Santa. Joe tells us he’s well into sharing the magic of the season with a third generation of Darien residents at various locales around town, including the Darien Sport Shop where he will be on hand, once again, to light their Christmas tree as he has for more than four decades, officially launching the holiday season in town. 

From Joe, we aim your attention at a gorgeous portfolio of holiday arrangements created by 11 of the talented members of the Garden Club of Darien. Many thanks to them for sharing their gifts. In the pages ahead, you’ll also find our inaugural Holiday Stroll feature. It’s a compilation of things people love to do in Darien during the holidays, as shared by various residents. It comes with an invitation to share your own holiday favorites with us for inclusion in future issues and on our social media channels @darienmagazinect. 

We’re thrilled to welcome Carolyn Eddie back with a recipe for one of her holiday must haves. Looks as delicious as all the fabulous fare of hers we find at events she caters around town throughout the year. 

If you’re looking for gifts – to give or to get, (and even if you are not), be sure to read the Art Show column featuring jewelry designer Faye Kim and her lovely creations. It is gift a plenty all on its own to learn her story and see some of her work …and once you do, we challenge you to even try to resist a visit to her new store in the center of town. 

Loving that the partner profile in this issue puts a spotlight on Leary’s Liquor Store, another holiday go-to for many in town, multi-generationally in fact given the 50 years the Learys have been serving our community. We round out the issue with another informative In Good Health column from Linda Stephens. Fittingly, it’s about maintaining balance in the face of all the holiday treats and feasts.

Ongoing thanks, as always, to the advertisers who keep this publication coming to you, and a special welcome to Nielsen’s Florist and Garden Center, new to the magazine this issue. May you all have as great a holiday as every day is for us in the work we do to produce this magazine for you.

Pamela Dey Vossler Editor-in-Chief

Carl Trautmann Founder & Publisher