O Christmas Tree!

For all of New York’s splendor and excitement, there’s perhaps one aspect which has been so romanticized that it’s like common knowledge to all of us.  I’m talking, of course, about the magic of Christmas in New York.

We have Hollywood to thank for filling our minds not with visions of sugar plums, but of Miracles on 34th Street and ice skating in Central Park.  Even the Grinch can tell you about the massive tree at Rockefeller Center and the famous Rockettes.  And if there was ever any doubt, Will Ferrell’s Elf made it clear that the best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing it loud for all to hear.

You’d think that with all the overexposure, Christmas in New York would have lost some of its luster. 

But somehow, it hasn’t.

The festive lights on Park Avenue.  The cold air nipping at your nose.  Yes, even the wide-eyed tourists taking in the spectacle at Rockefeller Center.  It’s impossible to be in this city and not get into the Christmas spirit.

Which is why we decided this weekend to give our apartment a proper Christmas makeover (or at least the type of makeover you can put together with the one big container of decorations we brought in the move).  After putting up the initial touches, we made the trek outside to find a tree.

But how do you get a Christmas tree in New York?

Good question.  One thing was for certain - there would be no Christmas tree lot like the ones we were used to in North Carolina.  Instead, we found two different places to buy trees right on the side of the road a few blocks from our apartment.  After scoping out the selection and asking a few questions, it became clear that buying a tree in Manhattan is more akin to a market in Brazil than anything we were used to. 

In other words, everything is negotiable. 

We finally decided to go with some guys who were in their first year of selling trees.  After going back and forth on the final price for tree and stand, we settled on a suitable number.  By this point we were fast friends with our tannenbaum sales squad, so we shared a few laughs as they prepared the tree for the walk home.

That’s right, I said the walk home.  We made our way back to the apartment with a North Carolina fraser fir in tow.  Less than two blocks from our apartment, we began to feel a bit of moisture in the air- as we looked skyward we were delighted to see the first snowflakes of winter making their way to the ground.  It was a Hollywood ending, fit for New York.