Listing of 2011 Display Windows

A Guide to the 2011 Holiday Display Windows at shops throughout New York City 

Flipping through the pages of our trusty Time Out New York Magazine (Holiday Issue on Newsstands now) we found the pub has once again posted this comprehensive list of NYC retailers with Holiday Windows. Following up on yesterday’s post about Bergdorf’s spectacular windows, this should give you a solid overview of retail stores throughout Manhattan who are putting their backside into decking the halls to create amazing displays. 

If you're visiting from out of town or trying to capture the spirit of the season in The Big Apple, taking to time gaze at the windows is a free, fun activity that is worth your time. Choose your route carefully - many stores are close in proximity to one another on and near 5^th Avenue in Midtown. With a little skill, you can knock out half a dozen locations in under 45 minutes and dodge some crowds. Check out the handy map below.

 Tons of images from windows (and this info) can be found at Time Out New York's Holiday Guide

 
Bergdorf Goodman - 754 Fifth Ave at 58th Sts (212-753-7300, bergdorfgoodman.com). –Winner of The Big Adventure’s Vote for Best Windows!

Dylan’s Candy Bar - 1011 Third Ave at 60th St (646-735-0078, dylanscandybar.com). 

Henri Bendel - 712 Fifth Ave at 56th St (800-423-6335, henribendel.com).

Lord & Taylor - 424 Fifth Ave at 39th St (212-391-3344, lordandtaylor.com).

Barneys - 660 Madison Ave between 60th & 61st Sts (212-826-8900, barneys.com).

Bloomingdale's - 59th St and Lexington Ave (212-705-2000, bloomingdales.com).

Macy's - 34th St and Sixth Ave (212-695-4400, macys.com). .

Anthropologie - 50 Rockefeller Plaza between 50th and 51st Sts (212-246-0386, anthropologie.com).

Tiffany & Co. - 727 Fifth Ave between 56th and 57th Sts (212-755-8000, tiffany.com) 

Saks Fifth Avenue - 611 Fifth Ave between 49th and 50th Sts (212-753-4000, saks.com).

Cartier - 653 Fifth Ave at 52nd St (212-446-3400). 

Fendi - 677 Fifth Ave between 53rd and 54th Sts (212-759-4646, fendi.com).

Louis Vuitton -1 9 E 57th St at Fifth Ave (212-752-4835, louisvuitton.com).

Enjoy the NYC Holiday Windows 2011!

The Big Adventure's NYC Winter Guide 2011

It's starting to look a lot like…The NYC Big Adventure Winter Guide

With the arrival of the giant 74 foot-tall Tree into Rockefeller Center last Friday,It is starting to look a lot like Christmas in New York City! Decorations are going up all over town and The 78^th Annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular is seducing spectators thrice daily and some stores even answering the consumer call to open stores at 9:00 PM on Thanksgiving Night (blegh).

Aside from the cold and forthcoming snow slush, it certainly is one of the most wonderful times of year in the Big Apples (and, of course, one of the most tourist heavy). Over the next few weeks, The Big Adventure will be occasionally sharing some of the best Holiday Season To-Dos in New York City.

Thought we would start with a blast from the past by recounting our past Winter Big Adventure from a couple of years back. The stops still hold and this would make a tis-The-Season great self-guided Adventure:

 The NYC Big Winter Adventure

Lunch at Havana Central at the West End  Up at 116^th and Broadway -one of the most amazing restaurants in the city. Don’t settle for the other two locations. 

See A College Basketball Game at Columbia University-  Right across the street. You don't get a chance to witness true Division 1A College B-ball often without paying through the nose. Tickets are as little as $10. Cheer on the exciting Columbia Lions and their mascot Roar-ee (sad) 

Grand Central Model Train Display - At the Transit Museum Annex in Grand Central. For the kid in all of us. In this year’s festive display, model trains start off in a living room on Christmas morning, shuttle through a miniature NYC and assorted pastoral tableaux before arriving at Santa’s workshop in the North Pole. Fun! Maybe there will be a NJ Transit train that stops and shuts down periodically with little angry passengers inside.  

 

Grand Central Kaleidoscope Light Show- How do you make practical use of the busiest and largest train station in America? By illuminating the walls with a spectacular Holiday light show throughout the concourse. This is quickly becoming one of the New York’s premiere holiday “Must Sees”

Delicious Holiday Drinks and Food at Maggie’s Place -Across from Grand Central at Madison Avenue at 47^th Street–Maggie’s is often voted as a top stop for holiday drinks which range from their Famous Irish Coffees that use rare whiskey to Hot Ciders and a legendary Peppermint Paddy -a flirty hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps that’s served with a candy cane. More Holiday treats abound.

New York Midtown Holiday Window Gazing  -Finally, Walk up 5^th Avenue to see the best holiday storefronts in the world from Saks Fifth Avenue to Henri Bendel to Bergdorf Goodman to Barney’s and more. You can try and guess just how much that 34 carat diamond in the window of Tiffany’s costs. End at FAO Schwarz or take a load of at the shady but fun Subway Inn Bar. 

Nothing on that list tickle your fancy? More Holiday Big Adventuring to follow...

All About The Big Adventure

Click here to return to The Big Adventure homepage

A look back at some of our past NYC Big Adventures from 2010. Our Gallery includes:

To round out the list, Big Adventures before 2010:

The International Big Adventure

The Farewell to the W Line Big Adventure

The 24 Hour Big Adventure

The Letter C Big Adventure

The Winter Big Adventure

The Staten Island Yankees Big Adventure

The All-Irish Astoria Pub Crawl Big Adventure 

 

 _________________________

A Guide to the Holiday Display Windows at shops throughout New York City 
(Nov 21,2010)

Time Out New York is on the ball again - they recently posted this comprehensive list earlier this week. While perhaps not the definitive list, it should give you a solid overview of retail stores throughout Manhattan who are putting their backside into decking the halls to create amazing Holiday themed Display Windows. 

These windows have become as iconic for the NYC Holiday season as the Rockettes and Tree at Rockefeller Center. The Big Adventure's favorite? Without a doubt, Barney's outshines the others year after year. Although, we've already seen Dylan's first hand and the Penguins using Gummy worms to Ice fish for giant Swedish Fish is pretty dang cute.

If planning a visit, choose your route carefully - many are stores are close to one another and you can knock out half a dozen locations in under 45 minutes...

Info provided by Time Out New York's Holiday Guide

Dylan’s Candy Bar - 1011 Third Ave at 60th St (646-735-0078 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              646-735-0078      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, dylanscandybar.com). 

Henri Bendel - 712 Fifth Ave at 56th St (800-423-6335, henribendel.com).

Lord & Taylor - 424 Fifth Ave at 39th St (212-391-3344, lordandtaylor.com).

Barneys - 660 Madison Ave between 60th and 61st Sts (212-826-8900, barneys.com).

Bergdorf Goodman - 754 Fifth Ave at 58th Sts (212-753-7300, bergdorfgoodman.com).

Bloomingdale's - 59th St and Lexington Ave (212-705-2000, bloomingdales.com).

Macy's - 34th St and Sixth Ave (212-695-4400, macys.com). .

Anthropologie - 50 Rockefeller Plaza between 50th and 51st Sts (212-246-0386, anthropologie.com). Monday, November 22.

Tiffany & Co. - 727 Fifth Ave between 56th and 57th Sts (212-755-8000, tiffany.com). November 22 at 5pm.

Saks Fifth Avenue - 611 Fifth Ave between 49th and 50th Sts (212-753-4000, saks.com). November 22 at 6pm.

Steuben Glass - 667 Madison Ave at 61st St (212-752-1441, steuben.com). November 30.

Cartier - 653 Fifth Ave at 52nd St (212-446-3400). Opening TBD.

Fendi - 677 Fifth Ave between 53rd and 54th Sts (212-759-4646, fendi.com). Opening TBD.

Louis Vuitton -1 9 E 57th St at Fifth Ave (212-752-4835, louisvuitton.com). Opening TBD.

Enjoy the NYC Holiday Windows 2010!

Chapter One of the Big Adventure Winter Guide

Starting to look a lot like…The Big Adventure Winter Guide

With the arrival of the giant 62-foot-tall Tree into Rockefeller Center this morning (and for some reason an A.M. concert by Bon Jovi), It is starting to look a lot like Christmas in New York City! Decorations are going up all over town and The 77^th Annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular is seducing spectators thrice daily and even a new Broadway Musical based on the movie Elf (we’re skeptical). 

Aside from the cold and forthcoming snow slush, it certainly is one of the most wonderful times of year in the Big Apples (and, of course, one of the most tourist heavy). Over the next few weeks, The Big Adventure will be occasionally sharing some of the best Holiday Season To-Dos in New York City.

Thought we would start with a blast from the past by recounting our past Winter Big Adventure from a couple of years back. The stops still hold and this would make a tis-The-Season great self-guided Adventure:

 The NYC Big Winter Adventure

Lunch at Havana Central at the West End  Up at 116^th and Broadway -one of the most amazing restaurants in the city. Don’t settle for the other two locations. 

See A College Basketball Game at Columbia University-  Right across the street. You don't get a chance to witness true Division 1A College B-ball often without paying through the nose. Tickets are as little as $10. Cheer on the exciting Columbia Lions and their mascot Roar-ee (sad) 

Grand Central Model Train Display - At the Transit Museum Annex in Grand Central. For the kid in all of us. In this year’s festive display, model trains start off in a living room on Christmas morning, shuttle through a miniature NYC and assorted pastoral tableaux before arriving at Santa’s workshop in the North Pole. Fun! Maybe there will be a NJ Transit train that stops and shuts down periodically with little angry passengers inside.  

 

Grand Central Kaleidoscope Light Show- How do you make practical use of the busiest and largest train station in America? By illuminating the walls with a spectacular Holiday light show throughout the concourse. This is quickly becoming one of the New York’s premiere holiday “Must Sees”

Delicious Holiday Drinks and Food at Maggie’s Place -Across from Grand Central at Madison Avenue at 47^th Street–Maggie’s is often voted as a top stop for holiday drinks which range from their Famous Irish Coffees that use rare whiskey to Hot Ciders and a legendary Peppermint Paddy -a flirty hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps that’s served with a candy cane. More Holiday treats abound.

New York Midtown Holiday Window Gazing  -Finally, Walk up 5^th Avenue to see the best holiday storefronts in the world from Saks Fifth Avenue to Henri Bendel to Bergdorf Goodman to Barney’s and more. You can try and guess just how much that 34 carat diamond in the window of Tiffany’s costs. End at FAO Schwarz or take a load of at the shady but fun Subway Inn Bar. 

Nothing on that list tickle your fancy? More Holiday Big Adventuring to follow...

The Next Big Adventure is Coming!

It's coming...and we're starting to get the engines in gear for another amazing Big Adventure!

Mark your Calendar for Saturday, December 11th and get ready to join us for an entire day (and a good portion of the evening) of an inexpensive, social, incredibly unique and unbelievably fun way to explore New York City.

More details are forthcoming as our staff, various interns and contracted minions are putting everything in place. We'll be providing all of the sorted details in the next couple of weeks well in advance of the day, but we like to keep a lid on thing until all is in place. Let's just say, we'll be celebrating the winter season with one cool theme on December 11th.

Let us know if you'll be joining us by reserving your space on our Facebook Event Page. Hope you can join as this is already shaping up to our biggest and best event yet! http://www.facebook.com/TheBigAdventure?v=app_2344061033&ref=ts

Brooke and Phil’s International Big Adventure Update!

We’re hoping you can join us next Saturday, December 5^th.

We’re going to get started around 2:00 PM, but feel free to meet up with the roaming Big Adventure at any point throughout the day. Below is the detailed Itinerary complete with the foreign lands we’ll be visiting without leaving NYC.

Germany -Lederhosen – 2:00 PM -39 Grove Street –Near 7^th Ave and Christopher Street in the West Village.

Our day begins here! Between the over-the-top Bavarian mural and well-priced German cuisine, Lederhosen is the perfect blend of schtick and deliciousness. Often cited as the real Deutch deal when it comes to dishes from schnitzzle to the imported beer and wine.

Spain - Manhattan Fencing Center – 4:00 PM - 225 W 39th St, 2nd Fl – Near 7^th Avenue.

That’s right. We’re going fencing. Foils, Épées, Sabres and those crazy mesh masks. We’ll be taking an entry level class custom taillored just for us. The hope is that Mandy Patinkin will coach us and then accuse us of killing his father over and over again as he searches our hands for six fingers. We'll keep you posted if you need to bring any additional gear.

Canada -Pinetree Lodge -6:00 PM -326 E 35th St - Between 1st Ave & Tunnel Entrance St.

After all that exercise, we’ll kick back at the ole Pinetree Lodge. Tucked away on 35^th Street, its chock full of charm and giant moose heads…just like they have in Canada! We’ve reserved one of their cozy dens and have arranged for 2-for-1 drink specials. Their Pine Tree Ale is a must try. Note that their are TWO locations with "Pine Tree" in the title near one another. Do NOT go to the one on first Avenue. You'll be much happier drinking near the Midtown tunnel and Chinese Embassy.

Ireland – Fáilte Irish Whiskey Bar -8:30 PM - 531 2nd Ave- Between 29th St & 30th St

Just around the corner from Pinetree Lodge, we’ll make a stop at Fáilte. The bar’s name is Gaelic for “Welcome” and is pronounced “fault-ya” as in “I know you stole my money, but I won’t fault ya.” They have received endless accolades for the Best Irish Coffee in the city. A wonderful Whiskey Bar that captures the spirit of the Emerald Isle. John, the affable and attentive bartender, is setting up a space just for us.

Russia- KGB Bar -10:30 PM 85 E 4th St – Near 2^nd Ave.

Man, we love this bar. Located on the second floor above a small performance space and decked out in red, this Communist throwback dive is plastered with posters of Iconic, fallen leaders from the land of Tsars. An endless vodka selection behind the bar and, to be honest, it is the opposite of the bar where everyone knows your name…or even cares that you’re there. With supposed ties to old Russian revolutionists, we always feel like a Bolshevik revolution is just about to go down while we're inside.

Korean –Won Jo Korean BBQ -Late Night - 23 W 32nd Street between 5^th and 6^th

Located in the heart of Korea Town, we’ll cap off the evening with some late night tasty grub: cook-it-on-the-table style. An array of colorful and exotic foods combined with a 24 hour restaurant the specializes in open flame at the table = win. Plus,as a nice bonus its close to a dozen subway lines near 34th Street.

As always, there will be a mix of surprises, personal touches and a contest or two of personal skill (How well do you know your International Flags and Geography?) that tend to accompany every Big Adventure.

Keep in mind all are welcome so feel free to pass this on to your friends, roommates, landlords, and more.

The more the merrier. No need to RSVP, but let us know if you think you might make it so we have an idea for size. Also let us know if you have any questions and suggestions are always welcome. Hope to see you next Saturday!

Brooke and Phil's International Big Adventure is Coming!

Mark you calendars for Saturday, December 5^th, as we’ll be embarking on yet another Brooke and Phil’s Big Adventure.

Keeping in the spirit of all the Big Adventures, we plan on taking advantage of the amazing opportunities available to us by living in New York City. Therefore, this adventure will be our first International Big Adventure!

But there’s no need to pack your passports, fanny packs or any Dramamine because you’ll be touring the world without ever leaving New York City. We will be making stops in Germany, Central America, Canada, Ireland, Russia, Korea and more! As we cross borders throughout the city, we’ll dine on the food, imbibe in the drink and engage in the culture from different nations in our signature casual and fun way.

As with all Big Adventures, the fun starts in the early afternoon and will continue until late at night. Check this very blog for specific details including route, locations and times in the next couple of weeks. But if you would like travel with us, save the date of Saturday December 5^th, for Brooke and Phil’s International Big Adventure.

Photos from the Big Winter Adventure

Nothing like Two and a half months to really soak in an event before pictures are posted....ah. Now we can safely look back without any possible accusation of being called too nostalgic too quickly. Enjoy these fine photo selections from our last Big Adventure in December...