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Wines, Wine Experiences and Wine Tools for the Holidays

Celebrating any other milestone always goes better with a good wine. Here are some interesting wines, experiences and gifts to enhance your sipping enjoyment.

WINES FOR THE CURIOUS AND EPICUREAN

Orange Glou

For something less familiar, orange wines offer a distinctively colored wine with a taste that’s all their own. The international collection of wines curated by Orange Glou are skin-contact white wines made from white grapes fermented with the grape skins, producing orange natural wines. Options include three and six bottles monthly or a one-time option for the orange curious.

Tolenas Winery

A dessert wine is a lovely finish to any meal. Tolenas Winery newest is a 100% Zinfandel port, lighter and fruitier than usual due to the 2020 heat spell but still taking advantage of the cool California coastal breezes. A female star in the industry, winemaker Lisa Howard is committed to producing wines without chemicals or additives.

Collection Privée from Francois-Louis Vuitton

If your goal is to be the first in line for unusual experiences and a trip to France won’t happen any time soon, you might want to consider investing in the first edition Bordeaux Collection Privée from Francois-Louis Vuitton, the great, great grandson of Louis Vuitton.  Newly introduced to the United States this winter, the collection reflects the terroir of Bordeaux and the elegance of the Parisian lifestyle with Private Cuvée wines from top châteaux such as Léoville-Poyferré (Saint-Julien), Lascombes (Margaux), Faugères (Saint-Émilion), Beauregard (Pomerol), and Lafaurie-Peraguey (Sauternes). Each comes gorgeously boxed.

Dough Wines

Created with Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners, Dough Wines is the first collaborative wine brand from the James Beard Foundation. Dough Wines supports the culinary arts and beverage professions, currently focusing on assisting the Foundation with restaurant recovery, equality in the kitchen and food sustainability. The appellation wines are bundled into three-pack sets: Red Blend Pack, Chardonnay Pack, Pinot Noir Pack, Napa Valley Pack and Best of Napa Valley Pack.

Wines of Sicily

Wines of Sicily is a consortium that works with more than 400 different producers in Sicily who preserve the art of winemaking with sustainable practices. You’ll want to try Nero d’Avola, a versatile wine with an aroma of red floral notes accompanied by flavors of sweet spices and cocoa. Do as the Sicilians do and chill Frappato to bring out its depth and spice and red cherry notes.  For white wine fans, Grillo is a food-friendly blend with citrus blossom and fruity aromas. Lucido (also called Catarrato) pairs well with seafood and veggies with its hints of yellow and green and white flowers and citrus aromas.

Ao Yun

An unusual, stylish wine, Ao Yun (“roaming above the clouds”) is a full-bodied Cabernet blend from the first wine estate in China’s Yunnan province on the foothills of the Himalayas. The 2016 vintage combines Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with notes of sandalwood, Dhofar incense, and crushed strawberries. Ao Yun has partnered with renowned crystal maker Riedel to design an exclusive wine glass for the optimal tasting experience for this Cab blend.

DISTINCTIVE TASTING EXPERIENCES

Macari Vineyards

Macari Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island takes glamping to a new level of luxury with individual bungalows for a personal wine tasting. Customize your experience with a selection of wines including their popular Cabernet Franc, Dos Aguas red blend, Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé. Add to that a Mediterranean snack spread, your own playlist streamed through a Bluetooth retro radio, comfy throw-covered chairs and sofas and your gang will enjoy a wine experience like no other. The beautiful vineyard is celebrated for its biodynamic approach to winemaking and is run by three generations of the Macari family.

Far Niente family of wines

The Far Niente family of wines from Napa Valley includes some of the finest vineyards in the country.  You can experience all with a variety of three-wine samplers and a pre-arranged virtual wine tasting subscription. The Far Niente range includes Cabernet Sauvignon from Nickel & Nickel, Far Niente and Bella Union; or Chardonnay from Nickel & Nickel and Far Niente. The happy hour experience includes explanations by wine educators, Far Niente family winemakers and wine experts, plus instruction by chefs on how to create perfect wine and meal pairings.

WINE EXPERIENCE ADD-ONS

Quilt Wines

Add a fun touch to stay-at-home entertaining with Quilt Wines’ Puzzle Pack. Along with a selection of wine, you’ll get a limited-edition 500-piece Napa Valley Quilt Wines puzzle. The wine collection gives you a range of white and red wines including rosé, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and the popular Red Blend.

RGNY

You can be your own winemaker with the new blending kit from RGNY, an innovative winery located on Long Island’s North Fork. The kit comes with curated videos, featuring lead winemaker, Lilia Pérez to help guide you through the almost-scientific exercise of blending RGNYs Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. The kit also includes a beaker, four carafes of wine for blending and tasting, glasses and tasting note cards.

TaZa

For safe drinking, unbreakable wine glasses are the smart choice if you’re planning to dine outdoors. TaZa’s chic plastic versions mimic the feel of traditional glasses and come in stemmed and stemless to please all preferences. A must for serious wine drinkers, the ArT Wine Preserver will keep an opened bottle of wine fresh for up to 30 days. Using pure argon gas, this smart device displaces oxygen while maintaining taste.

If you still prefer glass, Empire State of Wine has you covered for no-spill drinking. The shop’s Signature NO-SPILL Stemless Wine and Cocktail Glasses feature Lady Liberty herself with each glass a different color so you can remember whose wine is whose. Even if you manage to tip them over, they still won’t spill as they balance to the side.

And lastly, Repour’s wine stoppers utilize oxygen absorption in an easy-to-use wine stopper for lasting wine freshness for up to two months. Although, in all honesty, I don’t know many people who keep an open bottle that long!

Where to Buy Wine in New York City

Here are four of my favorite shops that carry wide varieties of wine and have staff who are far more knowledgeable than I:

Mister Wright

Sherrry-Lehmann

Astor Wines

Empire State of Wine

Empire State of Wine Courtesy of Empire State Wine

Happy Holidays – drink up!

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Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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How New York City Is Celebrating NYE during a Pandemic

We’ve all had enough of 2020, right? If you’ve managed to get rid of those bad memories at Good Riddance Day in Times Square and you’re prepared to put your New Year’s resolutions into play, it’s time to party like it’s 2021. It’s time to say goodbye to the past and move forward with wonderful and definitely unusual memories.

Good Riddance Day

Here are some of the ways we went about it.

We All Need Some Laughs This Year

We started early with a 6:30pm virtual viewing of comedian Mike Birbiglia’s “Working It Out Worldwide” New Year’s Eve show.  Entitled “All Jokes Considered,” this is a mix of standup comedy and an interactive talk. If you’ve ever been to one of Mike’s shows, you’ll want to grab a ticket right away. The NYE one-time event is different from any show Mike has done before or will likely do again. You’ll also be part of the evening so brace yourself for some serious fun. Champagne is optional at this early hour.

Wax Poetic about the End of 2020

The Poetry Project’s annual New Year’s Day Marathon turns virtual this year, starting at 11pm on December 31 and continuing for 24 hours with non-stop readings and performances from poets, writers, artists, musicians, actors and dancers around the world. The event is more than poetry, though. It’s filled with music sets, cooking segments, films and other theatrical bits to keep you entertained into the next day.

Watch the Ball Drop at Home

Since you won’t be allowed into Times Square for the official New Year’s Eve Ball Drop this year, you should plan to watch the festivities virtually and via livestream from the warmth of your home. The importance of this evening can’t be downplayed — we’ve had enough of 2020 and it’s time to have some crazy fun!

An online event for this unusual year, Virtual New Year’s Eve is a non-stop party that will appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike. Download the app to watch live feeds showing Times Square from multiple cameras along with livestreams of celebrations around the world.  You start by creating a personal avatar to put yourself in the center of this gamified augmented reality version of New Year’s Eve in Times Square. After that, the experience is yours to uncover. There’s so much going on here that you won’t miss not being outside in the chilly weather.

For the more conventional among you, the Times Square Ball Drop will also be streamed commercial-free on TimesSquareNYC.org, TimesSquareBall.net and livestream.com/2021 with live performances by Gloria Gaynor, Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, Billy Porter and Cyndi Lauper among others. This year’s theme is “Heroes of 2020,” celebrating the frontline and essential workers who have shown true heroism over the past nine months.

Celebrate Early with an Over-the-Top Outdoor Mini-Party

Dining restrictions mean that you’ll need to start your outdoor celebration early – you have to be finished by 10pm. This gives you an unusual opportunity to celebrate twice, in effect, once outside with your friends and family, and a second time, indoors, with your television, computer and at-home dance party.

Some of the city’s elaborate outdoor celebrations include:

Parklife

Parklife’s NYE Around the World will be celebrating four cities every two hours from their two heated solariums and outdoor tables. Patrons at the Gowanus bar and restaurant select which time and city they want to “attend” so they can actually celebrate “midnight” somewhere in the world while being outdoors in NYC, despite the 10pm closing time.  You can choose to celebrate with Dubai from 2-4pm, Cape Town from 4-6pm, Lisbon from 6-8pm or Grytviken, Antarctica from 8-10pm.  And you’ll have enough time to make it home to see the NYC Ball Drop in Times Square!  Book your preferred time here.

Savanna Rooftop - Photo Courtesy Of: Savanna Rooftop

For a view of the lights of Manhattan, book a private heated sky suite at Savanna Rooftop in Long Island City. Two seatings are available for an over-the-top New Year’s Eve celebration complete with open bar, Champagne, a Chef’s hors d’oeuvres tasting menu and a celebratory cocktail. Hats and noisemakers are included. Tickets can be purchased here.

The Greens Photo By: Meryl Pearlstein

On the other side of the river, The Greens at The Rooftop at Pier 17 takes to the sky with an over-the-water celebration in their socially distant cabins. The party includes a soundtrack provided by a live DJ and a variety of food and beverage packages, all within sight of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and the lights of the city. For information on all booking options, click here.

Watermark Winter Wonderland

A short walk away, Watermark Winter Wonderland at Pier 15 celebrates the evening inside individual “Glasshouses” that afford obstructed views of Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan. Reserve either of two seatings here.

Ride Our Bikes on the Annual New Year’s Eve Ride

The environmental group Time’s Up goes wheels up with its annual bike ride from two locations in Brooklyn and two in Manhattan. You and your socially distanced biking and skating colleagues will head uptown to come together at Belvedere Castle in the middle of Central Park. Make sure your cycling shoes can dance. Starting at 11:45, The Dance Party at the Castle is heralded by a midnight fireworks display. Jonathan Frey, CMO of Urban Bikes Direct, says this is a don’t-miss event, especially during a pandemic when everyone can wear masks and stay apart.

Happy New York City New Year!

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Where to Enjoy Four of the Northeast’s Most Beautiful Drive-Through Light Shows

This year, you can experience the wonder of the holidays through some of New England’s and New York’s most  imaginative drive-through displays. Safety is paramount and these tours are strictly restricted to driving only.

New York – Sullivan, Catskills and Westchester Counties

Peace, Love & Lights

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts presents Peace, Love & Lights, a drive-thru holiday light experience at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York. The light show, totaling just over one mile, runs nightly through January 3. Created in conjunction with the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association, the light show is filled with LED lighting and animated displays with a 120-foot Twinkle Tunnel that’s certain to entrance. Themed areas are named Groovy Way (taking you on a trip back to ’69), the Enchanted Forest, Snowflake Alley and Santa’s Workshop.

Westchester’s Winter Wonderland

To ensure safety for all, Westchester’s Winter Wonderland in Valhalla, New York has been re-configured into a 1.2-mile drive-thru experience with thousands of animated lights and holiday entertainment. Festive music streams through an FM radio station and attractions include the event’s favorite elves, Ned and Albert, dancing aside glittering angels of peace, old man winter blowing beautiful snowflakes, a 50-foot dove, swaying trees, glowing snowballs, candy cane lane, a 100-foot light tunnel and the Wonderland’s famous 40-foot Christmas tree.

Maine and Massachusetts

Gardens Aglow

Boothbay, Maine’s annual Gardens Aglow at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is newly reimagined as a drive-through event in 2020. The gardens will dazzle with more than 650,000 environmentally friendly LED lights adorning trees, animals and flowers that spectators can witness from the comfort of their car. Timed tickets are required and a height restriction of nine feet is in place for all vehicles.

Winter Wonder Drive-Thru

The Winter Wonder Drive-Thru in West Springfield, Massachusetts is a COVID-19 safe, audio/visual spectacular showcasing brightly colored lighting, special effects and 3D holograms.  Attendees will enjoy an immersive, holiday display right from the comfort of their car. Special effects in this year’s light extravaganza include a “clean” snowstorm, singing snowmen, Santa’s elves and Santa taking to the sky.

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A New Yorker’s Tips for Surviving Dry January

Dry January is something I dread every year but after a year like no other, we should all probably dry out for a month. You know, cleanse and get back on track with “better living” and a bit more discipline. I failed last year, but this year I’m determined to do it right.

Experiment with Great Mocktails

Le Crocodile Photo By: Meryl Pearlstein

January’s a nice opportunity to dabble in drink and flavor combinations you may not know. Victor Bautista of Concord Hill in Brooklyn offers up a deliciously fresh and spicy mocktail that might be my go-to for the next month. His appropriately named “Cruel Summer” blends mango and orange juices with simply syrup for a sweet contrast to the chili-based Chamoy hot sauce and Tajin rim.

Ghia - non-alcoholic aperitif with soda

Williamsburg’s Le Crocodile in The Wythe Hotel mixes Ghia non-alcoholic aperitif with soda, Fever-Tree Mediterranean tonic, rosemary and grapefruit juice.

Stone Hollow Farmstead

I’ve always found that a Virgin Mary or, as some call it, a Bloody Shame tastes pretty damn good given all its pickled vegetable, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and peppery ingredients. Red or green Bloody Mary mixes from Stone Hollow Farmstead have nailed the no-alcohol version using their own farm veggies.  And, I’m not kidding you, you won’t miss the vodka. Or the hangover. Another spicy and healthy Bloody variant is the plant-filled Hairless Dog, made with Ritual Zero spirits and V8 juice.

Seedlip

Experiment, too, with creatively layered beverages with a base of Seedlip, distilled, non-alcoholic spirits made with botanicals and herbs. Refresh with a MartiNO is made with Seedlip Spice 94, cold-brewed coffee and simple syrup, or sip an herbal version neat, Seedlip Garden 108, or citrus-based Grove 42 on the rocks. Bourbon lovers can try Spiritless, made in Kentucky with notes of caramel, vanilla and oak.

Substitute Non-alcoholic Beverages for Your Favorite Wines and Beer

I’m a huge proponent of drinking wine not only for enjoyment but also for its health benefits. Red wine, in particular, has antioxidants and is reputed to promote heart health, longevity and the French-endorsed benefit of keeping you slim and trim. Light beers have always been a diet-friendly substitute for heavier craft brews. But, come New Year’s I’m going Dry January with alternatives that provide a refreshing change.

Rock Grace

Rock Grace has a line of non-alcoholic elixirs and bubbly so delicious that you may not miss the alcoholic content of your usual glass of white or rosé. Made with botanicals and adaptogens rather than sweeteners or preservatives, the ruby red drinks give you a taste of summer and a welcome dose of calm and wellness.

For a flavor kick, the sparkling white alcohol-free wine, HUGO.O alternativa, hails from Florida and is made with immune-boosting elderberry and mint.

FRE wines

If California wines are your favorites, you’ll enjoy FRE alcohol-removed wines, made in the heart of Napa Valley. Their sister winery, Sutter Home Family Vineyards, provides all the endorsement you’ll need: they pour FRE wines at their tasting room along with their own vintages.

H2O Sonoma Soft Seltzer

Also from California, the new H2O Sonoma Soft Seltzer is the world’s first wine-infused non-alcoholic sparkling water, currently available in three varietals: Pinot Noir, Rosé and Sauvignon Blanc. These sparkling beverages are packaged in recyclable cans and are made with dealcoholized wine and natural flavors.

Clausthaler

Clausthaler craft non-alcoholic beers taste just like the real brew. This German brewery has the pedigree, too, as they are an exclusively N/A brewery in existence for 40 years. For a kick, try their new grapefruit beer or their special holiday Santa beer.

Experiment with Other Delicious Beverages

Juice Press

Juice Press has a full range of bottled vegetable and fruit-based drinks that will add a boost of pizzazz with ingredients like turmeric, ginger and cayenne pepper. If you’re a coffee drinker, jazz up your beverage with a seasonal shot of eggnog syrup, peppermint and chocolate, or toasted caramel white chocolate – these are all readily available at Starbucks along with tea-based drinks like hot or cold matcha latte.  In upscale grocery stores, Recess offers a line of sparkling beverages with non-traditional flavor combinations. Try their peach ginger, pomegranate hibiscus or blackberry chair for something different.

Perrier

Perrier has upped their game, too, with new flavors like cucumber and lime, peach, and watermelon that make great mixers in mocktails. They’ve also partnered with  @TheWeekendMixologst and @Apartment_Bartender to create several original recipes to help you stay creative with your zero-alcohol beverages. Try combining chilled green tea and Perrier with fresh lime and pineapple juices and a smidge of passionfruit syrup, for example.

Make It Count with a More Plant-Based Diet

Hummus Kitchen

Dry January is the perfect reason to add more plant-based dishes to your meals. Call them vegetarian, vegan or even pescatarian for those who can’t totally give up seafood, just up the quantities of veggies while reducing or completely eliminating red or white meat for the month. Options are easier to find than ever, both in NYC restaurants and grocery stores. Try restaurants like Manhattan’s Hummus Kitchen, The Hummus & Pita Co. and Shark Tank winner Beyond Sushi to whet your taste buds with Mediterranean specialties that are low in fat and high in taste. Dishes like shakshuka, pasta with sage and butternut squash, and garlic hummus on pita pair well with non-alcoholic fruit drinks, sparkling seltzers with a squeeze of fruit, and non-alcoholic white or sparkling wines.

Burn off Those Alcohol-Induced Pounds with More Exercise

Bonded by the Burn

When you feel the urge to have a drink, think movement or exercise instead. It may be as nutty as dancing by yourself in your home, or going for a quick run or brisk walk during your usual cocktail hour.  If there are other triggers that make you want to order your usual, try to identify them  and elicit the support of others during those times. Cocktail hour could become stretch hour, a lovely prelude to dinner with your favorite mocktail or non-alcoholic beer. For a more disciplined approach, consider a trial subscription to Bonded by the Burn with its extensive program of resistance-bands classes. The first seven days are free, so give it a go.

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9 New Year’s Eves That Make New York City’s Look Kind of Quaint

In New York City we watch the Ball Drop in Times Square, sing Auld Lang Syne and party until the wee hours on New Year’s Eve to signal that the year is over. In normal years, we also have a chance to watch the fireworks, cheer on the Midnight Run and enjoy live music in Central Park.

New York City - Photo Credit: Colin Miller

Other countries think differently with a variety of traditions to say goodbye to the past and ensure a good year ahead.

Japan

Yahiko Shrine, Niigata, Japan, credit: Meryl Pearlstein

Japan is very serious about celebrating with religion and food.Rather than heading to Shibuya Crossing for a Times Square-like experience on New Year’s Eve, many Japanese observe a tradition of Hatsumōde, the first Shinto shrine visit of the New Year. At the shrine, a talisman with the previous year’s zodiac sign is burned in a ritual called Otakiage and replaced with the zodiac animal of good fortune for the year ahead.

108 rings of the great bell at a Buddhist temple

Listening to Joya-no-Kane, 108 rings of the great bell at a Buddhist temple, is another New Year’s tradition with each peal “ringing away” an evil passion or desire for a clean start to the year. The celebration continues with slurping bowls of toshikoshi soba or “the end-of-the-year-and-into-the-next” soba noodles, symbolizing the bridge between the “old year” and “new year.” In New York City, you can experience the ringing of the bells at the New York Buddhist Church on the Upper West Side.

Osechi

The New Year in Japan is also celebrated with foods associated with good luck, good harvest and other positive outcomes. A traditional Osechi Ryori meal is served in a special jubako box. Consisting of multiple colorful dishes, the meal is eaten with special chopsticks rounded on both ends, one end for human use and the other for the gods. Each dish represents a symbol or wish for the coming year. Dishes include kazunoko, pacific herring roe marinated in salt (abundant harvest and fertility); kuromame, sweet black soybeans (hard work and good health); tazukuri, dried young anchovies (a strong and abundant crop) and kuri-kinton, candied chestnut with sweet potatoes (economic fortune and wealth). Manhattan’s MIFUNE turns Japanese for New Year’s with a 21-course Osechi Box Set. The beautifully composed takeout meal includes like the likes of Miyzazki Wagyu A5 Rank , lobster and uni.

Osaki Hachiman Shrine in Sendai City

In the Miyagi prefecture in the Tohoku region, the largest Dontosai Festival is held at the Osaki Hachiman Shrine in Sendai City where people come to burn their previous year’s New Year’s decorations in a massive bonfire. Seen as a purification ritual to get rid of bad luck as well as a way to pray for health and good fortune, the bonfire is accompanied by hadaka-mairi, a pilgrimage of men dressed only in white boxers, loincloths, a straw belt and straw shoes who ring a hand bell to herald the coming year while cleansing themselves of the previous year.

South American and European countries seem to have the most fun (or insanity) on New Year’s Eve.

Peru

Peru

To ensure good luck and positive energy, Peruvians don yellow clothing, wearing the color of Peruvian positivity. For double assurance, many put on yellow underwear and even start their New Year’s Eve celebration wearing their underwear inside out. After the clock strikes midnight, they turn it back to the right side, symbolizing changes to be made in the coming year.

Colombia

Colombia

Then there are the Colombians who take an empty suitcase on New Year’s Eve and run around the block as quickly as possible to ensure a year full of travel, an admirable aspiration especially this year.

Mexico

Mexico

The way to say goodbye to the old year in Mexico differs by area. In some regions, a doll made of old rags is set on fire to symbolize the burning of the previous year’s bad memories or deeds. In Veracruz, popular music floods the streets and children celebrate El Viejo, disguising themselves as elders as a representation of the end of the previous year. In Oaxaca, breaking crockery as a symbol of getting rid of the old is a New Year’s Eve tradition. In the heart of Jalisco, the town of Tequila fêtes the end of the year by eating 12 “lucky” grapes, one for each chime of the clock, as they do in Spain. With an appropriate Mexican twist, the town welcomes the New Year with a secret wish and a toast of tequila rather than Spanish cava. For extra good luck, locals drop a gold jewel inside their tequila glass as a harbinger of luck and abundance. Toast as they do in Spain and Mexico with festive dinner parties to go from New York City restaurants Boqueria, Socarrat and Mole.

Iceland

Iceland

Community bonfires are a New Year’s Eve event throughout Iceland. These massive fires attract friends and family to reflect on the year past and spread well wishes for the one ahead. Locals sing traditional songs about elves, the secret creatures of Icelandic lore, before scurrying indoors at 10:30pm to watch Skaupið, a satirical TV show shown only on NYE. No one in Iceland would dream of missing it!

Denmark

Denmark

In Denmark people smash plates against their friends’ and relatives’ front doors on New Year’s Eve.  They believe that the person with the largest pile of broken plates will have the most luck.

Greece

Greece

Ironically, the Greeks don’t smash plates on New Year’s as they often do in the Plaka in Athens. Rather, homemakers hang pomegranates outside their front door and smash them. The number of seeds that fall determines your fate for the New Year. The bigger the pile, the better your luck will be.

Russia

Russia - Herring under the Fur Coat” salad

The Japanese definitely don’t have a lock on celebrating NYE with a major food feast. On December 31, Russians party at home with an elaborate food spread with mandarins, Russian salad (Olivier salad) and the wonderfully named “Herring under the Fur Coat” salad (shuba). And, because there are nine time zones in Russia, New Year is celebrated nine times starting from Vladivostok from East to West. For a local taste of the Olivier and Shuba salads, Russian Samovar in Manhattan’s Theater District offers a “Bourgeois Holiday Banquet” to go.

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Where to See the Best Holiday Decorations in NYC

It’s a different kind of year for holiday spectaculars, but New York City doesn’t slack when it comes to showing off the joy and sparkles of the season.

Holiday Windows

Saks Fifth Avenue Photo By: Meryl Pearlstein

While the department stores may be emptier than usual this year, they haven’t turned down the volume when it comes to creating a festive holiday showcase on their exteriors. Barneys is missing. Lord & Taylor is no longer. But there’s still plenty to see and love.

Bloomingdale's Photo By: Meryl Pearlstein

The holiday windows at Bloomingdale’s turn and sparkle with colors and glitter. Macy’s windows pay tribute to the many heroes of the year including our frontline workers.  The music and light show on the façade of Saks Fifth Avenue is a must-see, too, if you’re in the vicinity of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Support the stores, if you can, by shopping in person and acknowledging their good work for the year.

Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards

If you can tear yourself away from The Vessel or down from The Edge (which is also decked out with holiday lights and a garland), you should venture inside the Hudson Yards mall where Shine Bright at Hudson Yards is a brand-new twinkling, floor-to-ceiling display of more than two million lights. Floating hot air balloons and Christmas trees add to the twinkling magic. The display will be up through January 1.

Brookfield Place

Brookfield Place Luminaries

Through January 3, the mall’s annual Luminaries tradition invites participation with an interactive installation in the Winter Garden. Each hour, you’ll enjoy a special light show featuring music by groups like The Bird and the Bee and Pentatonix. A canopy of colorful lights is formed from hundreds of lanterns suspended among the palms. Below, contactless wishing stations let you send a motion-activated wish to the lanterns prompting a magical display of lights and colors. And you’ll be doing a good deed, too. For each wish that you make, Brookfield Place will donate $1to an organization that’s near and dear to me, ROAR (Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants), which supports New York City restaurant employees facing economic challenges as a result of the pandemic.

Lights from Lincoln Center

Lincoln Center - Photos by Sachyn Mital

While the theaters of Lincoln Center remain shuttered until 2021, the exteriors are still ablaze with lights. The gateway to Lincoln Center, Josie Robertson Plaza is illuminated in purple, red and pink tones. Adding further holiday merriment, lanterns float on the reflecting pool and lights adorn the trees in the back campus.

The Lights of Dyker Heights

Dyker Heights in Brooklyn Photo By: Meryl Pearlstein

It’s hard to imagine a Christmas without the over-the-top lights displays of the houses in Dyker Heights in Brooklyn. Started in 1986 by Lucy Spata as a give-back to brighten up the neighborhood, the decorated homes and yards have attracted busloads of tourists to the streets each year. Due to COVID, you may have an easier time viewing now, as walking tours are replacing buses and only private groups of 20 or less are allowed.

Dyker Heights in Brooklyn Photo By: Meryl Pearlstein

It’s an immediate way to uplift the spirits as you marvel at the passion and creativity here. Most displays stay up through January 1. The main area is 83rd through 86th streets between 11th and 13th avenues.

NYBG Glow

NYBG Glow - Photo Courtesy Of: NYBG

Each year the New York Botanical Garden schedules its beloved train show for the holidays with New York City vignettes and buildings created out of flora and fauna foraged from nature, but this year the show is limited to NYBG members and Bronx community partners. Don’t despair, though, NYBG has something else for celebrants in 2020. The  general public event shines bright into the night with a new outdoor Glow color and light experience. Through January 16 on weekend nights, you’ll see a glowing world around the Haupt Conservatory.  As you explore, colors, dazzling lights and nighttime illuminations in the reflecting pool and area create a winter wonderland that might conjure up visions of Disney’s World of Color. Adding to the festivities are ice carving displays, roaming dancers and musicians. Expect a Hip Hop Nutcracker performance of the re-imagined Tchaikovsky classic as well . Timed-entry tickets are required for entry.

The Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights

The Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights

Around the corner, the Bronx Zoo doesn’t disappoint with their seasonal celebration of lights. Through January 10, you’ll see illuminated animals and flowers, ice sculptures, a decked-out Christmas tree and light-strung buildings as you wander along “a safari” path through Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America and the Ocean. Costumed characters, stilt walkers and projections onto buildings add to the sparkle. New this year, the Luminous Garden is filled with larger-than-life plants and animals.

LuminoCity Festival

LuminoCity Festival

Randall’s Island turns into a trippy light extravaganza again through January 10. Sculptures, mushrooms, characters, and towering light displays will keep the entire family entertained as you walk through the expansive LuminoCity Festival park area . Masks are required as you explore the imaginative adventures of Lumi, a character hailing from a universe created from a unicorn’s horn. Timed entry keeps the crowds moving through the narrative journey of love, loss and life.

The Lights of Manhattan

Empire State Building

And here’s a little bonus . You can watch the changing colors of the Empire State Building and the lights of downtown NYC on their ESB Live Cam. Two cameras give you two always-changing views. I could watch these for hours.

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Posted by Meryl Pearlstein
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Planning a trip to NYC?