Christmas in New York - 2016
So Christmas 2015 we decided, right, we are going to do this! We wasn't sure how but we did and 20th December 2016 we flew out to New York for 1 week for a trip of a lifetime! We used SkyScanner to search for flights and Trivago for our hotels. We decided to book 2 hotels as it was cheaper plus it added to the excitement! We flew from Manchester airport with Delta into JFK and the flights cost us £1400 for all 4 of us return. 7 hours later we arrived to a lit up circus of lights. Our first hotel we stayed at was called Renaissance Hotel 57 which was situated on 130 East 57th Street. We stayed here for 2 nights for £220 which is cheap for New York! We then moved 20 blocks down to Affinia Shelburne situated at 303 Lexington avenue which is where we stayed for the duration of our holiday for £770 for 5 nights via Travel Republic.
So what did we get up to i hear you ask? There is so much to see and do in New York we couldn't have possibly got close to doing everything on our wish list. Here are some of our top attractions along with prices and links...
We bought the New York City Pass voucher before we arrived for £380 (£104.40 per adult, £85.87 per youth) which is exchanged for a booklet on the first attraction and includes 3 preset vouchers and 3 option vouchers of your choice from the top New York attractions - The Empire State Building, Top of the Rock Observation Deck, Natural History Museum, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Circle Line sightseeing cruise, Intrepid Air and Space museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Hornblower sightseeing cruise. If you are planning on visiting most of these i would advise you to purchase the New York Pass as the admission prices for these attractions work out to be a lot more. The booklet is valid for 9 days from the first time you use it plus it works as a queue jumper too.
We chose:
The Empire State Building - on Christmas Morning! We were lucky enough to have crisp blue skies and sunshine.
Top of the Rock -the view of the city at night time is breathtaking, plus you get given a return ticket for free to visit in the daytime if you wish. I personally prefer this view to the Empire State Building as you can see Central Park a lot clearer.
9/11 memorial and museum -such a heartbreaking and emotional visit but its such a beautiful tribute to those who lost their lives.
The American Natural History Museum- An incredibly huge, magnificent museum sectioned over 4 floors. Filled with history, dinosaurs, displays, planetarium, a space centre and much more.
Get your pass here -
https://www.citypass.com/new-york/intrepid-museum
Dyker Heights Christmas Lights Tour - A must! I loved this trip it really got us into the Christmas Spirit. The bus took us from Times Square over to Brooklyn to 4 avenues of competitiveness! These was no ordinary 'decorated' american houses. There were buses, bumper to bumper with people flocking from all over the world to visit this Christmas Wonderland. Streets were lined with glistening green lights on the trees, a brass band played outside one house and the Dj Mark Anthony had a deck set up remixing Christmas songs! Pikachu even attended much to my boys happiness and hot drinks were served by the residents. They really take pride in their yearly tradition and anyone who's in the city for Christmas really should make this on their priority list! On our return journey home the bus stopped off at the Ice Cream Factory at Dumbo by the edge of the river which gave us time to have a hot chocolate (or an icecream!) whilst looking over the magnificent views of the city at night.)See my video below) The trip is about 3 hours in total and tickets are from £42.65 each and are available via Viator -
https://uk.viator.com/tours/New-York-City/Christmas-Lights-in-Dyker-Heights-Brooklyn/d687-11569P5
The Christmas Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes - We attended this show on Christmas night at Radio City Music Hall. This show was beyond our expectations! From the moment you walk in and see the dazzling chandelier to the domino soldiers, not forgetting the live nativity at the end was absolutely outstanding. Tickets can be purchased from TicketMaster from $51 each up to $356 depending on your choice of seat and date. We sat in the Orchestra section 4, Row O and had a perfect view. Get your tickets here for 2018 shows-
Madison Square Garden - 'The Worlds most-famous Arena' this place holds Pro-Sports, Concerts and other big events. My husband is a WWE fan and they happened to be holding a Holiday Tour on Boxing day. The kids loved it and saw the likes of John Senor, Randy Orton and AJ Styles. I on the other hand, have little interest in this wrestling lark and sat for 3 hours admiring the 20'789 seats thinking of how many famous people had been in this same building...oh and the candy floss was awesome. Perhaps a basketball or ice hockey match next time. You do tend to pay a price for a seat but its not something you get to do everyday is it? All upcoming Events listed at -
Top Free Things to Do in New York at Christmas
Macys Santa land - Macys is an iconic department store which covers an entire block and has 11 floors of fashion and homeware. At Christmas the 8th floor is turned into a grotto like no other. Even the wooden elevator was like a scene from the film Elf. We queued for 3 hours down a magical path of reindeers, trees, twinkling lights, miniature railways and much more to finally meet the big man himself. There are photo opportunities galore to capture your little ones and a photo is took with Santa by a professional photographer for you to buy at the end if you wish. Keep an eye on the link below for the times and dates to be released for 2018. You can also make a reservation too - https://www.macys.com/social/santa-land
Bryant Park Winter Village - A fantastic Holiday Market made up of more than 150 unique shops and food stalls...(do try the hot apple cider!) No Holiday Market in New York is incomplete without an ice rink of course! Skating here is free but be sure to note that there are long queues... I much preferred just people watching and taking in the festive atmosphere!-
bryantpark.org/amenities/bank-of-america-winter-village-at-bryant-park
_edited.jpg)
The High Line - This 1.45 mile long strip was once a railway track and has been transformed into a wonderfully elevated urban- style pathway runs from Hudson Yards to Chelsea. Perfect for a Christmas day stroll to burn off that Christmas Day dinner!
Check it out here - https://www.thehighline.org
The Rockefeller Christmas Tree and Ice Rink - Finally, a must - see for any Christmas trip to New York, featured in many movies including Home Alone 2. The tree is colourfully decorated in 5 miles of twinkling lights and features a Swarovski Crystal Star on the top. The ice rink is just a perfect picture underneath the tree and in front of the beautiful gold iconic Prometheus statue.
We feel very blessed we were able to have this opportunity to spend our 2016 Christmas in New York. It was a 'Dream Come True' and it just goes to show anything is possible when you put your mind to it!
Have you ever visited New York for Christmas? Is it on your bucket list? Let me know in the comments below!
