We are now into our sixth year of the annual 5th avenue department store window tour in New York City. This trip is no longer an option, but a “what weekend do we have free to make this happen?”  type of adventure. Besides the thrill of seeing the designs and decorations, the challenge for me is keeping it fresh and frugal. Many of my friends are beginning to see me as the insiders guide to doing New York and other local places affordably. I don’t have the patience to write all my tricks down, but I will say that memberships at Expedia, Open Table, and Delta Airlines really helps when you’re trying see your part of the world and not break the bank. Another tool that is extremely helpful is an app called SpotHero. It helps you find the cheapest parking garages in large cities like New York and Boston. My friend, Doris, was so excited to tell me how she and her husband had reserved a spot in a Boston garage over the weekend and didn’t pay an arm and a leg.

Driving down and back in one day is doable, but ends up being eight hours in the car for a two to three hour adventure. While that would be the cheapest way to go, we chose to splurge just a little and drive down to Stamford, CT on Saturday and spend the night. That would enable us to be in the city early on Sunday morning for our walk. Sunday mornings are a fantastic time to see mid-town as the crowds don’t usually assemble until closer to noon.

The last time we stayed in Stamford was at a Super 8 motel, an experience we will not repeat. I found a very surprisingly great deal on Expedia at the Hyatt Regency that was only four blocks away from the Super 8. It turned out this was a much nicer experience, and the massive indoor courtyard was decorated beautifully for the holidays. On the way we stopped at Rein’s Deli in Hartford. It’s kind of a touristy deli just outside the city, but it’s really good. We’ve stopped before and not been disappointed.

My SpotHero found me a garage near Bloomingdales for $14 which is a great deal for NYC parking. These apps allow you to prepay your spot, which gives you some peace of mind that you’ll have a place to park.  From Bloomingdales we took the subway straight to Macy’s which is where our trek began. As always, Macy’s was great. We’ve started going inside some of the stores as well. The insides are always decked out with lavish decorations.

Next, we headed over to 5th Ave and was bummed to find Lord & Taylor’s was now closed.  I was disappointed because they used to have some of my favorite windows.

We dropped into Bryant Park which is just behind the NY Public library. There’s always a large tree, skating rink, and dozens of kiosks set up for the holidays. It was rainy, and there were large puddles we had to navigate, but it was all fun. At one kiosk, we found a beautiful paper star to add to our apartment decorations.

Saks 5th ave was kind of a let down this year. In the past, they’ve told a little story as you go from window to window. This year seemed like Vogue magazine covers which didn’t really thrill me.

Rockefeller Plaza is always beautiful. It doesn’t change but always makes for great pictures. I thought the windows in the chocolate shop were as beautiful as many of the department stores. Tiffany’s and other stores along 5th ave also decorate for the holidays adding to the experience.

Berdorf Goodman always has amazing windows, if not sometimes weird.

We walked all around the Barney’s building but could not find the window that I saw on the Internet. That’s the second time we’ve looked for a Barney’s window and not found it. We ended our trip back at Bloomingdales, whose windows are usually fun, but not quite so much this year. Look at me, I’m a window critic.

We enjoy eating at Irish pubs while in New York. They’re not hard to find, reasonably priced, and usually not very crowded. With our mission accomplished, we went and retrieved our car and drove home. Even after six times, it’s fun to go and see the city decorated for the holidays. Maybe next year we’ll plan for a night time trip to see everything in a different light. I’ll find new challenges and ways to keep it fresh.

 

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller