Car-sized ornaments go up outside building lobbies. Police barriers rise.
Sidewalks become virtually unnegotiable.
Occasionally, even a New Yorker or two join in. A well-pillowed Santa wields his ringer like a knife while soliciting money for Volunteers of America. Rockefeller Center security guards keep order, with a holiday assist from city cops, making sure no one sits on a ledge or gets too close to the tree. Local students parade through, their teachers desperately trying to ride herd. Carolers in tuxedos appear from nowhere and begin to sing.