Staying Warm at the Thanksgiving Day Parade
(Erika/Mom) After 40-something years of watching high school bands and large inflatable characters parading down 6th Avenue, I decided it was time: We are going to brave the cold and attend the 2009 Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade in person! This decision was not made lightly–we actually gave up the fantasy of a little country inn in Vermont in favor of hanging with the turkeys in Manhattan. And since all of our family members live 3,000 miles away we have no one to cook for. After the euphoria of that momentous decision, however, I began to have a few worries. And they are all chilled at about 36 degrees.
How cold can it be? Pretty damn cold, according to some friends who have gone before. “You gotta have good socks,” says my friend Rieva. “You’re standing for hours on cold asphalt, and your feet will freeze if you don’t have good socks.” She grew up on Long Island and used to go every year, so I figure she’s an expert. We picked up the cozy fur-lined sneakers you see up there, from Old Navy. Then we’ll pull out our best ski socks from the basement, as well as any thermal underwear the kids haven’t outgrown.
Another friend recalls the year THEY went as a family. Lauren and her husband had three children at the time and like me, Lauren was determined that her kids should experience the Parade of Parades at least once during their childhood. They were lucky enough to have a friend who lived in the city near the parade route. What was not so lucky was their overindulgence the night before. “I had the worst hangover,” Lauren recalls. (In fact, Lauren is pretty sure that baby #4 was the happy result of that wild evening.)
Making their way to the parade route, they also realized that the crowds had beaten them by a few hours. Their sight line was about five layers of humanity back from the action. “I’m glad we did it, but wished we had known you have to show up a few hours in advance,” Lauren says.
So, lots of layers, great socks, and arriving early are our takeaways from friendly advisors. Staying warm and not losing each other are the rules we’ll live by on Thursday morning. Lizzi, what else should we do to stay warm on Thanksgiving?
(Lizzi/Daughter) I am so excited for the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. Bundling up in 5 layers sounds like a lot of fun to me! I would start off with a pair of long underwear (or a thermal and leggings) and over top of that, a pair of good jeans and a turtleneck sweater. Next, I would wear a sweatshirt with a winter jacket on top. For my feet, I decided that wearing two pairs of socks (one thin pair, the other thick) with a pair of fur-lined boots would keep them mighty warm. Finally, add a pair of gloves (or maybe even two!), a nice warm scarf, ear muffs, a snow beanie, and you’re good!
Now, maybe I’m over exaggerating a little bit but I want to come prepared!
As I was looking around, I found some accessories that will keep me warm during the parade!
These adorable Juicy Couture faux-fur earmuffs look extra cozy and are very cute:
Here is an alpaca wool hat that I found:
I just bought a pair of red alpaca gloves and the matching snow beanie, and they are so warm!
Lastly, these American Eagle fingerless gloves are colorful and fun and perfect for keeping your hands warm:
Stay warm this weekend and have a fabulous Thanksgiving!
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Tags: alpaca, Family, Juicy Couture, New York City, Old Navy, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day Parade, winter fashion
