In a (festive) New York state of mind
With the first snow last week came the realization that winter wonderland season is well and truly upon us and we better get on board with the eggnog lattes or we'll be left in the festive dust (or is that glitter!?). While we do love peeping the Rock Center tree and scoping the holiday windows (best done in the early morning and late evening to avoid the madding crowds), we really love NYC's cozier, quieter, and, well, just plain New Yorky holiday-centric events. Here's a short + sweet list of things that aren't the Rockettes to get you all into celebration mode stat!
You can't get more Christmassy than A Charlie Brown Christmas! The Secret Theater in Long Island City puts on a family-friendly musical version which makes us want to channel our inner Schroeder. It promises to bring to life the animated Christmas classic and will include all our fave songs from the original (the music of jazz artist Vince Guaraldi). It runs from Dec 21-Jan 6th. Need tickets? Let us help!
Washington Square Park has its annual Christmas Eve Caroling on Dec 24th, organized by the Washington Square Foundation. The festivities begin at 5pm, songbooks are distributed, and everyone is encouraged to join in. This is one of our fave spots in the city and the beautiful, traditional songs telling the stories of Joseph, Mary, and Babe wandering the wilderness and finding room at the inn feel pretty darn poignant sung next to the fantastic Ai Wei Wei installations referencing the immigrant + refugee experience. Let us keep room open in our hearts and minds for wanderers in need of aid and country, this season and always.
If you're looking to keep cozy on those truly brrrrrr-inducing days, bundle up, fill up your travel mug and get yourself to a Broadway ticket lottery! The theaters are quite possible the merriest and brightest places to be during the holidays and tickets are easier to come by than you'd imagine. (A note from our Broadway maven, Carrie: A couple of years ago when I tried on a particularly cold day, everyone who showed up won tickets to Matilda, and they still went through the motions of calling out everyone's names which meant you were also guaranteed a round of applause! How Broadway is that!). This awesome website broadwayforbrokepeople has a great breakdown of lottery options and where to get them. If that sounds like an epic hassle, let us do the waiting for you!
Be sure to inhale the scent of fresh cut evergreen boughs when you pass the sidewalk tree sellers (and, hey, maybe even get your own!), drink hot cocoa, and take time to look up and see how truly beautiful this city is in the golden light of these early holiday twilights. We're New Yorkers! We get festive! Even if we wear all black when doing it.