It's Christmastime in the City

When I was a little kid, I used to love riding around in the car with my parents at Christmastime, admiring all the decorated houses and Christmas light displays in our neighborhood.  If I'm honest, not much has changed, except that I don't ride around in a car too much in the City.  But this year, I still made an effort to go see the Christmas lights, trees, and store windows that make New York look so festive during the holidays, and I took photos so I could share them with you too.  This post will definitely be picture-heavy, so grab a steaming mug of chocolate (I'll look the other way if you'd like to spike it with something), settle in by the fire (if you don't have one, pull this up on another tab and sneak a peak every now and then), and come with me and enjoy Christmas in New York.

Let's start in Washington Square Park.

And now let's go uptown to Radio City...

How about a stroll up Fifth Avenue?

While we're on Fifth Avenue, let's head over to Saks and check out the holiday window displays.  The theme this year is "Once upon a time in New York..."

Snow White asked, "Vendor, Vendor on the street, what's the safest thing to eat?"

Sleeping Beauty had trouble adjusting to the city that never sleeps.

The maidens who lunch wanted to know "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, who does your hair?

Rumpelstilskin was the most feared spin class instructor in town.

Red Riding Hood gasped, "Oh my, what a big suite you have."

Cinderella fell madly in love with a pair of designer shoes.

And where else can we end our Christmas tour besides Rockefeller Center?

Merry Christmas!

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Union Square Holiday Market

During the first eleven months of the year, I love to shop.  However, when December hits, I find that nothing kills my holiday cheer buzz faster than having to fight crowds at the mall while listening to the same tinny Christmas music in every store.  So when S suggested to L and me that we meet up and check out the Union Square Holiday Market, I jumped at the chance for a more unique shopping experience. 

A European-style Christmas market, it comes to Union Square Park every year, opening in late November and staying around through Christmas Eve.  Red and white stalls that are decorated with holiday greenery radiate from the center of the park, and shoppers walk up and down the aisles, perusing the unique items on display.

Nearly everything you could imagine is on offer, which makes this a great place to buy unique gifts while, at the same time, supporting artisans from both near and far. 

There are wooden toys and knickknacks.

Fun hats and scarves.

Earrings and necklaces of every color and size.

Bowties for the hipster in your life.

Teapots and mugs.

Beautifully painted dishes and glass lanterns (this was my favorite stall out of the bunch.  Doesn't it just look magical?).

Shiny hair accessories.

Ornaments,

 ornaments, 

and more ornaments.

 

 Colorful, aromatic spices.

Lotions, scrubs, and bath salts.

Monocles.

Yes, really.  Monocles.  The perfect gift for the farsighted friend who has everything.  In my opinion, they should really come back into style.  Mostly because they remind me of this. 

In case your shopping stamina starts to lag, there's also a variety of food on offer.

I was tempted by the apple cider donuts but we decided to go for some Wafels & Dinges.  

L was very excited.   And so was I when I was handed my Turtle Wafel with dulce de leche, walnuts, chocolate fudge, and powdered sugar.

After that bit of indulgence, we definitely needed to walk off the wafels, so we meandered by nearly all the stalls.  As you wander in a circular route down the narrow, cheery aisles with the smell of cider and roasted nuts in the air, it's easy to forget that you aren't actually in a German Christmas market.

That is, until you glimpse the Empire State building above the stalls.

As dusk falls, the market seems even more festive, as the golden glow from the stalls gleams and the fairy lights strung amongst the greenery shine brighter.

Even if all of your shopping is already done, the market is a good place to go if you feel the need to find more Christmas spirit.  It's a place that just gives you that warm and cozy holiday tingle, which just might be the best thing about this time of year. 

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