Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2014.

I love, love the holidays and I'm so grateful that we survived yet another holiday. This Thanksgiving turned out to be perfect in every way. We may not have cooked, had major family over, or prepared huge dishes, but spending it with one of my dear friends including my sweet family in New York City was perfection.
Waking up at 5am to get ready to drive to new york to see the Macy's parade, and gallivant via foot all over Manhattan is truly no big deal for us. I think that if you get plenty of rest, and have that thankful spirit of excitement in your heart waking up early and the 80 minute drive won't matter. Our adrenaline kicks in once we see the New York skyline on the Polaski highway, and hearing my five year old wide awake shouting, "New York, New York!" helps me feel less guilty in willing my kids to get up at such an ungodly hour to have some fun in the city! New York has pretty much become a second home to us, and the fact that we love it so much helps us to forget that we even live in Jersey! Nonetheless we had ourselves a blast and filled ourselves up with peppermint hot chocolate, hand warmers, snacks and it was all good! A little too good if you ask me. I mean...seeing your kids get all excited to see oversized balloons of their favorite characters & actors from a cartoon/television show in the air is priceless (not to mention Nick Jonas where Lexie got a little starry eyed when she saw him close up on a float!) We are truly thankful to have gone once again to see the Macy's Thanksgiving parade in all it's glory parading through the streets of Manhattan, and to witness such a wonderful piece of magic that this amazing city continues to give to new yorkers.

In spite of the cold, and light snow that we got we had ourselves an energetic day. New york is full of kind strangers, and for those three hours of standing around cheering, and clapping as the floats rode by, the crowd we were surrounded by immediately became a family. They noticed that Chelsea kept saying, "I can't see mom'' , and a kind man with kids of his own asked that there was room enough for one more small person all the way up in the front. Noah would of gone too, but he was too comfortable sitting on papa's shoulders. Chelsea got lucky and stood right in front of the street behind the iron rail with a few other kids just in time for the float with the huge screen TV with a live camera can catch them on film...and it did. Seeing Chelsea's face on that screen was priceless, and she was one happy camper knowing that she had a front row seat!!  

I captured a few shots of our favorite floats, and also took a few selfies with a couple of my favorite girls. Not a huge fan of selfies, but who cares...they're beginning to become kind of fun to take.

^^^ Noah's day was made when he immediately saw Thomas the Train. ^^^ 

 ^^^ Snoopy! ^^^

^^^ Good old Ronald McDonald! ^^^

^^^ and Hello Kitty! ^^^

^^^ Paddington Bear! Seems like he's going to be an even bigger star when his new movie comes out! ^^^

^^^ Yay! The red ranger made an appearance! ^^^

^^^ Here's "Toothless" from "How to train Your Dragon! "If it wasn't for Jon & Noah I would have never known his name! They went to the movies to see it! ^^^

^^^ This wiggle worm caught my eye with all his colors, and I just had to snap a photo! ^^^

^^^ The amazing spider-man never gets old. ^^^

^^^ Oh my gosh! KISS! I totally felt nostalgic for like ten seconds. Especially when I remembered that KISS stands for "knights in satan's service" and not "keep it simple stupid!" They're just a band guys! ha ha! ^^^

^^^ Every time a marching band went by Lexie literally cheered for them, and drummed with her fingers to the beat of their music. She loved the way they played, and they all sounded phenomenal! 

^^^The one and only...Elf on the Shelf. Miles should be making a stop at our house soon for a whole 25 days! Yikes! Hope he's super good to us this year, and doesn't cause too much chaos! ^^^

And last, but not least Santa Claus and his elves. They came just in time before the light snow began to really come down. They were so cheerful waving their hands like as if they knew each and every one of us (kind of like the Savior, and his angels). I always want to view the Christmas season with miracles of hope , faith & love. To focus on the savior and all that Christmas stands for. It was a magical day filled with energetic walks around the theatre district, and seeing families together of all nationalities walking around Manhattan brought a huge smile on my face. I swear it's like the united nations around here, and I love it! 

 ^^^And seeing this "He Is The Gift" sign (from the church I attend) in the theatre district was exciting to see. Hopefully everyone will remember the reason for the season amidst the hustle and bustle in this magical city! ^^^

 ^^^ I just love these giant red ornaments. They are my favorite decorations in the city, and mandatory to always take a picture with them! ^^^

I am especially grateful to have had my dearest friend Maggie come along with us. This was her first time seeing the parade live,  and she was all smiles. This time of year just warms my heart, and makes me all giddy inside and out. New York never disappoints when we venture out here. No matter where you turn everything is so festive, and colorful. This is one of my favorite places to come during the Christmas season, and I'm so grateful to have come, had fun, and then to have made it home to Jersey in one peace! 

Hope your Thanksgiving was all that you hoped it would be, and that you are getting into the spirit of the Christmas season! 

You can also view the first time we came to the Macy's parade here.

Happy weekend!