Were you in NY for Christmas/New Year

Would love to hear from anyone who was in NY for Christmas and New Year. Hoping to do this trip this year and would love to hear your feedback while it is still fresh on your mind.

There are 6 of us 2 adults and 4 kids and we hope to stay in the Embassy Suites near Battery Park.

Looking for Suggestions for Christmas Eve/Day and New Years Eve. We hope to go to Mass on Christmas Day and maybe somewhere nice for dinner. Thinking of going skating in Central Park on Christmas Eve. Any other suggestions would be aprreciated. Is it possible to see Carol Singers on the streets. Maybe a trip to the tree in the Rock Centre.

Forgot to say my kids will be aged 4,7,10,12. All suggestions and feedback would be greatly appreciated. Maybe the Christmas Extravaganza. Are they very expensive as there are 6 of us.

Were you in NY for Christmas/New Year

all suggestions greatly appreciated.

Were you in NY for Christmas/New Year

NYC is fantastic at Christmas, just magic! You%26#39;ll love it, but I%26#39;d do lots of planning ahead of time. We were there in Dec. 2004 and loved every minute. I was not prepared for the crowds, the true ';crush'; of people especially on 5th Ave. (looking at the decorated windows) and in Times Square. But don%26#39;t miss the windows----between all the different stores, each of you will find one that is a special favorite. Do NOT plan on getting 1/2 price tickets to plays after you get there. The line is forever and a day long. Go to Broadwaybox.com or one of the other discount ticket places and get tickets there. The Christmas Spectacular was great! I did not know about discounted tickets when I bought ours, so paid full price, but it was worth every penny. However, you can get them for 1/2 price---buy one get one free.

Don%26#39;t miss the Rock.Center tree. It is beautiful, and the lighted angels leading up to it were a lovely surprise. There were lots of folks skating at Rock.Center---with waiting lines. However, we were not there on Christmas Eve---that may be better if lots of folks are home then and not out and about.

Contrary to popular belief, you CAN eat in NYC and not go broke! There are many small restaurants and diners that have great food, very filling, for reasonable prices.

I envy you! Wish I could go back this year. Have a great time!

Thank you Wandb it is great to speak to somebody who was there. Keep the suggestions coming in all feedback greatly appreciated.

Hi Waterford, good to see you back on the site.

I went for xmas and was there for 6 nights , I agree with the previous post especially about it being busy.

The crowds might make it feel a bit daunting with the two younger children, so as you know from your previous visit it is all about organisation and really sticking to a good iternary.

I did the christmas show at radio city on xmas eve and it was fantastic, you will all love it, i booked on the site previously mentioned and paid 75 dollars per ticket,, but they were good seats. ,theatre tickets in NY seem to be a lot more exensive than the Uk.

Forget the ticket booth in times square, far to busy.

A word of advise we chose to collect our tickets from the theatre on the day before the performance, that turned out to be a very good idea, as we went straight into the theatre, people who had collected before hand had to que and the que was massive with a lot of people missing the start of the show.

We walked around central park on xmas day which was good and free, park life is really hip in NY , the skating rink was manic with massive crowds and very busy.

we ate at the River Cafe on the xmas day, probably to fussy for children, planet hollwood or something similar would be good for kids.

We stayed by Central Park which i really liked as it was nice to see it every day and you always felt you had more space, i thought for me the mid town areas and the times square would have been to full on as it was so busy.

Do the helicopter trip that would be a highlight for your children.

Shops like FAO Swartz were very crowded at street level, poss quite stressful keeping an eye on the kids, however away from the main entrance they were ok, FAO has a fab Barbie display and good value if any of your children like barbies. We gave up on the empire state building as to many people, good advise is to go when they open first thing.

You will love it, remember though it can get very cold.

Just thought there might be a height/age restriction with the helicopter for the younger children.

Also your location is good, but quiet at night, and as you will be going at xmas it will be quiter than normal as it is in the financial district. You might not like that when walking around at night.

Have you thought about a suite with a full kitchen so at least you could rustle up some thing to eat if you wanted to.

When i was looking for a hotel i started looking the Jan prior to arriving and at one point had about 6 hotels reserved on a credit card until i totally made up my mind.

Im not sure where the Beekman Tower Hotel is (on the upper east i think) but that has rooms with proper kitchen and is well priced,it gets excellent reviews .

There are also other hotels linked to that group that i thought were well priced and gave bigger rooms than the average, normally suites.

We had a small kitchen in our hotel and it was handy.

Also start to book now as the prices will increase sharply a few months before.

It would be good if you can get info from this site for ideas on what there is for children to do at this xmas time. As its a lovely time to visit but can get very tiring with it being so busy. I was absoutely knackered when i got back.

Hi Waterford. In case you missed it, here%26#39;s the link to NY Magazine%26#39;s holiday section from this past year which answers a lot of the questions you raise. It has a special children%26#39;s events section.

newyorkmetro.com/urban/guides/holidays/

The South Street Seaport has what they call a ';living'; Christmas Tree with a choir that makes the shape of a tree and sings carols every hour or so.

The Winter Garden which is near your hotel has special events (musical) during the holidays.

I spend every Christmas in New York. You might want to find a more centrally located hotel as walking is the best way to get around in NYC, even in winter. I would suggest The Algonquin, The Sofitel. Both of these will likely require a couple of rooms side by side for your clan, but the location is worth it. The tree at Rockefeller Center is always a treat. If you%26#39;ve not been, The Radio City Christmas Show is well worth the money. Christmas Dinner depends on where you are staying. Last year I had Christmas Dinner at The Mark Hotel and saw an outstanding play Christmas night. There are many places for Mass. Book your hotel by calling direct and ask for the closest church of your choice. Don%26#39;t bet on skating in Central Park. Sometimes the the pond is frozen, sometimes it%26#39;s not. But bring your good cheer. This has to be the best Christmas City in the world.

Slwatkins, I know the river cafe might be a bit fussy for the kids but how did you rate it on Christmas day. Do you think it would be worth the money for a big blow out. I had really wanted to go on my next visit to NY and had been planning to go around Thanksgiving with my hubby but now we have decided the easiest option is to bring the kids for Christmas and this is the idea I am planning to go with the Christmas Day Dinner but I am open to other suggestions for a nice Christmas Day dinner. Thank you all again.

I think it is a major oversight on the part of visitors to New York during the holidays to forego those places and experiences which are uniquely New York%26#39;s:

Ballanchine%26#39;s enduring masterpiece at Lincoln Center--';The Nutcracker';.

The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Gardens.

The Christmas Eve Service at St. Thomas Episcopalien on Fifth Avenue which you have to wait in line for hours to gain entrance because of its sheer gorgeousness.

The Winter Garden at the World Financial Center.

The Baroque Tree at the Met Museum in the Hall of Medieval Sculpture.

A concert at the Cloisters.

The possibilities are jawdropping and one could never exhaust them all.

Hi waterford.

The River Cafe was fantastic, i can honestly say it was the best food i have ever tasted, presentation and service outstanding. It was 95 dollars per head which i thought in comparrison to uk prices was excellent value for the standard of resturant and its status.

The views are superb.

They didnt do Turkey that appears to be for Thanksgiving we had Lamb and Beef as main courses.

It was packed out and very relaxed not posh or stuffy. We ate at 4pm.

The only down side was I rang them a couple of times regarding the reservation and menu and they were a bit slapdash, they didnt amend the time as i had changed it, this may have caused problems but we were ok as in the end we arrived earlier.

They dont take bookings for holiday dates until exactly one month before hand and didnt know the menu items right up to the date.

Also where i thought was really nice although i didnt eat there was The Boathouse in Central Park, we stopped and had a couple of drinks at lunchtime on xmas day, and it had a really good buzz, small resturant at the back overlooking a small lake really lovely view. More families than River Cafe were eating.

I popped my head in at Tavern on the Green and thought it looked tired and dated especially as they were charging a lot more than River Cafe.

I bet you cant wait.