About This Trip
We did this as a combined family trip with Eric's sister and her family (8 of us total). This was our kids' first trip to NYC - it was SO COLD most of the time and a lot more expensive than I remembered NYC being. The kids did great on the subway and didn't complain too much about the walking or the weather. It gets dark there by around 5:00 in the winter so make sure to plan your activities accordingly. New York remodeled La Guardia, JFK, and Newark and all three airports are absolutely beautiful now. Highly recommend a New York city movie marathon before you go - the kids will love seeing the movie sites in real life.
Helpful Packing Tips
Bring a roku (if staying in a hotel). Our kids were good in two pant layers, two shirt layers, ski jackets with hoods, insulated boots, and gloves.
Bring and carry an empty backpack with you so that you can shove all the layers in there when you are doing indoor stuff. Get a good walking winter shoe for everyone in your party.
Getting There and Getting Around
We flew into LGA on Southwest Airlines. We prefer to take the subway over cabs when possible; the subway is so much faster cheaper, and easier than cabs. The kids were Metro Card pros by the end of the trip.
Stay
We stayed at the Benjamin Royal Sonesta Hotel. It was really nice, Eric and I had our own bedroom in the king suite - but it was periodically loud at night. Lots of sirens and honking horns once an hour or so. I've never wanted to love a hotel more, but the noise was offputting.
Itinerary
Sunday 11/20 Arrival - Chelsea and Little Italy
Lunch at Chelsea Market. Walk the Chelsea High Line (this was real cold and you could definitely skip it unless the weather is nice).
Tour Hudson Yards (Hudson Yards is a massive mixed-use development covering 18 acres on the west side of Manhattan, from Tenth Avenue to the Hudson River, and from 34th Street to 30th Street). View The Edge and Vessel Buildings (they were closed on our trip so we saw exteriors only); the Shed (Art installation) - there is a nice bar and coffee shop in the lobby - exhibit inside was very inexpensive.
The Shops were all decked out for the holidays with 2 million shimmering white lights and a 32-foot hot air balloon suspended inside. On the second floor of The Shops is Snark Park, an inter-active art installation of activities. We also checked ou the Spanish Market for some shopping and enjoyed the Camp store (very interactive).
Ended the day with dinner in Little Italy; we ate at Casa d'Angelo. The service was laughably terrible here (I'm talking waiters avoiding eye contact at all costs while none of the customers seemed to have food or agency to get the food. I do think they were having an off night and they did bring us apology wine and dessert after an hour or two without service - I must note - without an actual apology). The food (when it finally showed up was fine (but not outstanding). After dinner, we popped in next door at the Christmas Store in Little Italy which my holiday-obsessive kids loved. I bought some souvenirs and presents - the nutcrackers here are a fun holiday souvenir!
Monday 11/21 - Bryant Park, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center
Breakfast at Pret a Manger (good grab and go - there was an egg white frittata which was surprisingly good). Holiday Shops at Bryant Park (Ice skating, shopping, dining etc. the boys bought puppets here that are now in every family photo of the trip.) Tour New York Public Library - because, Ghostbusters.
Statue of Liberty Circle Line cruise - this is the one thing we bought in advance - it fills up fast. You can get heated seats in the main cabin. We had lunch at Landmark Irish Pub so we could watch some of the World Cup (good food here too and let's face it you need a beer by now). We decided to walk Brooklyn Bridge which did make this a pretty big day. We did this late in the day, so most of the things we wanted to do in the Dumbo area were closed which was a let down for the kids. We took the subway back. The bridge at night though is so pretty.
Rockefeller Center Lights everywhere + tree (the tree was up, but not lit yet at Thanksgiving) and FAO Schwartz is back! Dinner - Halal - everywhere was super crowded and a table for 8 was impossible, so we just did street food and took it to the hotel.
Tuesday, 11/22 – The Met, Central Park
Breakfast at H&H Bagel near the Met. Metropolitan Museum of Art - make a bee-line to the Temple of Dendur on the first floor Egyptian wing to beat the crowd - then go see the other stuff. Next stop, Trinity Church Cemetery, Alexander Hamilton's grave is here (if you have a musical theater lover in your crew, look out for the Skylar sisters too). We had lunch at Le Pain Quotidien in Central Park. Had to grab a photo op at the Loeb Boathouse where Eric and I got engaged. If you go to NYC in summer, get on a boat and then grab a glass of prosecco at the Boathouse (cheers!). We had a pricey but good dinner at Brooklyn Diner.
Wednesday 11/23 - 9-11 Memorial, One Word Observation Deck, Times Square, Bryant Park
Stage Coach Deli Breakfast. One World Observation Deck - of the 5 NYC famous (all outrageously expensive) observation decks, this one is best for cold weather and it has a very cool elevator and unveiling when you get up there. 9-11 Memorial (we didn't do the museum and I think that would have been too much for my kids as they were also processing this horrible tragedy for the first time).
Lunch at Bleeker Street Pizza (the BEST) and still reasonably priced. Broadway time for girls - The Music Man at the Winter Garden Theater. Boys went to the Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium during the show - if you haven't watched the Night at the Museum yet, definitely do it before you come here. Kyuramen for dinner (private rooms, very good for a large group) Back to Bryant Park.
Thursday 11/24 - Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Return Home
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has never been something I dreamed of seeing in person. When I was little, I loved tearing up bread for my grandmother’s stuffing while watching the parade on TV—and thinking, that looks so crowded and miserable.
It was crowded—but it wasn’t miserable at all. It was surprisingly easy to walk up to almost any street and catch a clear view of the giant balloons, even without showing up early or staking out a spot. Everyone we ran into was excited and kind—one family even offered our boys their spot as they were leaving so they could see better.
After the parade, we headed to the airport and had Thanksgiving dinner there (and since LaGuardia is actually nice now, the food was not bad!). Honestly, not having to cook or wash a single dish made for a really enjoyable Thanksgiving.
New York City Movie Marathon
- Enchanted (2007)
- Disenchanted (2023)
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
- The Secret Life of Pets (2016)
- Ghostbusters (1984)
- School of Rock (2003)
- West Side Story (1961)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
- Annie (1982)
- Night at the Museum (2006)
- Big (1988)
- Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
- Newsies (1992)
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
- An American Tale (1986)
- Elf (2003)
- Stuart Little (1999)
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