Remarkably, though I grew up in Bayside, it wasn't until I was in my 20's that I saw the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree upclose and in person.
However, that towering symbol of a New York City Christmas is very much a tradition in my own Bayside girls' lives.
Every year during the Christmas school break we choose one day to view the tree and Manhattan's numerous decorated store windows.
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We walk the same route every year. We take the Bayside Express Bus to Rockefeller Center and start the viewing with a bang.
The girls love to "ooh and aah" at the size of the tree, the wire-sculpted angels that welcome you to Rockefeller Center and the ice skaters that circle the rink again and again.
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We then view the windows at Saks Fifth Avenue, right across the street at 49th.
No holiday visit would be complete, without a stop inside the American Girl store, also on 49th St. and Fifth Ave.
Viewing their windows is not enough and even though they are not so into American Girl stuff anymore, they are still interested to see what is new and pretty.
Our window tour continues with a walk down Fifth Avenue to Lord & Taylor at 38th St.
Their windows are my personal favorite. This year, the store ties their customers traditions in with their windows, recreating stories sent in via letters and Facebook.
The last stop on the window tour is always Macy's Herald Square at 34th St.
The legendary store always offers something eye-catching that thrills my girls. This year we can't wait to see how they bring the animated holiday special "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" to life in their windows.
We then finish our hot chocolates and catch the Long Island Railroad home at Penn Station, discussing the holiday décor all the way home.