Christmas in New York?

[Tractor]

Has anyone here been to New York at Christmas? i was thinking of taking the family there any info much appreciated.

[TheChipPrince]

I'm thinking of going over xmas/new year too, not as many direct flights as i thought...

[RED-DOG]

Has anyone here been to New York at Christmas? i was thinking of taking the family there any info much appreciated.

Mrs Red and I have, it was amazing.

Everyone was in a festive mood and wished us (and each other) "Happy Holliday" all the time. The entire city was decorated. All the trees were covered in fairy lights, even the vast skyscrapers had 40 foot wide ribbons tide on them, and when the office lights went out at night in the vast buildings, some were left burning so that from a distance the lighted windows spelled out a Christmas message.

We were lucky, it snowed. We walked through central park and watched the kids tobogganing, and we saw the skaters on the little rink outside the Rockerfella Center

[Laxie]

Basically, Red's post covers the awe of it.  There's loads to do in New York at Christmas and you're meeting New Yorkers at their best during that time of the year. 

We lived there for 8 years and have family scattered all over the city, so we'd have a fair idea what's on offer and where.  What are your likes/dislikes?  Then we can be more specific.

[TheChipPrince]

On expedia/last minute the cheapest flights i can find are around £330, hotels are quite expensive though... Dont mind going any time in Dec so hopefully can grab a deal

[Tractor]

Basically, Red's post covers the awe of it.  There's loads to do in New York at Christmas and you're meeting New Yorkers at their best during that time of the year. 

We lived there for 8 years and have family scattered all over the city, so we'd have a fair idea what's on offer and where.  What are your likes/dislikes?  Then we can be more specific.

My wife and kids will say SHOPPING! But we will want to do the typical tourist thing too.
Expedia seems to have the best hotel/flight packages at the moment as far as i can see.

[Laxie]

How old are the kids?

[littlemissC]

me and my sister were drunkenly talking about this on saturday night...we want to go for a merry weekend in december.

those pics have just made me ring her to remind her of the conversation and we are definatly going to go...it looks gorgeous!

[Laxie]

Radio City Music Hall:
http://christmas.radiocity.com/

Wollman Rink in Central Park:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/skating_rink_detail/wollman_rink_central_park.html

Everything Else Central Park:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities.php

Discount Theatre Tickets:
http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/38587205/

You have to show up on the day to buy through this crowd, but they are legitimate and I've seen many a show buying tickets through them.  They won't always have tickets to what you're looking for, so you'll have to be flexible or pay full price with the theatre of your choice.

FAO Schwarz:
http://www.fao.com/home.jsp

Toys are pricey, so don't buy your average Barbie or Match Box cars here (Go to Toys R Us for the usual toys).  This shop is just for those 'special' gifts.  Plus it's such a cool shop to walk around.

Tiffany's is right near FAO, so you'll be able to hit up the two in one wee visit, plus they're right near Central Park.

No place like New York at Christmas.  If you rent a car and like to see houses done up, take a drive through the Italian section of Brooklyn.  They go mad with lights and everything 'Christmas'.

That's just some of what we used to do.  Will post more later as the memories come back.

[Rooky9]

I'm thinking of going over xmas/new year too, not as many direct flights as i thought...

Where you trying to Fly from?! Must be double figures to JFK and Newark at least from Heathrow + Manchester.

Worth checking air Canada route to La Guardia via Montreal or Toronto - not much longer because the US customs is in Montreal so no queuing to do once to you to NYC, plus the airport is closer to downtown Manhattan.

[Laxie]

La Guardia or JFK are the best options every day of the week.  Newark is a disaster on sooooooo many levels!!! 

La Guardia is definitely the airport of choice not only for it's location, but the better roadways out of there.  With JFK, you could get stuck in hours of traffic and no way around it.   

[Rooky9]

La Guardia or JFK are the best options every day of the week.  Newark is a disaster on sooooooo many levels!!! 

La Guardia is definitely the airport of choice not only for it's location, but the better roadways out of there.  With JFK, you could get stuck in hours of traffic and no way around it.   

Best approach as well, scraping roof tops! They don't get many Brits through so you tend to be more of a novelty there than the others, which is nice!

La Guardia = No frills though. That and its dependancy on there being no cross winds are about its only downside.

[Laxie]

Lived 5 minutes away from there at one point...was 'entertaining' to watch incoming flights.   

[Tractor]

How old are the kids?

14 and 11 year old girls.
Reds photos look great.

[Laxie]

Ooooooh, they're at the perfect age to truly enjoy this trip!!! 

Skating in Rockfeller Center (yeah, I know...they spell 'Centre' wrong) is nice if you can hit it at a time when it's not overly busy, as it's not a very big rink.  It's more a case of doing it so you can say you did.  Here's their info:

http://www.rockefellercenter.com/home.html

Will work on a list of the best shopping for you tomorrow.  Complete with all the cool places for kids their age to shop.