Christmas Eve in Manhattan

With our families far away from us, we decided to spend Christmas Eve taking in the sights of Manhattan. We began the day early at Macy's, which meant we were battling a large crowd. This Macy's spans nine stories and two buildings on 34th St. Here is a view of the bottom floor after we first entered from the 6th Avenue side.



We took the escalator to see what each floor had in store. There was a Ben & Jerry's, a Starbucks and a McDonald's on various floors. A line stretched as far as we could see on the 8th floor as children and adults alike lined up to see Santa Claus. And on the ninth floor we found their Holiday Lane.







After we left Macy's we headed to 62nd Street for a visit to the Big Apple Circus. It was my first time going to a circus and below are a few of the more interesting pictures we were able to take.





Ouch!









We then went to check out some of the popular window decorations. Below is a tribute to the many chefs on television.



More food experts.



An astrological compilation.



No introductions needed here.



Lights outside of the Trump Tower.



Saks Fifth Avenue wrapped in a giant bow made of lights.



Ice skating at Rockefeller Center.



This is the famous Rockefeller Christmas Tree.



A drummer boy facing the skating rink at Rockefeller Center.



This blue tree was at Bryant Park at 42nd St.



This guy was just cruising along jamming to his music.



Lord & Taylor's displays were inspired by their customers' favorite Christmas memories. These windows were incredible.





After we were done walking the streets of Manhattan we headed back to Brooklyn and found another street that got together with over the top decorations.






By this time, we headed home and it was nearly midnight. With Christmas Day looming, we had plans to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and view the beautiful sights lining the East River in Brooklyn and Manhattan.