Christmas and New Year’s Eve in NYC RECAP

Happy 2024! Let’s recap the holidays together.

Annual Christmas Dinner with Michelle and Giorgia

On Friday before Christmas, I met up with Michelle and Giorgia for our annual holiday dinner. We started this tradition when we were in high school (I think 9^th or 10^th grade). Every year we pick a restaurant, catch up and see the Rockefeller tree. I started this tradition because my dad and his friends from his younger days used to go out to eat every holiday season to reconnect.

This year, the girls and I went to Old Fashion Café in SoHo. It was a tiny restaurant. It was surprisingly empty, despite finding it on TikTok, as everyone raving about it. The food was good. We shared small plates. I don’t think I would go back. We also skipped out on the tree this year because I went at the beginning of December and it was insanely packed. Maybe next year!

Christmas Eve

My family and I went up to Connecticut for lunch with my aunt. It was really nice for most of my siblings and their families to get together for Christmas Eve lunch. We did our annual Secret Santa gift swap amongst the adults.

We then headed home to Long Island for Christmas Eve mass.

 

Christmas Day

Christmas is my favorite holiday.

It’s so fun to run down the stairs and see what Santa brought and put under the tree! 

My parents, twin brother and I sat around the tree in our pjs and unwrapped our gifts. 

The most thoughtful gift I received was a set of metal utensils for my desk, so I don’t have to bring a set from the kitchen when I bring my lunch to work. The coolest gift I received was a vintage Burberry Prorsum trench coat from The Real Real. It came in a dust bag. It is in pristine condition. Vintage isn’t the right word for it, because it looks like it was never worn. The collar and sleeves aren’t marked, like they usually are on a well-loved coat. It was the deal of the century. Santa did well!

 

New Year’s Eve Weekend

 

Friday

My friends and I celebrated a birthday to kick off the holiday weekend. We went to Puglia in Little Italy and had the best time. Live music, bottomless wine and dancing on tables!!! Great vibes all around.

 

Saturday

I met up with an old college friend, Emily, and got to meet her boyfriend at Refinery Rooftop in midtown before her and I went to see the Rockettes at Radio City. There is so much magic and joy in this show. I used to go every holiday season when I was little. The Rockettes are incredible.

 

Sunday

New Year’s Eve was on a Sunday this year. We started the morning with at-home brunch. I decorated the boy’s apartment with gold stars. We got all dressed up, ordered in pizza and got ready to ring in the new year. 

We had tickets to Ms. Yoo on the Lower East Side for a New Year’s Eve party. Our tickets were about $100 when we bought them in November for an open bar from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. It was a really nice venue serving good liquor and good music. We had a lot of fun. It was so nice for all of us to get dressed up and go dancing. We go out quite a bit, but we never get to wear fancy clothes, so I loved it.  

I surprisingly have never been out in NYC for New Years. I heard mixed reviews from many people, but personally, my friends and I had a really good time. I loved ringing in the new year with my friends in my favorite city!

Wishing you all a wonderful 2024! Next week I will be sharing my 2024 goals, stay tuned.