Christmas Spirit in Short Supply? Visit This City for a Fast Fill-Up!

NYC Debeers dripping Are You a Baby Boomer Yearning for the Christmas Spirit?  Try the Big Apple!

Are you ready for a different way to spend your Christmas vacation? Perhaps you don’t celebrate Christmas, perhaps you don’t spend time with family during the holidays, or perhaps you are looking for a way to rekindle a remembered spirit of Christmas in your heart.  Then book a December trip to the Big Apple.

Horse and carriage rides in NYC Central Park.

As a Baby Boomer, I love New York City nearly as much as I adore my grandchildren.  Okay, I lied.  Sometimes, I love this quirky bustling city even more.  New York City can become an addiction, a craving so intense, that like some desperate junkie, I search the Internet for cheap airfares just to get back there; three weeks away can cause serious withdrawal. 

Since falling in love with the Big Apple, I determined to re-visit her in every month of the year.  So far, I have been there in October, December, January, March, August and September.  And my conclusion, having seen this wondrous eclectic city under so many seasonal skies, there is no “best” time of year to visit New York City; any time is good.  But Christmastime is not to be missed.  Especially if you are a Baby Boomer. 

Christmas in New York City will touch the child within you, sparking a joy akin to the anticipation of Christmas mornings way back in the 50s, when everything was shiny and new and oh–so exciting.

Macy's crowds on Christmas Eve day.

Treats abound for all the senses:  Giant dancing snowflakes set to classical music displayed on the Saks’ department store wall; jaw-dropping line-ups of jostling Christmas shoppers outside Macy’s store; the huge farmers market in Union Square with its crafts, local wines and fragrant spruce boughs; the tacky tinsel decorations of crowded Little Italy; the sharp scent of roasted chestnuts, sold by street vendors, in little paper cones; the ice skaters and creamy sweet hot chocolate in Bryant Park; the spectacular light display in the Bronx Zoo; the clop-clopping of horses drawing their hansom carriages, bedecked with faded plastic flowers and tinsel garland, around Central Park; the magical display of twinkled trees in the Winter Garden Room near the World Trade Center site (don’t call this place Ground Zero; this is taboo among resident New Yorkers); Grand Central Station’s laser light show; De Beers mantle of dripping diamonds; the peal of church bells on Christmas morning. 

 

New York City is much more thanTimes Square and Broadway theatres, especially at Christmastime.  Go at other times of the year, certainly, but visit at Christmastime, at least once.  A visit to the Big Apple during the Yuletide season will sate the yearning of the long-forgotten 5-year old in your soul, that secret part of you just aching for one more Christmas morning of innocence and wide-eyed delight.

 

Travel Tip:  Fly back on Boxing Day — flights are really cheap!

 

Filing Your Vacation Photos for Easy Recovery

Digital cameras have made the capturing of thousands of vacation images, well, a snap!  The hard part is dealing with those images once we return home. 

Have you found it nearly impossible to locate that special shot, weeks—or even just a few days–after your vacation?  No matter how hard you look, you can’t find that regal shot of Lady Liberty silhouetted against a summer sunset?  That magnificent shot of the Grand Canyon?  That romantic honeymoon beach shot?  Or that picture of Grandma Mary in her rose garden?  If so, you should try using a photo management program like PicaJet.

Misplaced vacation photos can be very annoying, but if you file and categorize your precious photos using Picajet software, you will be able to access your photos via a simple search, right there on your computer.  Then you can easily print your pictures or share them with friends and family members around the globe.

 

Cheers,

Sheree Zielke

3 Responses to “Christmas Spirit in Short Supply? Visit This City for a Fast Fill-Up!”

  1. Ivan says:

    Hi, my name is disman-kl, i like your site and i ll be back 😉

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