The holidays are a fantastic time to gather the family and create new memories that you can always take with you. Depending on where you live, you can likely find a ton of different activities and sites to see during holiday times. However, (as a New Yorker, this may be biased) no one does the holidays like The Big Apple. NYC offers a multitude of different holiday options for singles, couples, and families alike. If you’re local to the East Coast, or visiting from another area, you’ll definitely want to consider making some pit stops throughout the city. Here’s a quick guide to some fantastic NYC holiday options:
Visit the Rockefeller Center Tree
Tree lighting ceremonies are generally a popular staple holiday activity. No matter where you are, you can likely find one or two within your area. However, if you’re looking for an extravagant holiday experience, you’ll want to take a visit to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The giant tree (selected from a different area around the country each year) is lit following Thanksgiving, throughout the rest of the holiday season. It’s beautiful and definitely something you want to experience at least once. If you’re able to and don’t mind a large crowd of people, you should try to get to the tree during the actual lighting ceremony. Not only will you be there for the unveiling of thousands of lights, but you’ll get to see some great performers and live music.
Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park
Looking for some quaint holiday charm (not something typical to find in the middle of Manhattan)? Look no further. The Winter Village at Bryant Park is the place to go. Here you’ll find plenty of adorable shops where you can get a lot of your holiday shopping accomplished. In between your shopping, you can take a break with some delicious local food at some of the Bryant Park food stands. Once you’re finished shopping and eating, rent some skates and have fun on the village ice rink.
Tickets to a Holiday Show
The great thing about the city during the holidays is the abundance of exciting shows and performances you can attend. From the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, where you can watch the famous Rockettes kick their feet up to the sky, to the New York Philharmonic, where you can hear beautiful orchestras and choirs that are likely to give you chills. Here are some great options for holiday shows throughout the city.
Macy’s Santaland
If you have children a trip to Macy’s Santaland is a fantastic way to give them a fun “North Pole” experience. A huge holiday display (13,000 square feet of holiday fun, to be exact), Santaland is a real indoor winter wonderland. You’ll see Santa and his reindeer, of course, and a ton of stunning holiday decor around the entire Macy’s display.
NY Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show
The Holiday Train Show at the NY Botanical Garden is a fantastic place for you and the kids this holiday season. View a showcase of over 150 scaled-down replicas of famous landmarks you would find throughout NYC; from the Statue of Liberty (that’s actually made of living plant materials) to a beautiful replica of Grand Central Station. The show here is located in the Bronx and runs from mid-November to the end of January.