Christmas in the City

I just cannot even describe how awesome Christmas in New York City is. If you can't get into the Christmas spirit here, there is no hope for you. Your heart is two sizes too small and that's just all there is to it. Sure, it's insanely crowded, but the festivity makes it worth it. There have been many different moments this holiday season where I thought to myself, "I don't know if I will ever be able to live in any other average city during the holidays after living here at Christmas." Nothing can compare, I think.

I have already shared some of my favorite parts of New York at Christmas with you this year, and you saw much of it last year as well, but today I just want to do sort of a Christmas catch-all post to pick up the things I've missed this year. Perhaps this will help spread holiday cheer to any of you who may still be feeling Grinchy.

Last night, I met up with Eric after he got off work and we walked up Fifth Avenue to check out the store decorations:

Big ol' bow on Cartier

Light Belts on Fendi

Aaaah, lovely

Louis Vuitton, and on the left you can see the giant snowflake they hang over Fifth Avenue

We spent a good while admiring the window displays at Bergdorf Goodman. All of the displays along Fifth Avenue were inspired by Alice in Wonderland. They were elaborate and stunning - these pictures won't even do them justice, and it's hard to see the detail that made them so beautiful.

This window display was entitled "Afternoon Amusements and Sovereign Gambits."

It is an aerial view of a royal tea party. It really was exquisite, although the detail is lost in this picture.

This one was The Walrus and the Carpenter.
How funny is the walrus? Ha! I like him.

This window was entitled "Improbable Lodgings and Feline Mischief."
Can you see the white rabbit on the bottom right, and the Cheshire cat in the upper left?

This window was entitled "Potions Imbibed and Perspectives Rearranged."
There were tons of staircases everywhere, inspired by the work of artist M.C. Escher.
There is a little girl in each room that is meant to be Alice.

After freezing on Fifth for a while, we took the subway down to Wall Street to see the Stock Exchange all lit up for Christmas. This was probably our favorite light display last year - the flag that usually drapes the columns of the Stock Exchange was replaced by a flag made of lights, and it was so beautiful.

But, they didn't put up the flag this year! Instead, they just lit the building red and hung a few wreaths (one of which had all its lights burned out!) - boo! The tree was still beautiful, and I did enjoy seeing the Christmas Bull again. Plus, this year I noticed something I hadn't seen last year: in the cemetery at Trinity Church, they put up a Christmas tree and put wreaths on all the headstones. With everything still blanketed in snow, it was very serene and beautiful.

The Stock Exchange Christmas Tree

The Wall Street Bull sporting his Christmas finery

Trinity Cemetery

So that was our night of Christmas sight-seeing last night, but now let's take a look at a few other pictures we've collected from around the city this season, shall we?

Another one of my favorite areas to check out Christmas decor is on Sixth Avenue. They put out giant ornaments, giant Christmas lights, giant toy trains, etc., etc.:

Giant ornaments in a fountain on Sixth Ave.

Toy train

Christmas lights

Something new that we saw this year was a living nativity just off of Times Square. These poor people sat out in the cold for a few hours that night, with carolers singing behind them. While we were there, the carolers were singing "Auld Lang Syne" in front of a camera, and they said, "Happy New Year, Dick and Ryan!" so I'm thinking they might be making an appearance on the Rockin' New Year's Eve show this year! So keep an eye out.

The Nativity - and oh, who is that making an appearance in the bottom right? That's no sheep, that's Achilles! And he looks rather dashing in his pea coat, I think.

The last thing I will share with you today is yet another lovely light show. You all probably know by now what a sucker I am for some dancing lights set to music, yes? This one is in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. They hang these beautiful lit stars from the ceiling, and starting around 5:00 every night, they do a light show set to music. There are a variety of different songs (unlike the Saks snowflakes, which only dance to "Carol of the Bells") and I could stand there for hours and watch them.

Stars in the Time Warner Center

Aren't they pretty?


VIDEO: Time Warner Center Stars Light Show

Beautiful! Do you understand now why I say it is impossible to live in this city at this time of year and not be hit with the Christmas spirit? It's just everywhere!