Christmas in NYC has got to be one of the most iconic—and cliche—times of the year. Each tradition is as exciting as the next and as a freshman, you can’t wait to experience them all first hand. Senior year, things are a little different. For each tradition there are a few things you learn over the years.
Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting
Oh the tree lighting. It’s the event of the season for a freshman in the city. You get there early and huddle with your roomies to keep warm through the muffled live music. But, you don’t mind because (1) this is a true NY experience (2) you got a really cute Insta pic out of it.
Senior year, there’s only one way you’re going to that ceremony and that is if it’s at private party that happens to overlook the tree. Too many tourists for us hardened New Yorkers. We’ll certainly go see the tree—we’re not the grinch—but we prefer to do it on our own time. Plus, we’ll have the time and space to get an even cuter Insta pic.
Bryant Park Winter Village
Near the top of every freshman’s bucket list is this Christmas attraction filled with some of the most unique foods and gifts for every one of your friends back home. You plan to ice skate with your friends, but one look at that line and you realize that’s not happening. Instead, you’ll spend hours wandering up and down the aisles looking at every little thing. Eventually your hands will go numb—because you went for fashion over warmth–and you’ll have to call it quits.
Senior year, you make sure to go at on odd time—say Tuesday morning? Because you know how crazy it can get around the holiday and you want no part of that. You bundle up because you’ve learned the hard way—it’s freezing in December. You’re not even going to shop. You’re more interested in trying to find some holiday spirit to get you through the end of the semester.
SantaCon
Freshman year you hear about SantaCon and think you’re about to reach peak Christmas spirit. So you get all dressed up, you brace yourself for the freezing wind to hit your bare thighs, and you immediately get denied from the first bar. Even if you sneak by on the first, or even the second, there is no way to successfully bar crawl without at least one of your friends getting denied. So, you’ll hike all the way back to your dorm and settle on a Christmas movie, which is what you should’ve done in the first place.
Senior year you’re finally of age to dress like a *ho ho ho* and get as lit as the Rockefeller tree. So you buy your official SantaCon outfit™ and get dressed up to go! You start off strong, but a few bars in all you want is a Christmas movie and some hot chocolate. Maybe with a splash of rum.
Ice Skating
The most iconic Christmas group activity has to be ice skating. Freshman year you gather your unnecessarily large friend group and head off to one of the many sites for skating. You wait in line for an obscene amount of time and pay a high price for skates. But, skating in some of the most iconic locations is totally worth it.
Senior year… you’re definitely not going ice skating. That money could be better used for food and your friend group is way too busy to find a time to all go together.
Seeing a Show
Whether it’s the Rockettes or The Nutcracker, everyone must see a Christmas-themed show their freshman year. You head with your gal pals to the theater decked out in festive formal wear. Snap a picture with the program #attheballet. And once it’s over you’re filled with holiday cheer.
Senior year, money is your most prized possession so going to a show is a serious treat. You’re too proud to pay the minimum for a terrible seat, but you’re too broke to pay for a decent seat. So you’ll settle somewhere in the middle, dress up, and for at least 2+ hours you’ll forget about your post-grad worries.
All of the tourists
Freshman year we were all obsessed with looking, talking, and acting like we’d lived here our whole lives. But, for most of us, we were wannabes. We would roll our eyes at the hoards of tourists that had no subway etiquette, knowing full well we only figured it out a month ago. We would tell everyone that we knew about the cool spots in New York, which were definitely not the cool spots. And we did this when in all reality, we were the tourists.
Senior year you begin to envy the bright-eyed tourists who are seeing New York for the first time. They’re the ones having the real fun. When asked for directions, you can actually be of some help and nothing makes you feel more warm and fuzzy than making sure a family finds their way to the tree. You realize that the reason there are so many tourists is because you live in a wonderful place. Instead of trying to take ownership, you now know that NYC is a place to be shared.
Because it really is the greatest city in the world, especially when it’s Christmastime!