Tis The Season To Give – Giveaway #3 Spread A Little Holiday Cheer

This is the final giveaway for in the Season To Give postings. I’ve enjoyed reading all of your comments and am thankful for your participation. Today’s giveaway is sponsored by author/singer/songwriter Michael Sheahan and will help to add a little Holiday cheer to your home :)

The winner will receive a brand new copy of his latest Christmas CD and his Children’s Book/CD/DVD The Rooftop Hop! I’ve been listening to the CD for the past week in my car and I LOVE it! ‘Year Out…Year In’ and ‘A Jack Frost Christmas’ are two of my favorites!

During an interview with Michael I learned that he began his career in music and dance as a very young boy, winning worldwide international competitions playing the violin, accordion, tin whistle, flute, and banjo! By the time Michael was nine years old he had performed in front of thousands of people in prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NY. Michael spent several seasons singing professionally with the NY Metropolitan Opera performing in both the Children’s Chorus and as a Soloist and performed in Verdi’s “Aida”, and Wagner’s “Lohengrin”.

His love of celebrating the Holidays with his wife Barbara and three boys inspired him to create the character Mr. Holidays, along with an entire series of characters, songs, books, and dances that cherish the values, warmth, and traditions of each Holiday. The book is award winning, recently winning 2 Moonbeam Awards for Best Holiday Book and Best Book with Music/Theatrical and critically acclaimed. Check out more of my interview with Michael here.

This giveaway is open to residents in the USA only. To enter you must do both and leave a comment here for each:

“Like” A Girl Travels on Facebook and/or tell me your favorite holiday song

Tweet “I just entered the @agirltravels latest #giveaway, you can too!”

The winner will be chosen using random.org and selected on December 11th. Best of luck to you all and Happy Holidays!

Love AGT :)

Happy Holidays!!!

• It’s day two of Hanukkah festivities!
• There are 3 more days until Christmas!
• and there are 4 days until the start of Kwanzaa!

There is a giant Menorah on the south side of Central Park. The nine-branched candelabra is 32 feet tall, 28 feet wide, weighs 4,000 pounds, and is considered the world’s biggest, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. “Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman, director of the city’s Lubavitch Youth Organization, said the gold-colored steel structure is equipped with oil lamps and has special glass chimneys to protect the flames from wind.” A candle is lit each night; Tues Dec 20 – Thurs 22 at 5:30pm, Fri Dec 23 at 3:30pm, Sat Dec 24 at 8:30pm, Sun Dec 25 – Tues Dec 27 at 5:30pm. Location: Fifth Ave and 59th Street.

There is also a giant Menorah in Brooklyn at the Grand Army Plaza on Flatbush Ave. Brooklyn’s largest Menorah stands at a whopping 32 feet tall! This huge menorah has towered over Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn since 1984. Check out the website for more details.

Christmas Trees are lit up all over the city; Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Square, South Street Seaport, Washington Square Park, Madison Square Park, Atlantic Ave, Battery Park, the New York Stock Exchange and more!

Bryant Park Christmas Tree

Creative holiday decorations fill store windows and lights illuminate the streets as people decorate their home! Take a walk down  Fifth Ave, visit Bloomingdale’s on Lexington Ave, and Macy’s in Herald’s Square to see the window displays!

Celebrate and learn about Kwanzaa at the American Museum of Natural History! December 31st from Noon to 4pm in the Milsten Hall of Ocean Life, First Floor.

Holiday Shops pop up throughout the city. If you haven’t finished your shopping and you want to pick up something unique there’s still time to head to one of the Holiday shops before they close for the season!

Bryant Park Holiday Shops –  Open daily thru January 8th. Mon – Fri 11am to 8pm, Sat 10am to 9pm, and Sun 10am to 6pm.

Grand Central Holiday Fair – Open daily until December 24th! Tomorrow shops will be open from 10am to 8pm, and Saturday shops will be open from 10am to 6pm. Also check out the new Apple store while you’re there!

Union Square Holiday Market – Open daily until December 24th! Tomorrow shops will be open from 10am to 9pm, and Saturday shops will be open from 10am to 4:30pm.

Columbus Circle Holiday Market – Open daily until December 24th! Tomorrow shops will be open from 10am to 9pm, and Saturday shops will be open from 10am to 4:30pm.

How are you spending the holidays with your family and friends? I’ll be getting together with family and friends to open presents, watch movies, and have Christmas dinner. I still can’t believe how quickly time as past. 2011 is almost over. Best wishes to you, your family, and friends this holiday season!

Love AGT :)

The World Financial Center Kicks off the Holiday Season with the Premiere of New York Theatre Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”!

When: November 29th; 12:30pm and 6:00pm
Where: The World Financial Center Garden
Cost: Free! – No tickets or reservations required

“The show will be presented two times, including an evening performance that will commence with the illumination of 100,000 holiday lights throughout the Winter Garden, transforming the glass-vaulted atrium into a life-sized snowglobe. The new one-hour version is part of the world-renowned company’s Once Upon A Ballet series, an innovative collection of family-friendly ballets capable of captivating young children and discerning parents alike. Bursting with energy and excitement, the New York Ballet Theatre’s new “The Nutcracker” recasts Marie, the tale’s child protagonist, as a young woman who gets to dance with her Nutcracker Prince instead of observing most of the action from upstage. Along with imaginative new flourishes, audiences can look forward to such iconic set pieces as the lively mouse battle at midnight, the journey through the Land of Snow, and the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Her Cavalier.” ~ The World Financial Center

The World Financial Center overlooks New York Harbor and the Hudson River and it’s glass-enclosed winter garden is the main stage for Arts World Financial Center, which is the largest year-round, free performaing arts and cultural presenter on the East coast.

How to get there:

BY FERRY
From Staten Island: Take the Staten Island Ferry to Whitehall Terminal/South Ferry. Take R uptown to City Hall Station.
Take the NY Waterway Ferry to World Financial Center landing.

BY TRAIN
A, C, J, M, Z, 2, 3, 4 or 5 to Fulton Street
Exit onto Fulton Street and walk west to Church St.; turn right and walk to Vesey St.; turn left and continue across West St. to the WFC.

E to World Trade Center
Exit onto Church Street and walk north to Vesey St.; turn left and continue across West St. to the WFC.

R to City Hall
Exit onto Broadway and walk south to Vesey St.; turn right and continue to the WFC.

PATH to World Trade Center
Exit onto Vesey St.; turn left and walk across West St. to the WFC.