By Corrie Dosh, photos by Eric Wong
It's Christmas in New York, a magical time of love, family, warm hearts and, of course, shopping for gifts. Glorious seasonal displays light up the city's finest retailers, drawing tens of thousands of shoppers to slow down and take in the holiday décor.
This year, stores took a nostalgic view of the yuletide spirit. Macy's, which has been known for its holiday window displays since the 1870s, featured a six-part, interactive story of a young boy dreaming of the magic of Christmas. Henri Bendel celebrated the work of Al Hirschfeld, known for his caricatures of iconic figures for The New Yorker and Playbill. And, Lord & Taylor featured scenes of children lining up for a turn to tell Santa their wish list, well dressed couples attending a show in old New York, and shoppers laden with gift boxes navigating the busy city streets.
High-end retailer Barneys took a more modern twist on the holidays in collaboration with performing artist and mogul Jay Z. The display captures the spirit and movement of New York City with light projections, 3-D displays and interactive features that allow viewers to project their face onto Santa's sleigh. Proceeds from holiday sales will benefit the artist's Shawn Carter Foundation.
Bloomingdale's this year features holiday scenes from around the world, including a paper dragon that flies above Chinese cyclists balancing gifts in a display called "All Wrapped Up."
At the center of it all is Rockefeller Center, famous for its romantic ice skating rink and the city's official Christmas tree. This year, the 76-foot, 12-ton Norway Spruce is covered in 45,000 multicolor LED lights and topped with a 9 ½-foot wide Swarovski crystal star.
"It's gorgeous, it's enormous," fan Kristy Connery told the Associated Press at the lighting ceremony which attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the center. "Christmas is my favorite time of the year."
(Reporting from New York City) | 
