Manhattan department stores unveil holiday window displays
NEW YORK -- It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in New York City.
Some department stores unveiled their holidays window displays on Thursday. CBS2's Kristie Keleshian shows us what's in store.
Passersby stopped and stared at department store windows across the city.
Macy's makes their displays interactive. This year, visitors can press a button to light up what they're wishing for. There's also a selfie station that puts your face in the display.
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"It's so beautiful, like, I never seen anything like this in the world before," said Connie Khanyi, from South Africa.
For the first time in recent years, Khanyi was able to travel to the U.S. to see the famous Macy's holiday window display for herself.
Seven-year-old Viviana pulled her dad to see the window with a selfie camera.
The holiday window tradition dates back to the 1800s. The theme for this year's windows is to give love.
"I really wanted to do a mix of traditional artistry, mixed with new media, like in the gingerbread castles, all the details," said Manny Urquizo, national window director for Macy's.
Nordstrom already had it's colorful display out. It was a busy day for Macy's, Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman as they put up their finishing touches. Saks unveils its display later in November.
It's all in preparation for what's expected to more tourists coming to the city this year with fewer COVID restrictions. The city is already under a gridlock alert.
Caroline and Ron Joseph were visiting from Cincinnati for the first time since 2019.
"If anything, I think it seems almost more crowded and alive," said Caroline Joseph.
"People are everywhere and it just seems like the city's back and that's how it should be," said Ron Joseph.
The director at Macy's said they'll start planning next year's windows in February.