Thursday night we went to the big Macy's on 34th Street at Herald Square:
The girls had never seen a department store this big before - it literally has more than 10 floors! We loved walking around to see all of the windows. Who knew they had interactive windows with games where kids could play along:
I specifically wanted to go here to see:
It's one of the top things to do in NY at Christmas. They have a whole Santaland that you go though before you even see him. You have to make reservations, they only offer them 5 days in advance & they go live at 6:30 am, EST so I set my alarm, got up at 5:00 & was ready. Didn't help me any because they sold out in less than a minute. I was so frustrated but kept stalking the website & thankfully someone cancelled so we were able to get in:
Did you see my surprise?! One of Sophie's best friends flew up to meet us! We did all of our touristry trips before she got there so the weekend would be full of Christmas fun with her, starting with Santa:
I was too cheap to buy the electronic files but I could download them with the photomark. Honestly, it was good enough for me. I was so excited to do this & the girls were not. Ha! Sadie really didn't care & Sophie didn't seem excited but that is the biggest smile I saw on her face the entire trip! We were excited to see Kate & her mom but after touring all day & them traveling all day, we were tired so we turned in early & were ready to see them Friday morning.
To kick off our Christmas weekend, we made reservations at Bryant Park to go ice skating:
It was another gorgegous morning & it was a little warmer than the day before so it felt pretty good skating out there. It was crowded at first but then the rink cleared up. The girls took turns ice skating with their snowman helpers until they got comfortable and then they were off on their own. We even joined them out on the ice:
We skated for an hour & then we had fun strolling through the park, shopping at the holiday market, the girls rode the carousel & then we had lunch:
Sophie's rainbow toastie was so cool! I had never seen anything like that before. By the time we left around lunchtime, it was CROWDED! Just look at the picture below. We were standing in line for 30-40 minutes waiting for a snack when I snapped this. We honestly thought coming on Friday morning would be less crowded than trying to go on a weekend, but I don't think it mattered:
We went back to the hotel to freshen up because we had big plans later that afternoon:
We went to see the Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes! I don't know who was more excited - me or the girls?!
The theater is gorgeous & we loved the show! You can't take any pictures during it, but we had so much fun while we were there. Afterwards, we went back out to take a few more pictures since the sun had finally set:
We took the subway to Soho, walked through Little Italy & Chinatown to meet some more friends at their place. I knew they lived on the 6th floor in Chinatown but had never been to their place so I was so excited to see it! They were wonderful hosts inviting us in but then we headed back to Soho for dinner:
Thank you Harry & Lilly for hosting us Friday night - the girls loved spending time with Jackson!
Even though it was late, we made one last stop on our way back to the hotel:
We saved the Rockefeller tree for night because that's when it shines in all it's glory! We actually went after the show, but it was too crowded so we thought if we went later, it would better. Maybe a little, but definitely still crowded. I mean it was a Friday night & it is the week before Christmas:
This was it for me - the whole reason I wanted to go to NY at Christmas - to see the Rockettes & the famous Rockefeller tree! We walked around the plaza, saw the ice skating rink, the cathedral across the street & the light show at Saks Fifth Avenue and I loved every moment of it:
It was a late night so we let the girls sleep in the next morning, had a fabulous brunch & then headed to Times Square! We hadn't spent too much time down here yet & we wanted the girls to really experience it:
Surprisingly, this was their least favorite part of the trip. They did not like the busyness & crowds. However, they did enjoy the people watching & the entertainment. In fact, Bryan got pulled from the audience & actually participated in one of the street shows:
I'm pretty sure they liked shopping! We went inside the biggest Sephora in America that was 2 story and they loved both the Hershey and M&M stores:
Next stop, Broadway! We had tickets to an afternoon matinee:
This is one of the top shows everyone recommended to see with the girls & now I know why - it was FABULOUS! I mean seriously, I like the movie, I like the songs, but the Genie was outstanding & it was so funny. Really engaging. The theater was even more beautiful & we had tickets on the first row of the balcony so we could see really well, especially when Aladdin & Jasmin flew on the magic carpet:
Whew! I know these are long posts but we had so much fun & we did so much! And I have to write about it all before the craziness of Christmas hits! But I'll take a break for now...... I have 1 final post that picks up righ where this one left off because the rest of the weekend we celebrated the girls' birthdays!
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