We are back to Paris… I absolutely loved watching the children in awe at the department store window displays. Most were interactive. You could take a selfie from one display and it would project an image with your face transposed into the flying fairy body that flitted across the scene. The music emanating from the displays was magical and above you were rows and rows of pink-tipped roses that looked so real, you forgot it was December and in the 40s Fahrenheit. Everyone, even the adults walked from one display to the next with a giddiness of a child. It was almost as if you had transported yourself in to the Christmas Story movie and wanted that Red Ryder BB Gun.
Sure, Paris goes all out and you definitely want to experience December in Paris at least once. The real Parisians are here and the people are so much more friendly than a summer visit in the tourist season. But for those of us who can’t visit EVERY year, you can still experience some of this holiday magic right at home. Even in sunny Florida, you can head to Disney World for some of the same magic with an added Disney touch. There might not be snow, but they make up for it in poinsettias and lights. The Christmas light parade through the main street is pretty enchanting. Even in the 80s as a child, I loved the moving lights that looked like a dolphin was jumping in and out of the waves. There is a bonus with Epcot, as you get both a fabulous light show on the central lake but you can visit a world of different cultures and countries in one day, all with their own special take on the holidays.
In Washington DC, they have, for the last few years, put on their own Christmas Markets, just like in Europe. In 2016, I traveled with my friends to the German-American Cultural Center to get a small taste of what the European counterparts would offer in their own Christmas Markets. There were crafts and food. Gluhwein was served and little wooden tree ornaments were sold by local vendors. The larger D.C. markets were a bevy of great gift finds. One man was turning old defunct american brewery beer cans into soy-wax candles. Just as in Paris, I managed to purchase most of my Christmas gifts at the markets with finds like old maps of the South Pacific for my retired map-making father. It was fun to look for unique gifts that you could buy directly from the person who had a hand in making them. Homemade adds a great touch because it, to me, means I am supporting the local economy in a way I wouldn’t do if I had gone to Target or Walmart. Not to say getting your gifts from the big stores is bad. The large department stores in Paris were a treat as well. Especially the perfume and macaroons.
The window displays in Macy’s, especially in the larger cities in the U.S. are often spectacular too. One of the few large American department stores left, Macy’s, just screams Christmas. I mean, one of our most classic movies, “The Miracle on 34th Street”, was about the Santa at Macy’s Store. It might not be your bucket list destination, but if you can manage a holiday in December at a large city, (I recommend New York), take a peak at the windows or even inside of Macy’s. It isn’t Paris, but it doesn’t matter, it is still the type of experience that will make you feel like a kid again, in awe of the creativity before you. You might even have a main street in your town that can give you the same experience.
Frederick, Maryland, is in my mind, and in others too, a beautiful downtown experience during the holidays. The trees are lined with white lights, the windows are done in a festive manner, and the promenade is adorned with lighted water vessels. But, there are other small towns all across the U.S. and the world who create festive atmospheres for the holidays. Store fronts are decorated and lighted. Christmas Tree lightings abound. Take the time to grab your family and walk the sidewalks; gaze through to the store window displays, grab some hot cocoa, and spend time together with these experiences. We are so caught up in making Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, perfect, that we miss the opportunities to just BE. That is what was the most magical about Paris in front of the Printemps windows. You are not thinking of the perfect gift or whatever, you are just reveling in the moment and magic. There is nothing so perfect as watching the dancing fairies and snowman right next to the little curly-haired five year old and for just that instant being the same age in the experience with them, a goofy smile on your face and your hands clasped in pure joy. You might even believe in Santa and his reindeer in that moment, the magic is that real.