New York at Christmastime is pretty special, so when my parents said they wanted to come for the holidays this year I was so excited. The last time they came in December was back in 2004 but I had only been in the city for a couple of months, so it was a lot of fun to experience all the festivities and holiday traditions together again 12 years later.
Dinner at The Clam
Getting a little tree for the apartment. :) Isn’t it cute?!
I thought it would be fun to walk you through our Christmas so click below to see more!
Christmas Day:
After opening presents and getting our coffee, we hopped on the subway and made our way up to Central Park. We stopped to watch the ice skaters, and walked by Bow Bridge, the Carousel and The Loeb Boathouse. I used to live on the Upper West Side, so we decided to exit the park on 81st street near The Museum of Natural History, which is a block away from my first apartment in the city, and walked up a few streets to grab bagels at H&H for breakfast the next morning. Since we had been walking all day and wanted to warm up a bit, we stopped into Artie’s, where they have the best matzah ball soup and you immediately get bowls of pickles and coleslaw the second you sit down. Everything is so yummy! I am putting together a little guide of all the festive, Christmasy places we went while they were in town, so make sure to drop by tomorrow to check it out!
What I wore:
Outfit Details:
Hat: Rag & Bone | Sunglasses: Prada | Scarf: Zara (similar) | Sweater: Free People | Jeans: Frame | Boots: Frye | Bag: Celine
Luckily we had glorious weather on Christmas – the sun was out and the temperature was very mild. I love wearing white in the winter, so I started out with that as my base outfit and kept my accessories fairly monochromatic with rich dark brown hues to balance out the overall look.
(Photos by my Dad)
Christmas Dinner:
We decided to stay in and cook Christmas dinner in my apartment, which at first I was a little nervous about due to how small my kitchen is, but it all worked out after a little shopping at Whole Foods. I kept the menu simple and picked up a rotisserie chicken, plus a bunch of pre-cut vegetables (butternut squash, green beans, cauliflower and broccoli) and roasted them with olive oil and herbs. Then made a really simple salad with spinach, pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and feta topped with Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette. I could put that dressing on everything, I swear! I picked up my favorite rosemary sourdough bread as well as some cranberry sauce (I love the kind out of the can!) and mixed nuts to snack on.
For wine, I wanted to have a sampling of a few favorites, so there was a choice of a French Beaujolais-Village red, a sparkling rosé from Franciacorta (read about my trip to the region in Italy, here) and a Sauvignon Blanc by Kim Crawford.
Truth be told, I’ve been drinking Kim Crawford with my girlfriends for quite a few years now. (Our fond nickname for the bottle is Kimmy C.) It became our go-to wine for girl’s nights, dinner parties and a solid staple to have in the fridge for an after work drink. So when the brand reached out and wanted to send me a bottle, you can imagine how excited I was! Plus, how festive is this holiday bottle?!
After dinner we met up with a family friend for a drink at The Quarter, which was one of the rare places open on Christmas in my neighborhood. Then later on that evening before bed, we watched White Christmas together and ate popcorn. It was such a wonderful Christmas and although my parents have visited me in New York many times over the years, there has been something so special about having them here during this time of year. I feel so lucky.
I hope you all had a lovely holiday and spent it with loved ones! xo
P.S. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post where I will be chatting about my favorite places to go in New York City during Christmas!
