Christmas in Manhattan


December 17, 2011 — If you're at all obsessive about Christmas, you need to visit Manhattan in December before you die...next week (sorry to be the bearer of that bad news, by the way). I've been fortunate/insane enough to visit this central borough of New York City twice in the past few weeks for various reasons that dimmed in importance as soon as I saw how much the entire downtown wanted to live up to the Silver Bells carol.

Christmas is everywhere in every form there, from the civic decorations on the lamp posts to the commercial ones in the shop windows to the panhandlers dressed in Santa Claus costumes hoping to trick you into taking a picture with them for a tip. The style of decorations run the entire gamut, from the gaudy, opulent, and unorthodox to the classic, the humble, and the homey.

Below are a bunch of pics from my two recent trips that don't at all do justice to the holiday wonderland this city can be. In fact, I'm sorry to waste your time with an intro. This post only really needed a title and the pics. Also, sorry that I assumed your coming demise was bad news.

May the reindeer go easy on your roof shingles. Merry Christmas.



Chestnuts roasting on an open light bulb.
Seriously, roasted chestnuts taste like
mashed potatoes.

Rockefeller Plaza


Every 20 minutes, Christmas music played and animation
would be projected onto this building in the plaza. 

The Empire State Building is ready
for St. Nick both on the outside...

...and on the inside.

The famous Macy's of
Miracle on 34th Street fame.

Unfortunately, Santa wasn't there yet when I visited,
else this post would have been all about that.

But their famous window displays were up, both
classic-looking ones...

...and strange ones.

Inside the main branch of the NYPL.

And this one is a story
for another time...