lo-fi holiday doings, part I

Back in Virginia, the small town I grew up in really turns it on for the holidays. Driving back from mass on Christmas Eve, our family would take a slow tour of the lights, pulling over to the curb in the dark night to admire the elegant and the gaudy alike.

Here in San Francisco, heading downtown to see storefronts and street decorations is the best approximation of that tradition. Sure, it’s a little less peaceful, but if you don’t have any shopping to do, you can actually find some stillness among the throngs of harried shoppers. And if you’re quiet, you’ll notice the steel drum version of carols being played on street corners, and hear the icy scrapes of blades on the temporary skating rink.

I have always loved downtown during the holidays, but the very best is going with my sister and niece and nephew and wandering around together, with our heads tilted upward.

Macy’s holds a special place in our heart – plus, they go all out with their windows. It’s the big leagues. I am tempted to say that they almost cheat – I mean, they bring in kittens and puppies and create little animal-sized cities around them. How can mere lights and greenery compete with kittens? But the animals are all up for adoption, so I suppose I would be a terrible person if I considered that somehow nefarious.

We soaked up all the festive glitz before installing ourselves rinkside at an outdoor café for salami and a glass of wine.

Sure, it’s a cosmopolitan take on the family tradition. But the slow, stargazey sentiment makes it feel almost the same.

Comments

[robyn]

loved EVERY minute.
xx

[Maddy]

Thanks for all the great suggestions today - now all I need is the time to be creative. What a pity we can't gift wrap that present for other people : )

[Blythe]

I love your sentiment of finding stillness in the midst of the bustle. I thought about this a lot when I lived in Taipei. I always had to dig deep for my own holiday feelings there, though, at Christmas time, when we celebrated "our own private holiday". But truly, what matches Hamilton at Christmas?