“Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile”…so go the lyrics of “Silver Bells,” the classic Christmas song from the 1950s that paints an idyllic scene of the holidays in the city. This picture of New York City at the holidays lives within many of us. Its images are of softly falling snow, carolers, bright festive lights and garland, the Rockefeller Center tree – and who knows, even a horse and sleigh.

Contrast this with the too-often reality of Christmas days in New York City in the early 21^st century. Cellphone ringtones have replaced the silver bells. Huge crowds in Midtown Manhattan can be jostling as much as jolly. The consumerism and price tags feel oppressive. Where’s the magic, and which is the true image?

It depends on each of us. I’m a New Yorker who dives into the holiday crowd rather than avoid it. It’s all in how we choose to experience the frenetic environment of New York during the season. Is it a madhouse rush that makes us exhausted and feeling all bah-humbug, or do we stop and savor it? My advice: Try some curiosity, ingenuity, and humor; pick your spots well; and breathe deeply and stop to really look and take in what’s around you. You’ll find serenity and joy.

Here’s a walk comprised of seven of the best ways and places to discover the seasonal joy along Holiday Central, from Rockefeller Center, south along Fifth Avenue, culminating at Lord & Taylor.

The Giant Red Ornaments

The giant red ornaments, in the fountain plaza at 1251 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), have never ceased to fascinate me since the first winter I saw them. They are gigantic, bright, shiny, and cheery. One can always think of something that these ornaments remind you of on your home Christmas tree – the exacting rendering of ornament hooks, the shininess, or the shape.

Moreover, despite the noise of the hordes here, listen to the sound of the waterfall or watch the rippling flow of the water below the ornaments. People pay for the soothing effect of fountains, but this one is free and very well-placed. Definitely a calming, beautiful sight and sound in the midst of the masses!

The Mosaic, 1250 Avenue of the Americas

The sidewalks along the Avenue of the Americas between West 48^th and West 51^st streets are where some of the worst pedestrian gridlock and bumping take place. That’s one of the reasons why the huge mosaic within the loggia at 1250 Avenue of the Americas is such a gift. Take yourself and your fellow holiday pedestrians out of the crush of folks to closely look at this magnificent work of art, entitled “Intelligence Awakening Mankind.”

This 79-foot-long mosaic of tiny glass tiles, or tesserae, conveys such detail and power in the figures. Look, too, at the amazing color variations of blue and gold. The mosaic is made up of more than one million glass tiles, each hand-cut and hand-set. Consider what it took to create this piece at Rockefeller Center for our enjoyment and inspiration.

Chocolate Treat, La Maison du Chocolat

If crankiness has set in at all from dealing with dozens of pedestrians at one corner – or even if not – go directly to La Maison du Chocolat for one of the best cups of hot chocolate around. This shop of the Paris chocolatier, at 30 Rockefeller Center on West 49^th Street, feels like a slice of Europe, with its ganaches and chocolates in fine wooden cases.

A small cup of hot chocolate is luxury-priced at $8.71 (with tax), but since I haven’t spent thousands on a trip to the south of France or five-star restaurants this year I allow this splurge. And it’s well worth it: The semi-sweet version is rich, smooth, and chocolaty. Sipping the hot chocolate, while standing at one of the marble counters and examining the truffles and chocolates, feels blissful as I watch the rush on the street outside.

Rockefeller Center Tree

Visiting the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree becomes part of a cherished tradition for New Yorkers as well as many thousands of tourists. Does it ever become old? No.

Appreciating the tree tests the powers of mindfulness, to be able to concentrate on it while throngs are moving all around, shouting, or pointing their digital cameras. That means taking the time to see what is there: an actual Norway spruce tree averaging around 80 feet tall with bright, dazzling lights in green, red, blue, and gold. (The tree now has about 30,000 LED bulbs. To think that it began as a humble balsam fir which construction workers put up in 1931, decorated with garlands of paper and strings of cranberries, as they were building the center.) Look at it both close-up, from the promenade behind the Christmas tree, and then from a distance on the walkway toward Fifth Avenue.

Seeing it close-up, like the big red ornaments on the Avenue of the Americas, conjures up memories – sitting next to the Christmas tree as a child while watching TV, staring into its multicolored lights. Of such moments are holiday magic made.

Architectural Details, Fifth Avenue

Walking south on Fifth Avenue from Rockefeller Center to Bryant Park on a shopping trip, we could easily focus on the task at hand. Mostly, this area in the 40s has few eye-catching holiday windows or displays. Look up, however, to explore some great building sculpture or architectural details that speak of Old New York.

Check out the sculpture on the Rockefeller Center building at the corner of West 49^th Street, known as “The Friendship of France and the United States,” installed in 1934. High on the panel of the gilded bronze relief are figures symbolizing Paris on the left and New York on the right. New York is flanked by skyscrapers, while Paris holds a model of Notre Dame.

At 597 Fifth Ave. near East 48^th Street, notice the Charles Scribner’s Sons sign with angelic figures and the grand display windows trimmed by black ironwork. The limestone French-inspired building, built in 1912-1913, harkens to an earlier day of New York publishing, when Scribner’s had both its headquarters and a bookstore here. As you keep walking, glance up to appreciate the ornamental terra cotta decoration across the top of 576 Fifth Ave.

Fred F. French Building Lobby

So many shoppers veer ahead as they walk the streets of Manhattan’s Holiday Central. That’s too bad. Building lobbies have some of the most gorgeous holiday displays, such as at the Fred F. French Building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 45^th Street.

The building lobby is dazzling: It has many garlands of white lights, and trees and wreaths with large royal blue, turquoise, aquamarine, gold, and green bulbs. Combined with the bronze doors, vaulted ceilings, decorative gilded animal figures, and marble of the landmarked building, the lobby is bejeweled. (Note: If it’s off-hours, you may have to ask a security guard for a peek at the lobby, but it is well worth it.)

Walk down Fifth Avenue and take a detour into the Bryant Park holiday market to watch the ice skaters (or join them) and pick up some holiday gifts at the artisans’ holiday shops. One of Augustin’s Belgian waffles or a cup of hot cider provides a rejuvenating treat. This holiday market has one of the most irresistible cityscapes: a big, beautiful open square just behind the New York Public Library coupled with views of striking skyscrapers from Raymond Hood’s American Radiator Building and the Empire State Building to the Bank of America Tower. As I listen to Frank Sinatra croon a holiday song, it’s no wonder that I’m transported back to a New York Christmas of an earlier day.

Lord & Taylor Holiday Windows

Walking around Lord & Taylor definitely brings a sense of the holiday magic present since years ago. Despite the flocks of holiday shoppers, the first floor of the department store, at 424 Fifth Ave. (between West 38^th and 39^th streets), has an unhurried, welcoming atmosphere. The salespeople appear to genuinely take time with customers.

Then, to savor one of New York’s longest-running – and best – Christmas season traditions, step outside and spend time at the Lord & Taylor holiday windows, an annual sight for more than 80 years. The windows’ theme for 2009 is “What We Love,” appealing to a childlike and fanciful sense of what we imagine Christmas to be. Miniature dolls in each scene, mechanically powered, skate, bow, dance, put up garland, and engage in other holiday activities.

In one scene, children ride a reindeer carousel. There is a Victorian house made of “sweets,” with gingerbread figures, scalloped icing, pinwheels, leaves, and all sorts of confections. A child with a dog carts a sled across the top of a Victrola record player. A rotating stage in another window reveals a ballerina on one side and marionettes in Russian costume on the other.

These windows often draw lots of people, so it’s best to go at earlier or later hours in the day, or do what many do – stand right outside of the brass roping and still get a good look. I make several visits until I see everything, because each window has so much detail and is so charming. As one visitor remarked on a recent evening, taking in the windows, “This is New York at Christmas. This is quintessential New York at Christmas.”

Those are the moments worth braving the Manhattan crowds.

View the slide show larger on Flickr.

To enjoy more about the holiday season, also see on Mindfulwalker.com:

How to Stay Merry Before Christmas

Prayers and Peace at St. Francis