I’m thinking of going with my wife and daughter to NYC for Christmas and/or New Year’s, and I was wondering what things there are to do there.
Things I know, off the top of my head
What else is there?
Is the city decorated nicely for Christmas?
Is this an experience you would recommend?
YES. NYC is stunningly beautiful. Yes, it’s crowded and cold, but there’s something about the experience that I’ve not found matched anywhere else.
I really loved the Rockefeller Plaza/Radio City Music Hall show as a teen. The latter puts on a marvelous Christmas show and 15 years later I still remember how wonderful it was.
I am faintly envious. Enjoy!
When I was a child, the big department stores used to have elaborate holiday window displays that were worth seeing. I seem to remember that some of them were within walking distance of the big tree in Rockefeller Center. You could go to FAO Schwarz. Or isn’t there a big Toys R Us in Times Square?
How old is she? The Broadway version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas will be running throughout the holiday season. There’s also The Little Mermaid & The Lion King.
They still do this. Unfortunately, these days they mostly aren’t worth seeing. (Exception: Barneys, Madison at 61st.)
Try to get tickets for *The Nutcracker. *There’s also a great skating rink in Central Park. If it snows, a walk on 5th Avenue (Midtown) is great that time of year. And you can get a horse-drawn carriage ride at 5th Avenue & 59th Street (kinda expensive but worth it). And you can actually buy “chestnuts roasting on an open fire.”
Shows for Pre-teens
The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Extravaganza
Mary Poppins
The Lion King (which is really good)
Just seeing the sights. The windows on 5th Ave. (from Central Park S to Rockefeller Center) The Met has a huge Tree with the world’s biggest nativity scene. (well maybe not the biggest) and of course you can see the rest of the museum as well. The Christmas tree at Rockefeller center. Skating at Rockefeller center will mean a huge wait in line and a very crowded rink, Central Park is nicer . Of course NYE in Times Square is really fun and totally safe. There are about 10,000 police there that you can see and probably another 5,000 that you can’t see.
You could take the metronorth up to the Bronx Zoo, because in the evening they do a Holiday Lights Show
Not christmas related, but the Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, any museum really, but those two are easiest to find something the both of you might like to see.
Free stuff:
Grand Central usually has some kind of light show going on, every hour or so.
The Lladro Museum on 57th near 6th 4 floors of beautiful works. (one block from the horse drawn carriages, and FAO Schwartz/Barneys/Tiffany’s)
Two blocks north of there into central park, there’s the feeding of the polar bears around 1pm, and the Delacorte Music Clock near there chimes around that time too. (to the right of the wollman rink)
also, right off of Rockefeller Center, La Maison Du Chocolat has the Best Hot Chocolate EVA!
Tiffany & Co still does a bang-up job. I never miss them.
VCNJ~
If you’re an early bird, the animal handlers walk the camels that are in the Christmas show through Rockelfeller Plaza or up and down Sixth Avenue in the mornings. I think it’s 6 AM on weekdays and 7 AM weekends. It’s certainly a memorable sight.
I’d love that, but I live three hours away from the City and it wouldn’t be feasible unless I stayed the previous night! And I am kind of anti-mornings to be honest.