My Visit With Santa Claus!

I've always believed in Santa Claus, a.k.a. Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, or one of the many other names he is called around the world. Ever since my first visit to see him when I was five years old -- please see my post about that Christmas memory on this link -- I have truly believed in him.  As the 1897 newsman, Francis Pharcellus Church, wrote in his editorial answer to little Virginia's question to his newspaper if there really was a Santa Claus: "He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy." That is what Santa Claus means to me!

What better place to visit Santa Claus than at Santaland" in Macy's -- the world's largest department store -- located at  151 W. 34th Street and Herald Square in Manhattan.  I decided to visit Santa there this year to ask him for a very special request.

I passed this year's animated holiday window displays.  You can see last year's display on this link and watch my videos of it.  The windows look especially pretty all lit up at night!

I went up Macy's iconic wooden escalators to the eighth floor...

..and walked past the mailbox that is there, in case a personal visit to Santa is not on the agenda, and a letter would suffice instead. I really needed a face to face meeting with Santa Claus, so I proceeded towards Santaland.

How wonderful that the theme for the beginning of Santaland's queue line was "Miracle On 34th Street," as this is exactly what I needed -- a miracle!

As the line for Santaland began to move there were windows to look at that had wonderfully detailed displays of movie scenes from the "Miracle of 34th Street." (All photos in this post will enlarge if clicked on once, and then clicked on again when they open on a new page. Use your browser's back arrow to return to this post)

There were many other people on the line -- children, Moms and Dads, and many excited grandparents. As one gets close you can see the Santa Express train that will bring us all to the North Pole! Once we walk on board we can actually feel the train vibrations below our feet.

We've finally arrived at the North Pole Station!

Welcome to Santaland!

It is located on the Avenue of Naughty and Nice.

Santaland is a busy town full of miniature houses, stores, and trains,  Santa's elves were there to encourage us not to linger too long, as Santa was waiting!

There were many wonderful scenes to see!

There were even different glimpses of Santa inside a giant snow globe!

Finally, the last turn on the path leads me right next to Santa's sleigh parked outside his cabin.  His pack is already full of toys for all the good little boys and girls in the world.  I wonder if Santa has one more gift in that bag that he could give to me?

It's time to see him!  Santa is waving goodbye to the child and his family that visited before me. I felt my heart beat harder and faster and I felt a little shaky as I knew my turn was next. I haven't felt this nervous to see him since I was five years old!

Hi Santa!  I have one special request.  Like the "Miracle on 34th Street" I need a miracle on my street.  I need a nice family to come to my house, fall in love with it, and want to buy it!  Do you think you can grant my special wish?  I do believe in you, in miracles, and in dreams come true. Can you do that for me Santa? I promise I've been good!

Santa paused, looked me in the eye, squeezed my hand and told me this: "I alone can not make that wish come true, but I can certainly bring it to a higher authority! Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!"

Do you think I can take this as a "yes"? I hope so! I really do need a miracle, considering it seems no one is looking at or buying houses right now in my neighborhood. It may not happen until 2013, but I can be patient wait a little longer if I have to. Please, Santa, make my wish come true!

Have you had any special wishes for Santa Claus this year? I also hope they come true for you!

Come back next post where I'll be showing more New York City Christmas scenes. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Inside the Lion King Exhibit, NYC

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I was in Manhattan yesterday and saw a free, limited pop-up exhibit called "Inside the Lion King," located on 42 Street and Avenue of the Americas adjacent to Bryant Park.  The exhibit features 86 museum quality artifacts from the popular, long-running Broadway Disney play called The Lion King.  (All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and then clicking on them again when they re-open. Use your browser's back arrow to return to the post.)

Even though I was in Manhattan for another important reason which will be revealed in a future post, I could not resist taking some time to view this exhibit after seeing these enticing window displays.

The play has been running for 15 years to "sold out" audiences so it was a treat to see the actual costumes and artifacts used in the show. The masks and puppets are made of carbon graphite, and although they look heavy, they are remarkably light. This is the adult Simba costume.

Demonstrators were on hand to show how the parts of the costumes worked and how puppetry enhanced their realism.

The costumes were beautiful and so creative!

Many are based on actual examples of historic African culture. This is a model of the character Rafiki. The model was made by Madame Tussauds New York.

It takes four people to move the 13-foot tall elephant down the center aisle and onto the stage of the theater during the play!

I could envision the graceful gazelles leaping across the stage as they are held by their puppeteer dancers.

These are the masks for the wildebeests that stampede across the stage during one scene.

Can you imagine seeing the 17-foot ostriches move? The model of the play's character Scar is another Madame Tussaud New York creation.

It was fascinating to see the artwork and intricate detail of the masks and costumes that the actors wear daily up close and......

...to also see models of the imaginative set designs.

Just look at the detail of these costume models and the dioramas of the stage sets from many different productions of the play!

The costumes and puppets are all the work of Julie Taymor’s Tony Award-winning artistry and vision.

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