A Holiday Tradition and a Dream Come True: Miracle on 34th Street and Visiting Macy's

Every family has its cherished holiday traditions and every year around Thanksgiving, my mom and I had a cherished tradition of watching "Miracle on 34th Street" with Natalie Wood. It was our signal that the holiday season had officially begun. The film, with its timeless charm and heartwarming message, always brought us closer together. I would scour through the TV guide each week, looking for every time the movie would be on. One of the best parts of having cable, albeit basic cable, back in the 1980s was the fact that certain movies that would air once a year on network television would sometimes play on a cable channel more frequently. Each time it would air, we’d cover up in the living room with a few afghans she had crocheted, popcorn, and big glasses of lemonade, and lose ourselves in the magical world where Kris Kringle proves to everyone that he is the real Santa Claus. Natalie Wood’s portrayal of the skeptical little Susan added just the right amount of innocence and wonder, making the movie even more special for us.

The tradition of watching "Miracle on 34th Street" wasn’t just about the movie itself but also about the love that both of us shared for the film. We laughed, we cried, and we believed in the spirit of Christmas just a little bit more each year. It became one of those rare constants in life that I could always count on, no matter what else was happening. The scenes set in Macy's particularly captivated us, and we often talked about visiting the iconic store as well as Gimbels someday. We also tried watching the 1973 version of the movie, but it just didn’t have the same magic, and we didn't care for it at all.

That dream came true when I was 16, in the summer of 1992. After finally making my way to New York City, I marveled at the facade of the Majestic Theatre, the famous home of "The Phantom of the Opera." Then, I walked ten blocks to visit the real Macy's on 34th Street. Though my mom wasn't with me, the experience was magical. Macy's on 34th Street was much larger than I could have ever imagined. In the area where I grew up, the largest stores were the two-story anchor mall stores like Sears, DH Holmes, Gayfers, Montgomery Ward, McRae's, and JCPenney. Macy's vibe was incomparable to those stores, though DH Holmes, before being bought by Dillard's, seemed like a mini version of this great store. Even the Macy's locations in Atlanta paled in comparison. During my time in New York, I found myself in Macy's more often than any other store because it was so massive that you could spend an entire day there and still not see everything.

I would intentionally take the wooden escalators because they somehow made me feel more connected to the 1947 film than the modern escalators with metal stairs. Though Macy's prices were higher than what I was used to paying for clothes, I did a lot of shopping in their Young Men's section. Even now, almost 50, I find myself gravitating toward the same section in any store. Plus, it was well air-conditioned, which was a welcome relief during the hot summer days.

After I briefly left New York following my "accident" with Richard Rogers, being back in Florida felt so foreign to me, even though everything was exactly as I remembered. One thing I always loved as a kid was walking around the mall during Christmas. The two malls in Mobile, Bel Aire and Springdale, as well as University and Cordova in Pensacola, went all out in different ways to make their decorations more festive than the next. When I returned to New York in November of the same year, I wasn't prepared for the feeling I got while walking through the city, which had transformed into a Christmas wonderland. The moment I turned the corner and saw Macy's all decorated for Christmas, stepping into those grand doors with the store readied for the upcoming holiday season felt like stepping into the movie. The festive decorations, the hustle and bustle of shoppers, and the sheer size of the store were overwhelming in the best possible way. Regretfully, part of the wish my mom and I had could not be fulfilled completely, visiting Gimbels. Gimbels had gone out of business half a decade before I made it to New York. However, not all was lost, as the A&S Plaza, now called Manhattan Mall, was open for business on the original site where Gimbels once stood. While not the same, it was still very magical to me.

I couldn't pass up the chance to see the real-life Macy's Santa Claus either. I waited in line among children of different national backgrounds, which I absolutely loved, all with the same goal as me: to have a magical moment with the magical man, even if he was just an employee of the store. I declined a photo because I thought I would always remember the moment in my mind, but 32 years later, I wish I had gotten one to share the magic with you, my readers, my family, and everyone else I know. I couldn’t help but think back to all those years of watching the film and how it had sparked this moment of excitement and fulfillment.

AI version of sort of me with "Macy's"

Standing there in Macy's, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for the shared moments with my mom. The store was as magical as I had imagined, but the true magic lay in the memories we created together, both on screen and in real life. I wish I had shared this story with my mom before her passing; I feel she would have loved hearing about my visit to Macy's and how she contributed to the magic I feel each year during the holiday season and beyond. I also would love to hear her try to sing the tune the little Dutch girl sang with Santa Claus in the movie once more. Though my mom didn't know the words, she did her best to sing along to "Sinterklaas Kapoentje" and it always cracked me up. Visiting Macy's was the perfect culmination of our holiday tradition and remains one of my most treasured memories. "Miracle on 34th Street" continues to hold a special place in my heart, not just as a classic film, but as a symbol of the enduring bond between my mom and me.