A Very New York Christmas

This Christmas, my husband and I are writing a Countdown to Christmas blog in lieu of Christmas cards or a newsletter. I realize now, half way through the month, how many of our outstanding Christmas memories are from the time we lived in New York City. We were dink's (double income, no kids) back then which gave us carte blanche, relatively speaking. Nonetheless, whatever your family size or budget, New York is an educational and literary place to visit, anytime.

New York has a lot of everything. The key to a pleasurable time there is having a good guide or knowing where you are going. Otherwise, you may just feel lost in the mass of opportunities hidden in every dark alley, as if in the proverbial forest not the trees. I recommend focusing on the trees in the Big Apple. Pick a theme or a few specific destinations that will structure your visit. Then allow space to inhale the sights, smells, and sounds in those particular neighborhoods. New York has a pulse that is palpable in every single neighborhood so you want time to "poke."

Whether you choose to beeline it to The Met and see their tree and Neopolitan creche or do a walking tour of the department store window displays, there is a book to embellish your jaunt. Through the Shopping Glass by Sheryll Bellman chronicles the artform that continues in retail window dressing. The Angel Tree: A Christmas Celebration published by The Met is a piece of artwork in itself, like everything they touch.

Be sure to allow time to people watch, duck into a bookstore, and sample a hot chestnut from a street vendor. The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill is an engaging satire on the history of street vendors in the city. A battle ensues when a Mac truck bulldozes one of their kind. Getting to know Morris the Florist and Harry the Hot Dog before you buy that hot pretzel from Wetzel's modern day equivalent, will heighten the experience. The book also introduces kids to grass roots activism and political protest in a witty, understandable way.

Music and action tend to be the winning formula with kids--at least my kids. Ice skating at Christmas in New York is more of a photo opportunity than a sport. My suggestion for action is to skate at Wollman Rink in Central Park instead, where this clip from Serendipity was filmed. Then definitely gawk at Rockefeller Center's rink (perhaps at night) on your way to the Radio City Music show. You will feel less a tourist and more part of the fabric of the city. We did it the other way around one year and braved a mob scene to skate through slush 3 inches deep and get a shot with Prometheus! The good news was, we didn't really have to skate since the crowd held us up, packed in shoulder to shoulder as we were.



As far as music goes, two performances have taken on near mythic proportions in my memory. The Jazz Nativity at St. Bart's Bending Toward the Light, is in its 23rd year. It is mesmerizing to see jazz legends like Tito Puente, Lionel Hampton and Dave Brubeck process up the aisle of this historic church portraying the Wise Men and blasting their horns to the glory of God. My faith makes me a regular church goer yet, this turns it from a mustard seed to mountainous terrain. They blow the roof off the cathedral without upstaging the spotlight which is brilliantly used to personify baby Jesus. Only in New York!

The Messiah Sing-in at Lincoln Center is a slice of heaven on earth. To call it a sing-along seems insignificant and yet that is exactly what you do. An usher hands you the entire score of Handel's music as you take your seat. Then, with the utmost respect and expectation of excellence, the conductor directs the audience of paying patrons to sing the magnum opus with a full orchestra and professional soloists. It remains indelibly marked on my mind and one of the ways I picture heaven: unceasing praise and worship with choirs of angels. New York boasts numerous other performances of Handel's Messiah as well. I have yet to find one, in any city, that compares with the participatory experience we enjoyed at Avery Fisher Hall some 20 years ago...and I've been looking!

The Very New York Christmas by Michael Storrings is a good guide to familiarize children in advance with the destinations and as a memory book afterward. It sets the stage for the magic and identifies the must-sees for younger kids, even if they are landmarks you pass in a taxicab. My other favorite souvenirs would be from one of the many gift shops at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. They stock the finest children's books, art books, jewelry, scarves and ornaments. And if you don't have the airfare this year, they offer most of it online!

In that case, you could also do a tour of New York right from your mailbox with Netflix and a comfy sofa. Here is a list of movies filmed there. For a homemade Christmas, why not take a map and mark the sites you spot in films like Elf, Newsies, Home Alone 2, White Christmas, and A Christmas Story. Your very own version of Scene It!

Cleveland, My Hometown

I know you may not rank Cleveland high on your list of desired destinations. But don't be too hasty. Even if you are just driving through, allow a little time to discover why the old slogan, "If New York's the Big Apple, then Cleveland's a Plum" is in fact, true!

I recently read The Toothpaste Millionaire, aloud to my son. This gem of a chapter book by Jean Merrill has engagingly real boy and girl characters and touches on themes of math, invention, entrepreneurial business, character, womens' rights, and racial integration in the most honest and innocent way.

Having grown up in the East Side suburbs of Cleveland, I can readily picture the brick houses and tree lined streets of Shaker and Cleveland Heights where it takes place. They were conducive to riding bikes home from school in the bygone era in which Rufus and Kate embark on enterprising endeavors. Today, you can tour Cleveland in a couple of innovative ways. Jennifer Coleman has developed a podcast narrated tour, Cleveland CityProwl, of the urban neighborhoods she loves. Another fun tour if you'd rather ride is Lolly the Trolley with an informative narration.

I could go on and on about the traditional sights not to be missed in Cleveland but, you might better buy the book, Cleveland Family Fun by Jennifer Stoffel. My personal favorites are off the beaten track and would include Severance Hall, to which Rufus and Kate could have walked. It is home to the world famous Cleveland Orchestra and boasts regular children's concerts. Don't miss the Goodtime III boat tours on the Cuyahoga River. They chug under and through countless bridges of every known variety with intriguing names like the bobtail swing bridge. It never gets old for boys, photographers, and urban architecture fans! It is a true slice of rust belt history and lore. The Goodtime III was the Goodtime II when I was a kid; it has been a wedding venue and favorite fieldtrip since 1958.


The most obvious toothpaste factory to tour would be Tom's Toothpaste in Maine. Short of a road trip, while you're still in Cleveland you can tour The Plain Dealer, newspaper plant. It was here that Kate ran classified ads for toothpaste tubes. Their Tiedeman Production Plant is supposedly state-of-the-art and tours can be arranged. Highly educational and novel for kids, more factory tours are listed by state at Factory Tours USA. Karen Axelrod has researched and written a book, Watch It Made in the USA, about them. Of course several are in Cleveland including the Plain Dealer's newspaper plant which boasts that "its 10,000 acres stores 6,400 rolls of newsprint and its presses can print 21 newspapers a second!" Those are figures that would really jazz Rufus! Kids 8 years and older should tour it now before the newspaper industry, like Alaskan glaciers and American manufacturing are defunct.

Alternatively for the juvenile gourmand, Malley's Chocolates offers a tour. You'll need some Colgate-Palmolive or Crest after sampling the chocolate. If you take this option, do at least pick up The Plain Dealer and read the funnies over breakfast. Show your kids the classifieds lest they grow up knowing only e-bay and Craig's list as resources for used goods and services.

And when you get home be sure to re-read Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to find out where Grandpa Joe worked when he was young. Long live factories!