Holiday Windows 2013

This is the first year I've really been in the city for the full holiday season, and I'm trying hard to soak it all in. I've been trying to walk as much as I can, on my lunch break, at night and on the weekends. I've walked down Fifth Avenue a few times, hitting the big department store window displays, and it's definitely not hard to pick a favorite. The best windows this year are at Bergdorf Goodman, on 58th/5th.

The theme is "Holidays on Ice," with windows depicting Valentine's Day, Halloween, Arbor Day, Thanksgiving, New Years, Groundhog Day, April Fools Day and the 4th of July, all with an icy twist. They're all a little weird and a whole lot of wonderful — everything a window display should be. I see something new in them each time I walk by, and they feel fresh without feeling too unnecessarily modern or avant-garde (but there is no mistake this is Bergdorf's and FASHUN).

My second favorite displays are at Saks Fifth Avenue on 49th/5th. They brought back their fuzzy Yeti character, and their windows tell his story (he supposedly lives on the roof of Saks and makes snow in the winter, but I'm sure you knew that). He's super cute, and anything that involves snow ranks high on my holiday must-see list.

Bloomingdale's windows are a little on the tacky side, and I hate that they rotate (taking photos is difficult), but the international theme is kind of fun. Of course I couldn't help but like the New York one with its bedazzled Chrysler Building and the Chinese dragon is definitely worth seeing in person.

Henri Bendel at 56th/5th has basically one window, but it's a good one. Their sculptural tribute to Al Hirschfeld features his famous drawings of Sarah Jessica Parker, Carol Channing, Bernadette Peters, Jerry Stiller and Liza Minelli. As a side note, I discovered this weekend that Henri Bendel's basement bathrooms are each approximately the size of my entire apartment, have exfoliating hand scrub in the soap dispensers and may or may not have solid gold paper towel holders. They also have private phone booths with pay phones, in case you ever find yourself needing one of those anymore.

Unfortunately, I am really disappointed in Macy's windows this year, so much so that I've passed them a few times without caring enough to photograph them. I'm mostly traditional when it comes to my holiday windows — anything with a screen or Twitter hashtag is pretty much the worst in my opinion. Snow, holiday scenes, minimal movement (that isn't from a TV screen) and a touch of glamour is really all I need.