We did not celebrate Halloween in the home I grew up in. We did the whole ‘Harvest Celebration’ substitution that certain Christian homes subscribe to.
Somewhere during the time when I was already an adult and my younger two brothers were still teens, the word Halloween was allowed to be mentioned.
And then, all hell broke loose.*
*Bad pun, I know.
My youngest brother, Jonathan, went crazy with it, and to this day is obsessed with every bit of Halloween from the spooky decorations to the eccentric costumes.
While in NYC for another purpose, we stumbled upon a Halloween store we knew Jonathan needed to visit.
The mass of the store creates enough awe in itself. The realization, once half way through, that there is a lower level invokes dropped jaws and heads shaking with disbelief. Yet, atop the marvel of the space alone are the decorations that line the walls, and in some cases, ceilings.
Our short trip to bring Jonathan there soon turned into an entire day of events starting midtown at the famous Carnegie Deli*.
*Who only recently reopened its doors after being closed down for 10 months…you’re going to want to Google that one. It’s an interesting story.
Because if you’re going to spend a day in NYC visiting massive stores, you might as well pair it with eating a monster sandwich, right?
In my case, I went for mac and cheese with pastrami on top. I was expecting a bacon bit sized handful of pastrami. As you can see, that is not what I received.
And I was ever so thankful*.
*Seriously, pastrami topped mac and cheese is a big time winner. I’m already contemplating when and how I can recreate it at home.
A short subway ride* to the East Village brought us into the wonderland of everything Halloween: Halloween Adventure. If you are a Halloween enthusiast, I would recommend planning a trip. Especially now, considering, you know, Halloween is a month away.
*And though he has been on the subway before, Jon was at first confused when I continued telling him we were going to the subway. Even he, who is always down for another meal, was a little confused that we were heading to have Subway sandwiches after just eating lunch.**
**Yes, the difference between Subway and THE subway was majorly fun to try and explain to him.
Because this guy’s reaction confirmed all my suspicions…
This place wasn’t the usual Halloween store.
It was much, much better.
Once he discovered there was a lower level, Jon could think of nothing else. But we made him finish the first floor first.
There were enough distractions to keep his mind off it.
He left with a Big Bad Wolf costume and a Chuckie* costume.
*This Halloween should be interesting.
Lunch at Carnegie Deli and shopping at the most magnificent Halloween store of your life should seem like enough to pack into one day.
But no.
It was Broadway week.
In case you don’t know what Broadway week is–it’s 2 for 1 tickets! I usually avoid recognizing Broadway week because even though it technically should be saving me money, no day spent in NYC saves me money.
But I couldn’t resist taking this guy to a show I knew he would love.
Kind of like I couldn’t resist taking him to NYC to see a Halloween store I knew he would love.
Matilda is one of those Broadway shows I have always purposefully resisted going to see. A show that it seemed would either be exceptionally good or exceedingly awful.
Fortunately, it was exceptionally good.
The children impressed me with their ability to perform at the level of their adult counterparts. However, the character who stole the show, as anticipated (though also fearing the worst for) was Miss Trunchbull played by Bryce Ryness*.
*That’s right, a man.
He excelled in dramatic presentation, musical ability, as well as, athletic ability.*
*Fans of Matilda will recall that Miss Trunchbull is an Olympic competitor.
Good food + extraordinary shopping + an unexpectedly brilliant show makes for one great day in NYC.
Carnegie Deli, 854 7th Ave
Halloween Adventure, 104 4th Ave
Matilda, playing at the Shubert Theater
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