How to See New York's Holiday Windows

If you're in New York City during the holiday season, be sure to visit the famous department store windows in the Big Apple that are decorated for the holidays with whimsy, animation, music and enchanting scenes.
You can see most of these famous department store windows between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Good walking shoes Warm clothing Camera

1. 
   A sketch of one of the Macy's holiday windows

   Head over to Macy's, which always offers some of the most creative holiday window displays in the city. The Herald Square windows will be unveiled on Nov. 23 in 2008. Paul Olszewski, the designer of the Macy's windows, recently revealed to "The Daily News" that the windows will match Macy's holiday advertising campaign, "Believe," which tells the story of young Virginia O'Hanlon's famous letter to the New York Sun, asking if there is a Santa Claus, and the Sun's famous reply. Expect some cool exterior additions, like touchpads for visitors and an arcade game you can play. Macy's is at Broadway between 34th and 35th Streets.

2. 
   One of last year's Saks holiday windows.

   Travel to Fifth Avenue, where you can view the famous Saks Fifth Avenue window displays. These are among the city's most popular windows because of the store's location directly across Fifth Avenue from the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Saks has partnered this year with Swarovski Elements for holiday window displays, which will feature "crystallized" creations from some of the world's top fashion designers, including Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera,Bill Blass, Isaac Mizrahi, Oscar de la Renta and Michael Kors. Saks will unveil its windows on Nov. 24. Saks is at Fifth Avenue and 50th Street.

3. 
   One of the Bloomie's windows from 2007

   Don't forget about the Bloomingdale's holiday windows, located on Lexington Avenue and 59th Street. This year's windows will be unveiled on Nov. 20 by none other than singer Tony Bennett, who will also perform a selection of holiday tunes from his new album, "Tony Bennett: a Swingin' Christmas." Bennett, an accomplished painter, also created an original watercolor of the Bloomingdale's marquee that has been reproduced on the store's holiday shopping bags.

4. Treat yourself to Lord & Taylor's holiday windows, which were unveiled Nov. 13, complete with performances from the Broadway cast of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" and an appearance from Santa Claus. This year's Lord & Taylor windows, with the theme "My Favorite Christmas Traditions," are dedicated to The Fund for Public Schools and feature well-known Christmas stories, cards, music, ornaments and toys portrayed in scenes packed with animated figures. You can find Lord & Taylor at 424 Fifth Ave. and 39th Street.

Tips & Warnings

• It's best to visit the store holiday windows in the evening, when the interior scenes are lit and the effect is even more magical. Avoid visiting the store windows during the peak hours for shopping, since both inside and outside you'll be among major crowds.

Resources

• Macy's
• Bloomingdale's
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Lord & Taylor

[NYLady]

on 10/6/2009 Thanks, LilacGirl. Appreciate the comment!

[LilacGirl]

on 11/28/2008 Wow, this sounds like so much fun! Great article, very interesting and informative.