Yesterday we decided to play tourist in our own city and take Hermione on a little holiday adventure to FAO Schwartz and The Plaza. At first I was slightly terrified of braving the midtown Manhattan crowds the weekend before Christmas but I am so glad we did! It was magical to see Hermione discover the places I used to love as a child growing up in NYC. When I was little I loved visiting the (now gone) giant clock at FAO and looking at the hundreds of varieties of stuffed animal on the first floor. Even more than FAO I loved going to the Plaza for tea and pretending I was Eloise. Now that Eloise has her own shop and tea room it is even more fun to visit! Our first stop at FAO was the Muppet section. I had originally wanted to build a Muppet Whatnot with Hermione but we decided she was a little too little and better to wait until next year. Hermione did find this Animal puppet and fell a little bit in love with him. I am so glad my little girl shares my love of the Muppets!
We then went downstairs to find the Sesame Street characters and Hermione has lots of fun playing with a giant Cookie Monster and a Zoe puppet!After a quick visit to the book section (where Hermione recognized a book she had just gotten for Hannukah) we headed across the street to the Plaza. Hermione is just starting to learn about Christmas trees and got very excited when she saw the beautiful one in the Plaza's lobby.As we walked around the main floor looking for Eloise's portrait Hermione found a wall that she just had to pose against. She was really hamming it up for the camera and acting like a little model. We headed downstairs to the Eloise shop. Hermione immediately spotted a display of stuffed monkeys just like her beloved Abu at home and had to grab as many of them as she could hold. My girl has a serious thing for monkeys!She even kept a tight grip on the monkeys as she played Eloise's adorable pink piano. Our last stop before lunch was a visit to Eloise's Tea Room for a little "tea party." The monkeys came along of course!Before heading home for nap time we had lunch at the Plaza's Food Hall and waved to Santa from a very far distance. Hermione is still terrified of Santa so we don't go to close!Our big adventure wiped Hermione out and she feel asleep in the taxi on the way home. Holiday fun can be exhausting!
xoxo Hermione and Mommy
Hermione's Outfit
Dress: talc
Vest: talc
Boots: Zara
Coat: Anais & I
