We checked off one of my big bucket list items last month with a trip to see New York City at Christmas time! It was a quick trip from December 17th-21st but was perfect! Plus, with the new variant of covid floating around, things in New York were slowly shutting down again. (For instance, we had tickets to see the Rockettes, but they cancelled the rest of their season the day we arrived!) Even with covid always in our midst, we still had an amazing time! And I’m so thankful we took the girls at this age because it was truly a magical trip for them.

Where to stay:
I left this mission to Vince with just one request – that he find a hotel big enough for him to fit through the doors haha! At 6 foot 6, and with how tall and skinny hotels in NYC are, I wanted him to find a place where he didn’t feel completely claustrophobic. I’ve been to NYC just once before, back in 2010 with my mom for a girl’s trip when she was promoting her book, The Return of Mikey. We loved our stay in Times Square but our hotel was hilariously small to the point where my mom could touch both sides of the hallway without even having to fully extend her arms. So to say hotels there are small is an understatement. And when you have 2 kids in tow, space is a priority! Vince did an excellent job finding us a good room! He made us reservations at the Kimpton Muse right in the heart of Times Square. We got a suite with a pull-out couch for the girls to sleep on, but it was nice that we had our own room and could shut the door at night to not disturb each other. And we had plenty of space so we weren’t bumping into each other!

Day 1: We left on a Friday and most of the day was spent just getting to our destination. Once we landed, we immediately got an Uber to our hotel and then asked the front desk attendant where the best pizza place nearby was. Upon his recommendations, we ordered from Joe’s Pizza and it did not disappoint! Our eight year old even said it was the best pizza she’s ever had, and she loves her pizza. We had all been battling a very violent stomach bug just a couple days before getting to NYC so we went ahead and called it a night after eating.

Day 2: Macy’s Santaland, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square: The first thing the kids wanted to do was meet Santa. The Santaland at Macy’s is known nationally – and for good reason. The decor leading up to Santa is well-executed, and in times of covid, I appreciate that they took reservations so people could stagger out more. The catch to getting tickets is that they are released five days in advance of the day in question, and go live right at 5:30 am EST (in other words, I got my ass up at 3:30 am MST to get us tickets.) They sell out in mere minutes and if you don’t get them, you have to hope you can the next day. Luckily I can type like a mother fucker so we had reservations for 11 am. To get tickets, you just go to their website here. Even with reservations, it took us almost 45 minutes to wait in line but during non-covid years, I hear it’s MUCH worse. Like, hours worse! So we were thankful to have reservations. You wind through a decorated wonderland with a working train, decorations galore, and elves of course. Then when you get up to Santa, he takes his time and asks the kids what they want for Christmas and shoots the shit with the parents. Then you can take a professional photo as well as take as many as you want with your personal devices. The girls were over the moon to see Santa!

After seeing Santa, I wanted to check out the nine story Macy’s on 34th street. When in Rome, right? I found the cutest Kate Spade bag so I made it mine as my memento from the trip. And the girls picked out a ton of cute clothes and some toys. For Christmas we asked my parents to give them money in lieu of gifts so that they could go wild at Macy’s and FAO Schwarz, so the kids were elated to spend their money as they pleased.

A few hours in the giant Macy’s did us all in, so we headed back to our room. My favorite impromptu item purchased we found on our walk back to our hotel. There was a street artist using spray paint to make the New York skyline. He’d make it in any colors, so the girls requested that he make NYC look like “a galaxy” and he did not disappoint. Watching him make it right in front of us was impressive to say the least. Then we went back to our hotel room and hung out for a couple hours before heading back out again.

Rockefeller Center: The main reason I wanted to see NYC at Christmas was to see the big tree at Rockefeller Center. It was the only event we did this trip where I felt like we were in a mad house. People were EVERYWHERE! But it was worth it to see the tree lit up in all its glory. After that, we got dinner at a restaurant near our hotel and crashed for the night.

Day 3: Holiday Market at Bryant Park, FAO Schwarz, and Radio City: We started the day with another request of mine – hitting up a holiday market. The best one in NYC this time of year is at Bryant Park, so we walked there from our hotel. (Another reason I loved our hotel – we walked pretty much everywhere easily!) My favorite thing purchased there were some hand-knit mittens for the girls. Winnie’s size were the old fashioned kind where they are sewn onto a string that you weave through the arms of coats so that the mittens don’t get lost. They were adorable and are now her main pair she uses since they’re always dangling in her coat! And of course I grabbed a Christmas ornament to commemorate the trip, as I do on every trip we take. Then we headed over to FAO Schwarz. I knew this would be another highlight for the kids, because what kid wouldn’t love hitting up a toy store with a few hundred bucks in their pockets? Winnie’s favorite item purchased was the Build-A-Bear brand reindeer she created, and Lila got some LOL dolls. After shopping our hearts out, we went back to the room and hung out again and let the girls play with their new loot while Vince and I relaxed. That night we ventured back out again to see Radio City Music Hall where we were supposed to see the Rockettes perform. We went to the Top of the Rock, but it was so cloudy we couldn’t see much! I was secretly thankful because I am fucking terrified of heights. But the kids enjoyed “playing in the clouds” at the top of the rock!

Day 4: Horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park, Disney Store, and heading home: Our flight left around 5 pm so we surprised the kids on our last morning with a horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park. We walked there from our hotel (about 13 blocks), and it was freezing out, so the kids were excited to see the carriage as well as the giant blanket inside of it to bundle up with! We just paid one of the carriage drivers right when we got there, but you can also purchase tickets here. After that, Vince and I needed coffee so we grabbed some at a nearby coffee shop then took an Uber back to Times Square to check out the Disney Store. The kids spent the last of their money there buying fancy Rapunzel dolls, Minnie Mouse plushies dressed as the Statue of Liberty, and some other odds and ends. Then we grabbed our bags from the hotel and headed to the airport. We were able to get a late check-out of 1 pm which worked perfectly so that we could go back to the room, pack the latest purchases, freshen up, and then head out to LaGuardia to head home!

If you plan to hit up NYC and shop for Christmas, I highly recommend doing what we did and bringing a spare, entirely empty suitcase! We packed half of our items in a small suitcase and put that suitcase inside a large one. Then we had a second regular sized one for the rest of our items. It made packing to come home so much easier, and Lila was able to help us by rolling the smallest suitcase herself!

Overall, there isn’t one thing I’d change about our itinerary if you are going to NYC for just a few days! If I did it all again, I’d tack on one more day and make sure to see a Broadway show (in non-pandemic times where you can actually attend one!) But if you’re pressed for time and are like us where you want to be back in home in time for Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, you can cover a lot of ground in just a few days. When it’s all said and done, I am just thankful we are travelling more again! Happy 2022 to all of you! May it be better than the last two years….