A day full of Christmas spirit in New York—from Santa Land reservations to The Met, hot cocoa, and the iconic tree at Rockefeller Center.
December 10, 2024
Early Morning and the Santa Land Battle
Jet lag hit me hard. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and couldn’t fall back asleep. Around 6:00, I heard my friend wake up, so I got out of bed and went to the living room.
She told me that online reservations for Santa Land at Macy’s would open at 6:30 a.m.
Santa Land is a popular event organized by Macy’s (see on map) where families can meet Santa, chat with him, and take photos. Because it’s so popular, reservations fill up quickly.
We prepared three devices—her PC, her phone, and my phone—and pre-filled all the required fields, waiting to hit the “Confirm” button exactly at 6:30.
But when we did, the page still said “coming soon” and wouldn’t move forward. Strange.
We kept refreshing the browser for about 20 minutes, but nothing changed. Just as we were about to give up, we went back to the start page and tried again—and suddenly, the reservation went through smoothly.
So that’s all it took.
A Morning at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
After that, we took a bus to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (see on map), also known as The Met.
We joined the Japanese guided tour that starts at 11:15 a.m. The tour lasts about an hour, requires no prior reservation, and best of all—it’s free.
The tour meets inside the museum on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 11:15 a.m.
On Mondays, a different tour starts at 1:15 p.m., focusing on Impressionist paintings.
During the tour, we saw:
- A temple donated by the Egyptian government
- Stained glass by Tiffany Studios
- A beautifully decorated Christmas tree
- Sculptures by Rodin
- Van Gogh’s self-portrait
The final stop was a sculpture gallery. Afterward, the guide kindly offered to show anyone interested the location of Vermeer’s paintings, so we followed along to see “Woman with a Water Pitcher.”
Hot Cocoa at Ralph’s Coffee
After leaving The Met, we stopped by Ralph’s Coffee (see on map).
Across the street was the Ralph Lauren Men’s Store, and nearby were Ralph Lauren Kids and other Ralph Lauren shops—this whole area seemed filled with Ralph Lauren stores.
We had a cup of hot cocoa at Ralph’s Coffee. The taste was… honestly, pretty normal.
My friend went to pick up her kids after that, so I spent the afternoon wandering around on my own.
Wandering Alone in Wintertime New York
In winter, steam rises from vents all over New York. It looked so cool—like something out of Jerusalem’s Lot.
I dropped by a discount shop called Saks Off 5th (see on map), which was packed with discounted jackets and clothes, but I didn’t buy anything.
Since Rockefeller Center (see on map) was within walking distance, I decided to go see the Christmas tree.
It was the same tree I remembered from Home Alone 2, which I had watched as a kid—and still watch as an adult.
It was beautiful, though smaller than I’d imagined.
I also stopped by FAO Schwarz (see on map), the toy store featured in that movie, but the line was so long that I gave up entering.
Nearby was the Nintendo Store (see on map), which was surprisingly quiet.
Ending the Day with Pizza and a Movie
In the evening, I met up with my friend and her kids at a supermarket near their home. We bought some pizza for dinner and headed back.
That night, we ate pizza while watching Home Alone 2.
It felt like the perfect way to end a winter day in New York.
