For as long as I can remember, I have loved waking up on Thanksgiving morning to watch the Macy’s Parade. Though the holiday itself is problematic and rooted in issues that have been glossed over for years, the parade continues to be a source of nostalgia and joy for me every fourth Thursday of November.
I loved seeing photos of New York City lit up for Christmas, especially the tree at Rockefeller Center, and I always wished I could visit for a week to experience both the parade and the tree lighting. How amazing would it be to watch a giant tree come to life in the heart of the city surrounded by people who were there for the same magical moment?
During the holidays, in the midst of my divorce, I realized that I could be as gung ho or as sad about Christmas as I wanted. I could wear all black and weep into my dog’s fur in my apartment on a Friday night, or I could go out and do the things I had always wanted to do. I chose the latter. I went visited holiday markets, took photos with light up reindeer, attended festive concerts, and drove all over the city to see lights whenever I had spare time.
At the last minute that year, I ended up going to Boston for a work trip. I found out two weeks before I needed to be there, so everything felt rushed, but I still wanted to do something fun while I was in town. I flew in on Sunday evening and was set to fly back on Friday, but once I arrived the schedule shifted and we were set to wrap up by noon on Thursday. With an open afternoon and a half day of PTO to use, I made a plan.
I would finish my morning meetings and several cups of coffee, head straight to the car rental center at the Boston airport, then drive from Boston to New York City. I planned to walk around the city, see the tree, go ice skating, then hightail it back to Boston that same night and drive myself to the airport in the morning to catch my flight. It was ambitious. The drive between the two cities takes about four hours without traffic, and I would be arriving in New York right at rush hour. When I shared my plan with coworkers, one of them, who also had PTO to spare and was looking for an adventure, offered to join. We agreed it would be smarter to take turns driving since eight hours behind the wheel after a half day of work is exhausting.
Leading up to this trip, I had been rebuilding what joy looked like for me in real time, and this plan sparked something in me. It reminded me to chase the experiences I wanted in my life. Even when life didn’t turn out the way I planned, I could still chase and fulfill my dreams. I was almost giddy getting in the rental car as we zoomed off on our adventure.
The drive to New York was stunning. A snowstorm earlier in the week had left the trees along the highway covered in icicles, and the snow settled safely on the sides of the road, which made everything feel cozy. We drove to New Jersey and took the ferry across the river to avoid the chaos of driving in rush hour traffic in the city. By the time we stepped off the ferry, the sun had set. The cold was fierce, with a sharp wind whipping through the streets, but the holiday lights were bright and magical. We went straight to Rockefeller Center.
The tree was enormous. It towered over the crowd and was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I was in awe, though freezing in the wind, so I took as many photos as I could before we decided to find something for dinner. Neither of us had strong cravings, so we settled on a waffle stand. I felt like I was freezing my fingers off as I ate my chocolate covered waffle. Afterward, we planned to go ice skating but knew the line would be long, so we stopped inside Macy’s to warm up before heading back into the cold. It was beautifully decorated, aside from a display of oddly realistic squirrels that wiggled their tails among the lights.
We braved the cold again and returned to Rockefeller Center to stand in the queue for ice skating. The wait was about an hour, but it was completely worth it. From the moment I stepped onto the ice until the end of our session, I was smiling ear to ear. I finally got to see the tree and was actually skating beneath it and the statue of Prometheus. My heart felt full. Two people proposed on the ice while we were there, and the entire crowd applauded for them. I also narrowly avoided being taken down by someone losing their balance, but I was just out of reach and avoided the fall.
It was a wild, silly, and freeing night. My face hurt from smiling so wide. I was navigating a rough spot in life but managed to fulfill a dream fueled by coffee, waffles, and sheer audacity. Even though I felt so small under that giant tree, skating among dozens of strangers, I was filled with joy and gratitude for my younger self who once imagined this moment. It was a reminder that I could still create magic in my life even while things felt uncertain.
Seeing the tree lighting in person and attending the parade are still on my list, but the dream looks a little different now. I would love to stay in Manhattan for a week and enjoy the events at a slower pace. I want to go ice skating again, catch a Broadway show, wander through Central Park, explore local bookstores, and sip something warm in a cozy cafe. Not rushed and not frantic, but fully soaking in the holiday season and letting the cozy sink in.
Travel can sometimes seem like checking things off a list, and this trip to New York was definitely that. As the years pass, travel feels more like a way to reconnect with myself, and those are the experiences I’m seeking. That, in itself, feels like a kind of holiday magic.
