C’est les vacances!

A 76-foot, 10-ton Norway spruce was cut down in a Connecticut backyard and sent to Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, where it will be lit on the 2nd of December. At nearby Radio City Hall, the Christmas Spectacular, a must-see holiday show for 75 years, is back and dazzling audiences with its pitch-perfect dancing and eye-high kicks. Another holiday favorite, is George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, which is being performed by the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, with hundreds of awestruck children cheering on.

If you’re a bargain-hunter, nothing will make you happier than the Big Apple during the holiday season. With the dollar still fairly weak against the Euro, and the U.S. economy not yet fully recovered, Christmas shopping in New York can offer unbeatable value for money. But don’t expect last year’s steals. Retailers, especially in the luxury sector, have cut their inventories this season and are already selling out of hot items, according to The New York Times. After a brutal 2008, in which high-end stores were forced to offer their products at stunning discounts, some luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus and Saks are treading carefully, aware that consumer spending hasn’t yet bounced back entirely. Instead of luring shoppers with discounts - which can taint brand perception and cut into profits - the latest strategy relies on exclusivity.

Cuts to inventories go beyond the luxury niche. New models of Barbies and stylish boots were already disappearing from store shelves in mid-November, as terrified store owners were keeping their inventories thin. The season’s hottest toy - the Zhu Zhu Pets hamster, an interactive mechanical rodent by Cepia Inc. that is being compared to Furby a decade ago - is now practically impossible to nab.

Not all that happy with your New York shopping? Here are some ideas to still make your Christmas holiday in the Big Apple an unforgettable one:
Rockefeller Center: the Christmas tree will be lit up on 2nd December with ice skating and music at the opening. Until 7th January.
Holiday Window Displays: in most major stores. Macy’s goes for showstopping effects; Lord & Taylor sticks with classical themes; Bloomingdale’s is family-oriented; Saks Fifth Avenue usually builds around a children’s storybook; and Barney’s goes for hip and snarky, to name but a few.
Times Square Ball Drop: wall-to-wall people pack Times Square on New Year’s Eve to watch the ball drop at midnight from a 77-foot flagpole. Music, fireworks and screens animate the event.

Carola Mamberto is an award-winning international journalist originally from Genoa and Nice. A recent graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, she has worked in media and documentary filmmaking in Italy, France, Monaco, Belgium, England and the U.S c.mamberto@mediterra.com