Since we can’t sit enthralled watching Broadway (including my almost certainly now doomed plans for Tuesday), we might as well wander around a bit and be enthralled by the city that has been tarted up for the holidays. Few cities tart up so well and in so many various ways.

Department store windows are the first thing that came to mind and as luck would have it, the New York Times has just come out with their Holiday Guide to Window Gazing.

What would the holidays without the department store madly trying to outdo each other by decking the halls, the windowsills, the mannequins and the staff? They’re all fighting for your attention - Macy’s, Bergdorf, Bloomingdale’s Saks, Lord and Taylor (my personal favorite every single year). New York Magazine has a video interview with Barneys creative director Simon Doonan who describes the “green” theme of their windows this year. I applaud the concept in theory but wonder about the implementation when it involves things like “Rudolph the Recycling Reindeer.” But of course, you can make up your own mind.

Another great of New York’s great strengths at the holidays is the holiday fair. They are usually a filled with Technicolor accessories, ornaments (to replace the ones you thought you’d wrapped more securely until you opened the box), ropes of beads, more scarves than you could shake a stick at and other delightful items that sparkle and gleam from temporary stalls in places like Grand Central and Bryant Park.

Actually, Bryant Park is a good place to start. Ice Skating and shopping? You bet. All this can be yours at The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park.

If you love the idea of the Holiday Fair shopping experience but were hoping to do it sans mittens, check out the Grand Central Holiday Gift Fair anytime between Nov. 19 - Dec. 29 (except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). In fact, Grand Central has thrown itself into holiday mode with great verve this year. They’ve also got the New York Transit Museum’s Sixth Annual Grand Central Holiday Train Show and the Kaleidoscope Light Show running during the holidays. For more details on any of these, check out the Grand Central Calendar of Events

New York Magazine’s Holiday Shopping Guide has a nice list of holiday fairs - including these and quite a few others. There’s bound to be one close to where you plan to be so check it out. They’ve also got a guide to some of the best holiday trees in the city

There’s obviously some superb shopping in and around the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree (lighting on Nov 28th for those who want to catch this great tradition) but another - and I think even more special — holiday tree convenient to a concentration of shopping is the South Street Seaport Chorus Tree. If the lighting of the tree has you in the “lighting” mood, why not check out the lighting of the world’s largest menorah at 59th St & 5th Ave. It happens for eight sunsets in a row from December 4 to December 11.

There’s tons more to see and do in Gotham at this time of year. Over the next few days, I shall endeavore to share as many as I can with you. And what the heck? If you don’t get to it this year, bookmark it for next. New York celebrates and celebrates big EVERY year.