Christmas time in NYC

Re: Christmas time in NYC

• AddieCake member

  

  November 2015

  The tree in Rockefeller Center, of course. Other than that, I don't know of any holiday specific stuff. St. Pat's Cathedral is gorgeous. I've been in all seasons and love all things NYC, so it's hard to narrow it down. I will say that I enjoy it more in warmer weather. It's just so hard to be out in the cold and get to a lot of things, so when we went last winter, we did museums and the Empire State Building. And the wedding in Central Park, which was our whole reason for going, of course! It rained all day, and that sucked being outside.

  What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14

  

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• ericasm0703 member

  

  November 2015

  I went with my brother, mom, her co-workers and some of their families on a group trip a few years ago. I would go to Rockefeller Center to see the tree; it was absolutely beautiful and I would've loved to go ice skating. We took the ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty (way too crowded to go TO it, but we saw it and that was good enough for us). One of my mom's co-workers stayed with us for the day, but she did some shopping for her younger kids (Toys R Us, American Girl, etc.) I used to play with American Girl dolls a lot as a kid and so the store was actually pretty cool to me. At the end of the day we saw the Rockettes. Overall, we spent a lot of time shopping and walking around. I'd love to go back and do more!

  
  

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• climbingsingle member

  

  November 2015

  The tree, most definitely. They also have this really cool clock projection show thing on the buildings across from the tree. The skating rink there is fun but can be crowded. I've heard the skating rink at Bryant Park is really nice. 

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• nerdwife member

  

  November 2015

  There are lots of holiday and non-holiday things to do (obviously). Definitely see the tree and walk around Rockefeller Center. As PP said, St Patrick's is there too and absolutely stunning. You can also go ice skating there or you can go to Bryant Park. I'd actually recommend going to Bryant Park because they also have this whole winter wonderland set up, with pop-up holiday shops and stuff. There are other holiday pop-up markets - one in Union Square (which is cool, but out of the way if you're planning on doing mostly stuff in midtown) and another in Columbus Circle, which is the entrance to Central Park, so it would be a good stop if you're planning on heading over there. I personally go to these shops every year to find gifts - I love them.

  
  

  The view from the top of Rockefeller Center is awesome (and better than the top of the Empire State Buidling, IMO), but it might be too cold for that. 

  
  

  For the Statue of Liberty, it's going to be very cold, so not sure if you want to do that, but if you do, those tickets sell out - you have to reserve it through the ferry that takes you, and there are separate tickets to just got to the pedestal or to go to the crown. So definitely check that out soon.

  
  

  There's other random stuff you can do - Dylan's Candy Bar is a fun place to check out, for example. There are also food tours (and other walking tours). I love using a company called free tours by foot that gives tours at no charge (for food tours, you pay for the food itself - typically $1 for a tasting size at each stop - and then tip the tour guide whatever you feel is appropriate). It might be cold but I did go on one in January once, and it was doable. But I live here and have warm clothes and stuff - not sure where you're coming from.

  
  

  If you'll be here on any weekdays, I would try to do the most popular things (like the tree) then, as they are so super crowded on nights and weekends. 

  
  

  Hope that helps! If I think of more, I'll let you know.

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• jenna8984 member

  

  November 2015

  I don't remember where you live, so depending how you fare in cold weather I would definitely bundle up and walk the Brooklyn Bridge. I love it and the views are killer. Someone in NY can correct me but aren't all the big shopping window displays on 5th Ave?

                                                                   

  
  

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• nerdwife member

  

  November 2015

  I totally forgot something we did for the first time last year that was awesome - the Bronx Botanical Gardens has a holiday train show, which is really cool. An artist makes small replicas of all of the historic buildings in the city out of things found in nature (like twigs) and then there are old fashioned trains that go around the display. It's actually really cool. They have special events for adults 21+ on Friday and Saturday nights (and maybe other nights), where you get a drink with your ticket, plus there are other things going on throughout the night, such as a live ice carving (he was making a block of ice into a nutcracker), fire jugglers, etc. It was actually really fun.

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• kvruns member

  

  November 2015

  @jenna8984 the bridge sounds like a good idea. We're from Indianapolis, so we know cold weather and definitely will be dressing to deal with the cold weather. I love being a runner because I have great pieces to layer that aren't bulky!

  @nerdwife your suggestions are great - holiday pop up shops are exactly the kind of thing I'd love to go to. We're definitely not just doing Midtown, we're open to all, and the Columbus Circle/Central Park combo sounds great. DH loved going to a train display growing up so I need to look into the Bronx one, that would be great. We're going to be there Sunday afternoon through Wednesday (leave Thursday morning) so definitely all weekday stuff.  

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• PamBeesly524 member

  

  November 2015

  I would also recommend the Carol of the Bells light display on the Saks 5th Ave building.... It goes off every once in awhile (10 min? 20 min?) and is a really fun light display. It doesn't last long but is still cool to check out and then move on... You can YouTube past years shows.

  

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• pinkcow13 member

  

  November 2015

  Definitely the tree at Rockefeller! You can also try ice skating in Central Park, it doesn't get as crowded as it does in Rockefeller Center. The stores along 5th avenue are really pretty, with all their holiday displays. I believe it is Saks Fifth Avenue that has the cool light display that @climbingwife mentioned above, and they also have an awesome display.

  
  

  I recently heard about the Will Ferrell bar - Stay Classy. I forgot that I wanted to check it out. If I go before you come to the city I'll let you know how it is. 

                               

  

  
  

   

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• STARMOON44 member

  

  November 2015

  The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center is amazing, Lord and Taylor has the best windows, and the top floor of Bergdorf's has amazing Christmas tree ornaments for sale.

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• sarahufl member

  

  November 2015

  Ditto skating in Central Park instead of Rockefeller/Bryant Park- the crowds are more manageable. The 9/11 museum is a lot to take in and can take awhile, but it is really cool- but even if you skip the museum itself, the memorial outside is really nice.
  
  My favorite museum in NYC is actually the Lower East Side Tenement Museum,  but it sells out fast, so make reservations early. The Museum of the City of New York can also be cool.
  
  Central Park is beautiful, especially if it snows, get up early and walk around before it gets all disrupted. RE: the train show at the Botanical Gardens, there is often something on Groupon that has a classic train running there from Grand Central and also includes booze/admission. I haven't done it but my friends say it is really fun. If you can't get into Broadway shows or something at Lincoln Center, try the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). They get interesting shows sometimes as well.
  

  
  

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• nerdwife member

  

  November 2015

  Oh also since it might be too cold for the top of Rockefeller Center or the Empire State Building, you could do the top of the World Trade Center instead. It's all indoors - the entire floor has glass windows, so you can see a complete view of everything. It is really, really high up, so don't do this if you do not like heights (or at least don't look directly down at the ground). My sister wanted to go and I was kind of skeptical but it turned out to be really cool. Since you're probably unfamiliar with all the sights, I think you can rent an ipad-type thing that you can hold up and it will show you what you're looking at. You can also of course check out the memorial where the towers stood - it's definitely somber, but it's really beautiful, and if you're visiting and do go to the tower, it's probably a good idea to stop there as well. Fortunately, the memorial is now open to the public and you don't need a ticket.

  
  

  Also, I think @sarahufl might be right about groupon for the botanical gardens - definitely take a look. And actually check out groupon and living social for all the different stuff you want to do.

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• pinkcow13 member

  

  November 2015

  STARMOON44 said:

  The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center is amazing, Lord and Taylor has the best windows, and the top floor of Bergdorf's has amazing Christmas tree ornaments for sale.

  Ooo yea, the Christmas tree ornaments upstairs are so awesome. If you go to Bergdorf's, you should also check out their restaurant for lunch. There are amazing views of Central Park there to enjoy while eating lunch.

                               

  

  
  

   

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• missa011 member

  

  November 2015

  Sorry if anyone mentioned it, but definitely try to see all the windows at the big department stores. Lord & Taylor is 5th ave, Macy's is 34th street, Saks is 5th ave too and Bloomingdales is 59th street. Gorgeous displays!

  Rock center is necessary as I saw PPs have mentioned, and I agree that Bryant Park is great (stop and skate on your way from LT to Saks!). The popup shops are great. Grand Central also usually has a beautiful display and a popup shop as well. Some restaurants are also amazing during the holidays, Rolf's is INCREDIBLE. Even if you don't like German food or want to spend $$ on dinner, stop by for a drink (mulled wine...yes). It's in Gramercy.

  NYC is insane during the holidays but also has a totally magical feel. Enjoy your trip!

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• kvruns member

  

  November 2015

  Thank you so much everyone, these comments are great! I need to look some of these places up to best plan what activities/places are convenient to each other. My only other time there I stayed at a hotel next to Grand Central station and was with people who knew their way around the city so I just followed along blindly and didn't really know where I was half the time.  

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• Jen4948 member

  

  November 2015

  The Rockefeller Center tree is always worth seeing.  Macy's (in Herald Square-34th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues) store windows, when decorated for Christmas, are cool, and there may be a display in Grand Central Station or in Penn Station of some sort and those are often neat.  There also may be something at the South Street Seaport off Fulton Street in lower Manhattan and in Central Park and Bryant Park, and you can check out regular tourist spots as well, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, the Empire State Building, and perhaps down near the Freedom Tower.

  
  

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