The Macy’s Holiday Window in New York City.

The Holiday Spirit is in full swing in New York City. There are beautifully decorated Christmas trees and frosted windows in all of the major department stores, malls and small businesses. The streets are adorned with large forest green reefs dressed with bright red bows and gold trimmings while Christmas Carols can be heard everywhere.

During this season, there are a lot of events, shows and things to do. One of the major attractions that captures the attention of the locals as well as tourists from all over the world is the self-guided walking tour of the Holiday Windows!

My journey began with the iconic Macy’s Holiday Windows in Herald Square. This year the theme is “Santa’s Journey to the Stars.” The story line includes a paranormal telescope coupled with a large imagination of a young boy. His Christmas journey begins on earth and takes him and his dog to the mystical world of outer space. There are six windows that showcases the theme each representing planets such as Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn and Uranus & Neptune. The design, architecture, and the LED lights is used to keep the consistency of the story from beginning to the end.

My tour continued just a few blocks away. It took me ten minutes to reach my next destination, the Lord & Taylor Holiday Windows located on 38th Street on 5th Avenue! The window displays was very touching and depicted the personal stories of Women in Need Shelters & students from a variety of New York City schools. There were a 125 drawings that represented the theme, “What is Christmas Made Of?” The drawings were beautiful, thoughtful and heart warming.

My next stop was Saks Fifth Avenue Holiday Windows on 49th Street on 5th Avenue! This was one of my personal favorite because of the interactive window in which I was able to display my Yeti name. LOL..it is to silly to share, so I will keep it to myself. The story line evolved around Saks Yeti and theme was a “Snowflake Spectacular.” The 3-D show performs in the evening. It was dazzling, comical and lovely to watch.

Afterwards, I continued walking uptown. I stopped at the Tiffany & Co. Holiday Windows on 56th Street on 5th Avenue. The display was simple. The theme was a “Yuppie Wintertime Fantasia: the Upper East Side.” The images mimicked the brownstone, garlands and chandeliers on the Upper East Side. The display was the size of a toy house. It was small and cute.

Just a few steps away was the Henri Bendel Holiday Windows which was also located on 56th Street on 5th Avenue. The theme was Vintage Landscaping. Some of the items in the display were Louise the Elephant, camellias, fountains and cobblestones.

Bergdorf Goodman Holiday Windows located on 58th Street on 5th Avenue featured high-fashioned displays. The mannequins are dressed in couture that is beautiful and stunning. If fashion is your thing, these holiday windows will catch your attention immediately.

My last stop was the Barneys Holiday Windows on 61st Street on Madison Ave. The displays were very unique. There were woodland creatures and snow owls. They were fluffy and adorable.

In the 1800’s, R.H. Macy’s in New York City was the first to create the Holiday Windows. Since then, all major department stores have adopted the idea and eventually it became an attraction for locals and visitors. The displays are designed months in advance to the approaching holiday season. A combination of designers, electricians and fabricators collaborate and develop a new theme and concept for each window.

This year the Holiday Window displays were all unique, creative, and had a great story line!

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