newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ALLISON RUPPINO 

CELEBRITY MAGNET

NBC proved that Manhattan is the happiest place to be during "the most wonderful time of the year" when they held New York City's annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony last night hosted by Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie.

The night was full of lights, music, hot chocolate, flashing cameras, and celebrities. And, where there are celebrities, there is Celebrity Magnet Tom Murro. He received a personal invite to NBC's private party at the Rock Café down on the ice, which enabled him to attend the performances by Music Legend Tom Jones,Tony Bennett, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, Cee Lo Green, Carole King, Katharine McPhee, 'The Voice' winner Javier Colon and The Radio City Rockettes.

Murro arrived in Manhattan for the night of festivities with his wife Kelly and "The Real Housewives of New Jersey's," Kim Granatell. The closer they got to the 5th Avenue ceremony, the larger the crowds got; and many streets had to be closed off due in part to President Obamas visit to the city for 3 different fundraisers. There were several thousand eager celebrants from all over crammed into Rockefeller Center behind the barricades. This is the city that never sleeps, and some people did just that, staying awake overnight just to grab a prime spot at the ceremony.

Murro and his group navigated the throng of cheering fans and finally entered NBC's private party. The three were immediately furnished with martinis and settled in to enjoy a fully-catered event with an open bar and buffet. The controlled, relaxed atmosphere of the party seemed contradictory to the chaos that was erupting just one floor above. Murro chatted with Donald Trump who Murro see regularly and originally met at Sean Connery's "Dressed To Kilt" event 2 years ago.

Murro stood beside his wife, Kim G, Michael Buble, Mariska Hargitay and Donald Trump as they gathered to watch the annual lighting of the Christmas tree.

At 8:58 p.m., another N.Y. royal that Murro frequently sees while out on the town, Mayor Bloomberg, who whom some surrounding Manhattanites call the "King of New York," along with NBC Chairman Ted Harbert Jerry I. and Rob Speyer, CEOs of Tishman Speyer and co-owner of Rockefeller Center, flipped the switch to light the Rockefeller Center Christmas. Standing 74-feet tall at 10-tons, the 75 year old Norway Spruce, and the 30,000 environmentally-friendly LED lights, glistened as a newly enhanced Swarovski crystal star rested at the top. The beautiful, bright green Norway Spruce was donated from a yard in Mifflinville, PA, by 79-year old Nancy Keller, along with her daughter Debra, two grandsons Mitch and Billy and great-granddaughters Olivia and Emma.

“We were thrilled to donate our tree,” said Debra, Nancy’s daughter. “We talked about it for years because we knew it was just the perfect tree for Rockefeller Center.” And, Rockefeller Center gardener Erik Pauze, couldn’t agree more. “The perfect tree has a nice shape and is full. We picked this tree because of its height, you couldn’t miss it,” said Pauze.

The crowd cheered and clapped in an uproar as the lights illuminated the clear night sky. All of this was made possible for the Murro party through a nice girl with NBC named Dawn, who was busy most of the night running the event, yet still found the time to be a wonderful hostess to all of them.

They didn't get a chance to thank Dawn on their way out, but Kim G did strike a pose or two with her fans and a few of N.Y.'s finest before they jingled all the way back to New Jersey.