My Christmas Wish

If you know me, you know that I LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it.

     1) REAL MEANING OF CHRISTMAS with the birth of my Lord and Savior.

     2) Seeing the Nativity Scene

     3) Christmas Plays at different churches

     4) The lights (white are my favorite though)

     5) The smells (pine, cinnamon, hot chocolate, etc.)

     6) The Christmas trees decked in all their splendor.

     7) Family gatherings

     8) Being with Friends

     9) Picking out the perfect gift for each person on my list

     10) Wrapping gifts and taking the time to make them beautiful on the outside

     11) Stuffing stockings

     12) Going to the store and being surrounded by people….the bustle, everything!

     13) All the Christmas Baking (that I usually do NOT do…but I love to enjoy it!)

     14) CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

     15) Going Caroling with the church

     16) HALLMARK MOVIES as well as any other Christmas themed movie!

You name it, I LOVE it when it comes to Christmas.

Since I could remember, I’ve always enjoyed watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I will watch every second until the Radio City Rockettes come on…then I will allow myself to help in the kitchen or do whatever needs to be done. Until then, don’t bother asking me b/c I won’t do it. Watching the parade makes me giddy. I just feel that NYC is the epitome of a Magical Place during the holiday season. And knowing how much I love the season, I want to do during the holiday season. It just has that magical feel. So needless to say, I am super duper totally excited about this trip. And I am very excited about the company that I will be keeping. It will be Kellye, her mother (Debbie) and her friend (Tammy) and myself.

This year, my dream is coming true!  I am SO very excited! One of my very best friends and I are planning a trip to NYC during the Christmas Season! Woo Hoo!

On December 6th I will be flying out of Charlotte and meeting up with the other 3 at LaGuardia. Kellye and the others will be flying out of Nashville. We’ll then travel into the city and get to our hotel and THEN IT IS ON!

Kellye and I have talked extensively about this in the last couple of days. We have made a mental list of the things we want to do/places we want to see. We are looking at staying up the entire time pretty much. We’re not going to have time to sleep. That’s just how it is gonna hafta be. And we are AOK with that! Haha

I have been to NYC once before. But it was a very short trip. I think we were in the City for about 33 hours total. My parents have been involved in the building of the Graffiti Ministry. They helped build the church and we went up for a dedication service. So the sights were very few but still it was a fun time.

Here is my NYC Bucket List:

• Statue of Liberty

• Empire State Building

• Ice Skating at Rockefeller Center

• NYC Movie/TV Tour

• Radio City Rockettes

• Wicked

• Santa’s Lap at Macy’s

• Bobby Flay’s Restaurant, Mesa

• Arrojo Studio (What Not To Wear Studio)

• Bloomingdales

• Lord & Taylor

• FAO Schwartz

• The MET

• Times Square

• Wall Street & The Financial District

• Every Starbucks in the City

That is a lot to see/do before December 9th at 4pm when we have to head to the airport. We are going to see it all, regardless of how long it shall take.

Have any of you ever been to NYC? Anything suggestions? Anything you would advise that I do not worry about wasting money on??

I have a co-worker who was in NYC the same time of year I am going. She said that it was freezing! Kellye also went to NYC last year the same time of year. She said it was about 14 degrees the entire time.

I am definitely going to be dressing warm. I already purchased a new “NYC Hat”. Its super cute! I’m taking toboggan, scarf, neck warmer, gloves, thermals, tights, pea coat (for when we have to dress up), Columbia jacket for everyday wear, good boots for walking that will be comfy and yet warm, warm sweaters/turtlenecks.

For the NYC Veterans reading...what did you do about a purse? I do not want to carry one around the entire time. That would completely stink. I was thinking of taking my Vera Bradley or Life is Good back pack. That way I can put it under my coat and it won’t be “accessible” while walking around. I’ll probably keep a small wallet of some sort in the inside pocket as well as my camera.

Anyone have any suggestions for how to dress for the NYC weather??? I don’t want to be cold, but I don’t want to burn up when I am inside a store/building either.

Kellye has suggested that I ask for Starbucks gift cards for my birthday. She said that she spent a small fortune last year buying hot chocolate to stay warm while walking around. Haha But I will say that I already know I’ll spend a small fortune at Starbucks. I LOVE that place!

My birthday is the week after I get back from NYC, but I am treating it as my bday gift to myself.  It will be a great 28th Birthday for me this year!