New York City makes a great holiday getaway.  Our family spends a weekend in the City every year to enjoy the holiday festivities.  Our first stop is to see the famous, massive, beautiful Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.   There’s always a crowd at the base of the tree, which adds to the excitement.  While there, if you are able to locate a viewing spot, you will also enjoy watching people ice skate.  There’s usually one magnificent skater skating like it’s the Olympics, which is especially fun to watch.  Another amusing, enjoyable sight is witnessing a marriage proposal on the ice skating rink, which is not at all rare. 

Need a place to warm up after checking out the holiday scene? Check out the LEGO store if the line is not too long.  We love to browse LEGO models built by staff, hard to find Lego sets, and unique holiday LEGO gifts. 

Across the street from Rockefeller Center on 5th Avenue is Saks Fifth Avenue.  Saks has  the most stunning light show displayed on the façade of the store and it seems to get better every year.  The lights change colors in unison with the beats and rhythms of the accompanied instrumental music.  Saks’s windows are one of my favorites (if you have time to see only one store’s windows, make sure it’s Saks).  For the 2019 season the windows display characters from the Disney animation movie, Frozen 2.  

Walking up 5th Avenue to view other stores’ windows is also part of our trip.  Along the way, you will see nicely decorated windows from Cartier and Louis Vuitton, to name a few.  Our last stop on 5th Avenue is Bergdorf Goodman, which tends to have artsier holiday displays.  Additional windows worth checking out include Macy’s and Bloomingdales, but they are far from 5th Avenue.

Attending the holiday market at Bryant Park is another cherished activity.  Browse the mini boutique shops and find that special artisanal gift.  There are over 175 shops.  You can easily spend the whole morning or afternoon here.  In addition to shops, there are food and beverage stalls, including a bar for cocktails and hot chocolate.  Not in the mood to shop?  You can skate at the ice rink there or just sit in front of the rink enjoying snacks and people watching.  The holiday season is one of our beloved times to visit New York City.  If you didn’t make it this year, put it on your to-do list for the upcoming year’s holiday season.  It could end up being one of your favorite family holiday traditions.

Ideas for Holiday visit:

• View Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

• Watch people ice skate at the rink at Rockefeller Center.

• Visit Lego store at Rockefeller Center.

• Watch light show at Saks Fifth Avenue store.

• Walk up 5th Avenue to browse holiday windows.

• Shop, skate, and enjoy food at Bryant Park’s Holiday Shops.

• Check out holiday windows at Macy’s or Bloomingdales.

• Enjoy Santa’s Brunch at Macy’s Stella 34 Trattoria and take pictures with Santa (Need to book in advance).

• See the Rockettes perform at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Need to purchase tickets in advance. Our friends insist it’s a ‘must see’, so this is definitely on our to-do list for next holiday season!)