BY TARA BURKE

I love Christmas time in the city and because I like to take one whole day each year to see all the Christmas sights, Cailin started calling it “Tara’s Christmas Day.” It has become somewhat of a tradition to invite friends along and get into the Christmas spirit.

This year we went to Breads Bakery to get rugelach for breakfast. It had been on our list to check out for some time and their rugelach is so good. We also had to stop at City Bakery for some good hot chocolate.

After that we went to the Union Square Holiday Market. They have a ton of vendors all selling unique gift items. It’s always fun to see what new vendors they have and just the general feeling of people bustling around buying gifts for their loved ones.

Our next stop was the Flatiron building since our friends had never seen it. They also have the Nova Flatiron installation up right now, which is a pretty cool spot to get some awesome photos of both the installation and the Flatiron building. While in that area you have to drop by Fishs Eddy and ABC Carpet and Home. ABC Carpet and Home sets up all their fancy Christmas decorations in the store and the place looks beautiful, while Fishs Eddy is so fun for finding unique dishware that is perfect for gifting.

After such a rich breakfast we stopped at Chop’t for salads and headed to happy hour in the West Village. Once it was dark we headed back Uptown to walk down 5th Ave. and roam around The Plaza lobby. One of my favorite things about Christmas in the city is the window displays, since it is always cool to see what themes each store uses. Every one is magical in its own way, but the Lord & Taylor display was super cute this year. Of course we had to gaze at the Rockefeller Christmas tree for a bit and catch the Saks Fifth Avenue light show. If you’re planning on being in the city for New Years or a little after, check out some of these spots! Most places still have their decorations up through the first week of January.