At Christmas time I tend to forget how hot the stores get while you’re rushing around, trying to find some great gifts at great prices. Last Wednesday was no exception. We’d had quite a snowstorm over the previous weekend, some even called it a blizzard, so I was bundling up every day in Ugg boots and a down jacket to go to work, even though that is not my usual look. I’m at the point now where I just don’t want to be cold in the winter time (who does, really?), so I tend to forgo my typical Manhattan look for a mismatched snow bunny if I suspect at all that I’m going to be stranded in the cold, or at the very least, rudely accosted by the elements.
Which made my foray into Syms, The Gap, Banana Republic and Bloomingdales so unbearable. I had not only the boots and the jacket, but a wool hat, scarf and gloves, plus a purse that didn’t have a shoulder strap. That meant I had to hold it on my arm as I piled the clothing I was selecting for presents. My purse weighs about 20 pounds and no, I don’t know what’s in it but I need it all.
The shopping left me hot and sweaty, dehydrated and exhausted and I still felt I hadn’t really scored the presents I wanted to purchase. But when I left Syms, which is on 55th Street, and turned on to Park Avenue, I was just enchanted by the Christmas decorations in big planters along the sidewalk that ran all the way down Park Avenue. Without further ado, here you go. Just looking at them made me feel cool and calm.
