A couple of months ago, my mother told me her “Bucket List” included a Thanksgiving trip to New York to watch the Macy’s Parade “live and in person.” Last weekend, that dream became a reality.
Mom (and I) had been to New York before, on several occasions, My stepfather lived there for several years, during his years with the Associated Press. But my brother, sister-in-law, and their children had not – so we went in a few days early and made a week of it.
The highlight of the week, for me, was taking my niece and nephew to their first-ever Broadway performances: Cinderella and The Lion King.
My niece, in particular, adored the city – especially our walks in the lovely snow.
We also saw the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (yep, the Rockettes) –
…and, of course, we watched the Macy’s Parade.
My hotel room looked directly down on the CBS parade commentators’ stand (Unfortunately, the window didn’t open wide enough for mayhem…)
… and my mother’s room — on the opposite side of the hall — overlooked the route on the other side.
We spent a lovely morning taking pictures of the floats and balloons, with running commentary from my nephew and niece that no CBS commentator could ever come close to matching.
Then, as things came to an end, we hopped an elevator to the street–just in time to wave to Santa as he passed.
The following day, we took the kids (both large and small) to FAO Schwartz.
Holiday magic everywhere!
On the whole, I’m more of a country mouse than a city mouse at heart, but I do love New York City in the snow at Christmastime. Add in fulfilling my mother’s lifelong dream and watching my niece and nephew experience the magic of riding in “real New York taxis,” the city lights through snow, and watching their very first professional plays, and this was truly a Thanksgiving to remember.
I hope each and every one of you had an equally lovely and magical Thanksgiving! How did you spend it this year?