12 Dates of Christmas: On the fifth date of Christmas...

... I spent the day enjoying Christmas in Manhattan with my friend Jill, who was visiting from Minnesota.

We started our morning bright and early with a delicious breakfast at Norma's in Le Parker Meridien Hotel. Their cheesy french toast is honestly one of the most amazing things I have ever eaten- I have been thinking about it ever since our visit! After breakfast we shopped around at the Union Square Holiday Market, visited Tiffany's, and saw all of the beautiful holiday windows on Fifth Avenue. We also stopped at the Plaza Food Hall for some treats mid-morning. The pink and white cookies (or red and green during our visit) from William Greenberg Desserts are ones of my favorite treats in the city! It was so wonderful having Jill in New York City for the day. We have been friends since fifth grade and it was awesome to catch up and get lots of baby advice from her! If only she lived on the East Coast... come back and visit again soon, Jill! 

Fifth Annual Girls' Day

Every Thanksgiving weekend Emily and I have a special girls' day together in Manhattan. The tradition was born in 2012 and we have looked forward to it every year since. The events change slightly from year to year, but we always make sure to see all of the beautiful Christmas windows on Fifth Avenue at some point during the day.

This year I introduced Emily to the holiday market in Bryant Park. She searched for Harry Potter gifts to add to her Christmas list and we picked up a few items for Brian as well. We stopped for lunch in Rockefeller Center and then made our way up Fifth Avenue admiring all of the holiday windows and lights. We had an awesome day taking in all of the Christmas magic!

Twelve dates of Christmas: On our eighth and ninth dates of Christmas...

On our eighth date of Christmas we baked cut-out cookies with Emily. I grew up baking these cookies with my mom every holiday season and I am so happy I get to continue the tradition with my little New York City family. Emily did an awesome job rolling out the dough and we were able to decorate several dozen cookies! I can't wait to eat my mom's batch of cookies when I fly home to Minnesota in a few days; I am already having withdrawals from our batch last week! 

On our ninth date of Christmas we ate dinner from Hinomaru Ko Ramen, one of our favorite new neighborhood spots. Their Cha shu Don is so delicious! After dinner we watched Christmas Vacation. I kept my own little tradition going strong of falling asleep halfway through the movie. I have such a difficult time staying awake these days! We hope to watch it again before Christmas and I swear this time I will not miss the ending! Christmas Vacation and Scrooged are our two favorite date night Christmas movies, although I have many more that I love and try to watch during the holidays. What are your favorites?

Twelve dates of Christmas: On our seventh date of Christmas...

... we visited our favorite Christmas house in Queens. 

The Lynch family knows how to do Christmas lights. Their home brings me so much joy every December! If you are in New York City I highly recommend stopping by this holiday season. The Lynch family Christmas house is on 166th and 23rd Avenue in Whitestone. The lights are on from sunset until about 1 am, and are taken down the first week of January. 

Twelve dates of Christmas: On our second date of Christmas...

... we decorated our Christmas tree. 

Over the past eight years I have acquired quite a collection of Christmas ornaments- they bring me so much joy! I have to admit I am always a little shocked when I open all of the boxes up and realize how many I have. Brian and I started collecting ornaments on our adventures together several years ago. Our newest addition is the little bird I am holding from our weekend away in Phoenicia last spring. Having our tree lit up and decorated makes me so happy. I swear, I plug in the lights the second I get home every day! 

Twelve dates of Christmas: On our first date of Christmas...

...we decorated our Christmas tree together as a family of three. 

Unwrapping our Christmas ornaments is one of my favorite moments of the holiday season. There are so many memories, vacations, and events represented in our ornaments- mine and Brian's first trip to Mexico, a gnome in honor of my grandpa, a lobster from a weekend getaway to Boston... I love reminiscing and telling stories as we hang them all with care. 

We are trying an artificial tree for the first time this year. We have always loved picking out our Christmas trees and carrying them home, but the ease of having a car and purchasing a fake one this year was just too good to pass up. Once our new addition was decorated I realized that fake trees make me just as happy as real ones. As soon as I get home every day I run upstairs and plug in the lights! Plus I am enjoying not having to stress about Boo drinking all of the water out of the tree stand. 

What special traditions do you have during the holidays? I would love to hear about them as we embark on our fourth year of Christmas dates! 

Life according to Instagram: Home for the Holidays Edition

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