Sometimes it's nice to have a day where you say "YES" to everything. A year ago we spent the weekend in Brussels with these girls indulging every whim from Ferris wheels to waffles to amusement rides and carnival games. It was the happiest I'd felt in years. The girls were getting along great and as a family we just clicked. Nacho and I sipped delicious Belgian beers from a wooden kiosk while the girls circled around on antique carousels a few steps away. We were all in our element and I remember thinking THIS is what life should be about. More of this. Of course it was only a two day stint in that amazing city, so it was easy to play along and just say yes to whatever tickled our fancy. On Friday in honor of that, I spent the day in NYC with my girls doing much the same. We started off the morning sleeping in and skipping the half day of school that just begged to be ignored. I'd booked a reservation with Santa at Macy's for the first time ever and it seemed like the perfect start to our Yes Day. We still had to be up somewhat early to get in on the train by 10am, but it was all working out. We climbed out of the subway at Herald Square and there was the flagship Macy's store on 34th Street glimmering with holiday windows and lots of ogling tourists. The girls practiced their Buddy the Elf splits on the escalators as we moved up and up to the 9th Floor. And then we jumped in line for Santaland and started our descent into holiday madness. At first Elisa seemed nervous and complained that they were dressed "too fancy." But after a few compliments on their matching Christmas dresses, she got over that. There were a few twists in the line so you didn't quite see were you were going until you were in it, but that was okay. Honestly, the line kept moving and within 20 minutes we were approaching Santa's small cabin. I must say the elves did a great job of moving us in and out with ease and just the right amount of small talk distraction. They left the girls to chat with Santa for a minute before seating them to take their photo. I had to laugh when I heard Santa asking Carolina about what she wanted for Christmas. Contrary to her sister who wasted no time asking for a doll bunk bed, Carolina didn't know what she wanted. She said, "I don't know yet." I thought, oh no. Don't waste your big moment! But she brushed it off and Santa pivoted onto another topical diversion before their big snap. As I waited, a particularly chatty elf complimented me on my fair isle cardigan sweater "Very festive--very Nordic!" It was all so smooth and pleasant.
Afterwards, we glided through Macy's with our post-Santaland glow and the girls found a big teddy bear they wanted to take home. Not likely. We opted for a photo instead. Once out the door, we saw some neighborhood kids from Sunnyside who had been just ahead of us in the line. We all had the same idea for getting to see Santa early and it appeared to have worked. We were in and out of there in half and hour. Well done, Macy's. The Christmas spirit was just beginning and it was filling us up on this chilly December day. On our way in to the store we spotted a real live Snow Globe display just across the street so as we exited, I figured we'd give it a shot. The helpers were so nice and explained that Macy's hadn't promoted this at all but were offering it as a little holiday surprise. The 8 sec video of each family in the snow globe was a fun little way of diving right in and scooping up the season. Here's our shot:
After that, we hit Shake Shack around the corner to get our city lunch date on--complete with a few holiday shakes. We ordered the Chocolate Peppermint and the Frozen Hot Chocolate and a very nice waitress later brought me out a Christmas Cookie one that was a bit too sweet even for my tastes. Having a little chance to refuel before moving on was just what we all needed. I knew we would start to head north towards the Rockefeller Christmas Tree (and more importantly the Lego Store), but apart from that, I didn't have a plan. A brief stop into Claire's on the way up Broadway was a nice bit of retail therapy that bolstered the girls' moods. This was, after all, a day of Yeses. We neared Radio City Music Hall and the girls loved the giant Christmas Lights on display. They were hanging in there with the walking and once we neared the tree, we got our requisite photos and made our way to the Lego Store without too much trouble. In a few more weeks this would be mobbed with people day AND night, but for now, it was actually kind of fun. A few giant Lego building plates later, we were leaving the store and back on our way home to Sunnyside. The day was coming to an end and really everything had gone smoothly. The girls didn't fuss or irritate each other. We lived large all around New York City during the holidays and they loved it. I loved it. It was fun to be tourists in our own town for a change and to embrace the season. The following day we were rewarded with actual snow to kick off our weekend. Since we had to get out of the house for the gymnastics sign up at noon, we made a leisurely trek over. Afterwards, Carolina was invited over for a play date at Kira's house and I wrangled an impromptu date with Birdie back at ours. The day was working out just fine and our early evening walk home through a snowy Sunnyside reminded me of my favorite cinematic hometown of Bedford Falls. Days like this, our little hamlet in Queens feels like the most lovely place of all. And it reminds me of what a wonderful life we really have.
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