Christmas in NYC

Now that I've rolled out the waaaahmbulance, let's chat about one thing I am feeling decidedly un-Grinchy about: our upcoming trip to NYC.  I used to travel to NY for work a lot and M went to school in Connecticut for 6 years, so he's no stranger to the city either. But it has been a loooooong time since either of us was in the city for fun, let alone there together. The first time we went together, we were still dating, stayed out way too late, and had to car service it back to our hotel waaaaay out on Long Island because I had a 5am flight to catch to a work conference. The second time we went, we were both there for work, I got a nasty case of food poisoning, and M had to buy a last minute exorbitantly-priced train ticket to accompany me home so I didn't throw up on anyone. So yeah...we are in need of a New York do-over.  

 

Full disclosure: I have never been to New York at Christmas and I am so. freaking. excited. I am usually that obnoxious person who doesn't want to appear to be a tourist (which is so stupid, but there you have it), but I am going to be in full-on tourist mode and I do not even care. Your cynical NYC hearts can judge away; I am going to go full blown Elf/Home Alone 2 on the Rockefeller tree. I think we've managed to string together an itinerary that includes things we both want to do, although I know some of the cutesier things on the list we're only doing because M knows how excited I am about it all. He's a good egg.  So here's what's in store...

'Book of Mormon'. Seeing a show on Broadway was on both of our lists. I've only ever seen Phantom on Broadway and that was almost 15 years ago. I think the last time M went was on a college date to see 'Rent', which was...not his cup of tea. 'Book of Mormon' was a no-brainer because 'South Park', duh. We are following this up with a trip to...

source

Shake Shack. Neither of us has been. I'm curious to see if it lives up to the hype and how it compares to In and Out Burger. Also, I am really excited at the prospect of cheese fries.

I spent a decent chunk of my childhood convinced that my career path would lead me straight to the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. It turns out that you have to be a good bit taller than 5'2" and the dance training is just slightly more rigorous than my twice-weekly classes at Floyd Ward School of Dance, so that didn't really work out for me. But I have never lost my fascination with the Rockettes. Seeing the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular has been on my bucket list for ages, so this is probably the one thing I am most excited about. This is probably what M is least looking forward to, but if the worst thing I make him do is spend a few hours watching gorgeous women in leotards kick their legs in the air, I think I'm good.

1 and 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 

Christmas decorations. I'm looking forward to seeing all of the window displays and the giant ornaments and of course the Rockefeller Tree in Midtown.  M really wants to go down to Little Italy and I've heard that they go all out on the Christmas lights, so that will be fun. Plus cannoli. We're also planning to check out the Gingerbread Extravaganza at Le Parker Meridien; it looks so fun! Local pastry chefs and bakeries construct gingerbread displays based on the assigned theme "Made in New York" and they're all displayed in the lobby. It's free to look, but you can vote for your favorites for $1/vote and the money goes to City Harvest. Each vote also enters you a chance to win a 5-night stay at the Parker Palm Springs. The one above is the Occupy North Pole display from 2011 by Tribeca Sweets. It is absolutely hysterical, with elves holding signs such as "I want to be a dentist" and "Visions of Sugarplums Won't Feed my Elfin Kids". Love it.

We're capping off the trip with a dinner at Babbo :) Their Instagram account has posted some gorgeous pictures of their holiday décor and I can't think of a better way to end our trip than eating Mario Batali's food in front of a Christmas tree.

In between all of that, we're planning to meet up with friends, have some great meals and cocktails (definite stops at Milk Bar for sweets and at Ippudo for ramen), and just have fun wandering the city at Christmastime. I have a list of restaurants and bars to potentially check out, but it's mainly culled from random articles online. I'd love to hear your suggestions of places to go!