I am fortunate enough to have in laws that live in close proximity to New York City.  When I started spending holidays with my husband’s family, I pleaded with them to take me into the city do all of the touristy Christmas things.  They braved frigid cold nights so I cold get a peek at the department store windows, take a stroll in central park, see the tree in Rockefeller Center, and warm roasted nuts from multiple street carts.  We would top off the night with dinner at a delicious and surprisingly affordable restaurant in close proximity to everything.  It is an experience that I think should be on everyone’s bucket list because it is a magical place to be at Christmas time.

This year we took our friends, Colin and Luisa, to experience the wonders of Christmas in NYC.  Thankfully this year the temperatures were a bit more tolerable. We added a stop at FAO Shwartz to our tour this time…bonus tip – having a child in a stroller gets you in the store via the short line…a huge time saver.  On our way to see the tree in Rockefeller Center, we were privileged  enough to see the hardest working Salvation Army officers.  They are the most energetic officers I have ever seen and put on a great show…I hope Santa treated them well this year.  It was a great day to make memories with family and friends.

In addition to being dear friends, Colin and Luisa are also our neighbors.  They have been lifesavers on many occasion and have been amazing to our son since he was born.  Luisa is an extremely talented artist whose work you can see here.  She was even so kind as to lend us her artwork  for our house that is currently on the market, which you can see installed in our dining room here.  No longer living on the same street with a couple that we hold so near and dear to our hearts will be tough and it made the Christmas trip a little more meaningful.