A Special Sunday

If you’ve read this blog more than a hot second, you know that I have basically as much Christmas spirit as Buddy the Elf, my spirit animal. This is my favorite time of year, and I hate how quickly it passes. It can also be a trying time to remind you of what you don’t have in your life when everyone else seems to be so happy and celebratory.

Lately I’ve felt that I’ve spent a lot of time desperately seeking the highs to avoid the lows and missing out on the in between in the process, but today my friend Karen knew just what my soul needed.

I woke up and went for a run passing Bryant Park and the tree and market and then coming back to get ready to meet Karen for breakfast at EJ’s. She’d proposed breakfast there and then going to her place to write out our Christmas cards together. I got my cards from this great Etsy shop last year and never got around to sending them. Karen and I had a lovely afternoon writing out our cards and listening to Christmas music…

Before I headed up to the Park Ave Christmas Tree Lighting. In its 70th year, the tradition began as a way to honor those who’d lost their lives in World War II. 104 trees are lit between 54th and 97th Streets and people gather to sing carols in front of the Brick Presbyterian Church.

Park Ave Christmas Tree Lighting

I think my heart swelled to a million times its size and if Buddy and Santa and their Clausometer had been there, the sleigh definitely would have had enough power to fly.

I had to leave early, and the crowd burst into Jingle Bells as I was walking back to the subway, just grinning ear-to-ear. I love you, NY.

How do you get in the spirit for the holidays?

12 comments on “A Special Sunday

  1. Shawna

    wow, i’ve never heard of this tree lighting, and it looks absolutely lovely. i love the caroling at the church! such a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. i also love that Buddy the Elf is your spirit animal. 🙂 i get into the holiday spirit by spending as much time with the ppl i love most and going to allllll the holiday parties.

    Reply
  2. Lauren @ Beautiful Plant-Based Life

    One year, I got in the Christmas spirit by creating my own version of Tina’s “25 Days of Togetherness”. It’s amazing how much holiday fun you can squeeze into one month if you make it a priority! The past couple years, I’ve devoted December to making holiday gifts for the people I love. My soy tea cup candles were a huge hit last year (and ended up becoming a tiny business). This weekend, I’m hosting a “canning party” and making giant batches of fresh salsa! I’ll purchase printable, personalized canning labels on etsy to make each jar look festive. This was a really difficult year and I’m trying not to get sucked into the holiday blues… For me, keeping busy and getting crafty always does the trick!

    Reply
  3. Nikki @ will run for pizza

    Not to sound all sad, but I don’t think I TRULY get into Christmas spirit anymore…it kinda sucks and I really don’t like it. I guess because my family is now broken, extended family is all over the country now, and there is only 1 kid – my 8 year old nephew – who lives 2 hours away, that it just isn’t FUN anymore ya know?! My Hus loves it and we try to make it fun and do some traditions, but we always feel like there are missing parts…that tree lighting sounds awesome! Even though we’ve seen it a few times, I may have to buy some Nutcracker tickets for us just to help get in the spirit….since The Hus keeps mentioning it anyway…haha

    Reply

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