The Christmas Post

Happy New Year everyone! We are officially in the late Aughts. The New Year's post will have to wait, though.... I'm still recovering from Jesus' birthday bonanza.

Firstly, let me just randomize things here by saying the girls and I planned on celebrating by watching loads of Christmas movies together, but ended up playing for hours with the Nintendo Wii that Jennifer was babysitting.

You can make a you! Also known as a Mii. Here's my Mii.


Shannon got Mii'd too.


Alright, onto business. The family decided to have Christmas this year in lovely Midtown New York.


Many decorated trees were seen,


Many pictures were taken,


And many obligatory photos were endured (happily).


My parents, instead of paying through the nose for a hotel (or worse, crashing with me), got modern and went through Craigslist to get a sublet right next to the United Nations.

They really lucked out - the place was massive and even had a jacuzzi tub.


Luckily for me, I got the whole week off from work! The first night, we went to see The Big Tree...


... accompanied by everyone else on the planet.


Obligatory...

I showed my fam the sights (including this, my favorite NY sculpture, a Damien Hirst giant lady hidden in a courtyard).



Christmas Eve, Tom, Greg and I went last-minute shopping and tried on hats at Urban Outfitters.



Then appeased Nathan's spiritual side by going to the Mass of all Masses, Christmas Eve at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

It was as full as you think, plus a few.


After Mass we wandered around Midtown for two hours looking for any damn food we could find. We ended up at a deli. We went back to the apartment and watched "A Christmas Story" a few times while munching on our panini.

Christmas morning brought a delightful surprise - a sweet li'l tree and our stockings from home. This year, being together in New York was our biggest gift to each other and ourselves, so we did gifts Secret Santa-style.


We were ecstatic.


I ended up getting three copies of "Cosmos" this year. That'll teach me to give everyone the same list.


And my big bro gave me some fantastic records.


We were finally able to give Mom & Tom our anniversary gift to them, which was forgotten on the last trip, a porcelain clock made in Ireland.


We called Grandma, Dad, and other family members in Arizona and sent our merry wishes.


We prepared for our Christmas extravaganza, all of us ready an unprecedented three minutes BEFORE we had to leave.

Nathan looked as dapper as ever.


Things got romantic...


... but we didn't have time for that nonsense. We were on our way to ROCKEFELLER CENTER!!! For the ROCKETTES CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR!!


I had never been. I was stunned at how beautiful the whole place was.

(ceiling)

Everything was so Art Deco, recently renovated.




It was the classiest joint I've ever been to, that's for sure. Really made me feel like a lady.


The show was... well... spectacular.




I don't really know if these pictures do it any justice, but it was a super-cool show.



There was even sixty dancing Santas.




They even had ice skaters!


Of course, what do I look at half the time but the freaking audio board.


It was an amazing show, although it got pretty heavy on the Jesus at the end. Real camels though.


I snapped this pic of my family reflected in a mirror across the room while we waited for the crowd to die down on the way out.



After the big show, we upheld the time-honored Christmas tradition of many families across America: we went to Starbuck's.



Nate had never been to Central Park, so we stopped by just in time to see the ice skaters just before it started to rain.


We ended the day with a nice Italian dinner, with some goofy on the side.


A couple of days later, I threw caution to the wind and made my family meet Dustin's family. They were kind enough to have us all over for lunch.


We all got along famously (whew).


Afterwards we went to Madison Square Garden to see if we could get Nathan and Tom tickets to the Knicks game. Mom and I stopped by a souvenir shop.


The next day, Greg and Nate's last, we walked around the West Village, going into record shops, art stores, and that sort of thing, just enjoying the scene.


The boys stopped into one of a million pizza shops that claim to be "the best in New York," although they did have Ben Affleck's approval.


Tom stopped in a guitar shop and got his fix.


Picks and picks

During our day out, Tom and I worked on our application video for "The Amazing Race." You heard right. These are our head shots.



At the end of the day we stopped in a cool little pub that had some great artwork and mosaics.



That night Mom, Tom and I had drinks at one of the Trump Plaza bars.



And later we went to dinner with my Aunt Eileen, then went to see a kickin' show at Terra Blues.


All in all, it was a wonderful holiday. Though we had no snow, it did feel like a winter wonderland.

Merry Christmas from the Foster/Warneckes.



love,
*jenna*