FUN THINGS TO DO IN NEW YORK CITY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON 2010

 

 

FUN THINGS TO DO IN NEW YORK CITY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON 2010

Having spent so many wonderful holiday seasons in New York City, we felt we’d share some of our favorite traditions and activities.  We hope the attached serves as a useful guide to help you and your family navigate your way through some of New York’s great sights and attractions this season.  

Christine Miller Martin & Hunter Hulshizer, Warburg Realty Partnership          

 

Christmas Holiday Shows and Events in New York City

Radio City Christmas Spectacular

The Rockettes kick up their heels this year to a fresh routine of The Twelve Days of Christmas and audience members get the full effect with a flying LED screen. (Radio City Music Hall, 1260 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10020; Now – December 30, 2010; $45 – $250) www.radiocitychristmas.com  866-858-0007.

Winter’s Eve at Lincoln Square

Sidewalks come alive with street performances by musicians, jugglers, stilt walkers and more. November 29, 2010 at 5:30pm.  The celebration begins with a neighborhood tree lighting ceremony at Dante Park – Broadway and 63rd Street.  Festivities continue along Broadway from Time Warner Center to 68th Street.  November 29, 2010 at 5:30pm.   www.winterseve.org  212-581-3774                                                                              

The Nutcracker

Angels, soldiers, and sugarplum fairies prance across the Lincoln Center stage in a show that delights children and adults alike.
(New York State Theater, Columbus Avenue & 63rd Street, Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023; November 26 – January 2, 2011.  For tickets: www.nycballet.com/nutcracker/nutcracker.html

Handel’s Messiah

Trinity Church Wall Street – The perennial favorite that always sells out, this incredibly rich oratorio features an elaborate mix of chorus, soloists, and orchestra that must be heard live … and what better place than Trinity Church where it received its New World premiere in 1770.  Conductor:  Julian Wachner.  With the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Robert Mealy, concertmaster.  Tickets can be purchased online or at the Trinity Gift Shop, inside Trinity Church.   Sunday, December 12, 2010 from 3pm to 5pm.  74 Trinity Place.  212-602-0800.  http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/calendar/2010/12/13/messiah-george-frideric-handel/

 

Grand Central Terminal’s Kaleidoscope Light Show

See Grand Central in a whole new light!  An all new Kaleidoscope show will grace the walls of New York’s most famous historic landmark again this year.  Come see what is becoming one of the most popular holiday shows in the city.  Grand Central Terminal, 15 Vanderbilt Ave at 42nd St., New York, NY 10017; December 1, 2010 – January 1, 2011 .  Shows run every half hour from 11am to 9pm daily.  Free to the public.  www.grandcentralterminal.com.

 

Holiday Shops and Activities in NYC

The Holiday Shops at Bryant Park – November 5, 2010 – January 2, 2011.  Open daily, the over 100 boutique-style shops and specialty food stores from around the world offer exquisite and distinctive apparel, jewelry, decorative goods, imported and local food, and much more.  For a complete list of vendors, an insider’s guide to The Holiday Shops and more, please visit www.theholidayshopsatbryantpark.com or call 212-661-6640.

Holiday Shopping in Union Square – One of Manhattan’s most popular Holiday Markets, The Holiday Market in Union Square offers shoppers a wide variety of items which include handcrafted jewelry, fine art, clothes, handmade ornaments and toys.  The market will be open from November 19, 2010 to December 24, 2010 from 11am to 8pm daily.  Please note that it will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.  www.urbanspacenyc.com/union-square.

Grand Central Holiday Fair– (November 15th-December 24th, 2010; Grand Central Terminal; 87 E. 42nd St. at Park Ave.) Stop by Grand Central Terminal for a warm and festive holiday shopping spree. The annually held Holiday Fair offers fun and original gift ideas and a merry atmosphere.   Hours are 10am-8pm daily.  Closed Thanksgiving Day.

Holiday Market at Columbus Circle– Open December 1 to December 24, 2010, 59th Street and 8th Avenue.  10am to 8pm daily.  http://www.urbanspacenyc.com/columbus-circle/

The Holiday Gift Shops at St. Bartholomew’s – 2010 marks the 7th year for the Holiday Gift Shops at St. Bart’s.  Open November 15 – December 24, 2010 from 8am to 8pm daily.  On Park Avenue at 50th street.

Holiday Window Displays

Lord & Taylor Holiday Window Displays (424 Fifth Avenue at 38th Street)
Bergdorf Goodman Holiday Window Displays (Fifth Avenue and 57th Street)
Saks Fifth Avenue Holiday Window Displays (611 Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th Street)
Barneys New York Christmas Window Displays (660 Madison Avenue at 61st St.)
Bloomingdale’s Christmas Window Displays (Lexington Avenue between 59th Street and 60th Street)
Macy’s Christmas Window Displays (Herald Square, between 34th and 35th on Broadway)

Most department stores run their holiday displays from mid-November to mid-January.

Not Just For Kids

The Museum of the City of New York 2010 Children’s Holiday Party– Arts, crafts, magic shows, a buffet supper and meeting with Santa Claus is enough to get any child in the holiday spirit. (Museum of the City of New York 1220 Fifth Avenue; Monday, December 13, from 3-6pm; visit http://www.mcny.org/public-programs/all/CHP2010.html  212-534-1672 

Ninth Annual Grand Central Holiday Train Show November 22, 2010-January 17, 2011; New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex; Grand Central Terminal, 42nd St.  between Vanderbilt & Lexington Avenues.
The New York Transit Museum Gallery at Grand Central Terminal is returning with its 9th annual Holiday Train Show which features a full train track with a fully functioning train and miniature New York City background. The vintage trains made by Lionel, American Flyer and Louis Marx & Company, which date as far back as the 1920s, will also be on display.  www.mta.info/mta/museum/whatsnew.htm

 

New York Botanical Garden  Holiday Train  Show

November 20, 2010 – January 9, 2011 – The New York Botanical Garden- Bronx River Parkway at Fordham Road.  The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show is a beautiful scene of The Big Apple built entirely out of plants and natural material like seeds, bark and leaves. A few of the included landmarks are the Brooklyn Bridge and The Statue of Liberty constructed by Paul Busse. The miniature trains are also incredibly impressive works of art to view and run the familiar New York City Landscape.   www.nybg.org/hts

New York Zoos

Winter Fest at The Central Park Zoo – Enjoy the beauty of the Zoo at the best time of year – the winter holidays.  On Fridays and Saturdays in December, hours will be extended to 6:30 pm so you can stop by in the afternoon or after work for a stroll under the lights.  Visit cold weather creatures, enjoy family activities and Wildlife Theatre in the Zoo gallery, and watch the animals get gifted during holiday enrichment sessions.  The snow monkeys will forage from trees strung with tasty fruits, red pandas will unpack gift boxes brimming with treats, and polar bears will receive frozen fish-cicles. www.centralparkzoo.com/plan-your-trip/events-calendar/presents-to-the-animals.aspx

Also enjoy holiday shopping at the Zootique, take a family holiday photo, and treat yourself to cookies and cocoa in the café.  Activities take place from 2pm-6:30pm.  December 3-4, 2010; December 10-11, 2010; and December 17-18, 2010.

Hess Clydesdale Carriage Rides at The Bronx Zoo-

Weekends November 6 through December 19 & December 26-31, 2010.  Beloved Clydesdale horses Ranger, Jesse, and Monty will take guests on festive wagon rides around the zoo.  Other features will include a petting zoo, ice carvings and puppets.   Saturdays and Sundays throughout the holiday season.  Special winter activities continue in December.   $5 per person for ages 3 and up.   http://www.bronxzoo.com/plan-your-trip/events-calendar/horse-drawn-carriage-rides.aspx

Hotels, Museums, Trees and Lights

Carolers in the Lobby of The Carlyle Hotel

Holiday Victorian-style carolers will bring memories to your heart.  Be serenaded by your favorite holiday melodies in The Carlyle’s famed lobby.  On December 22nd and 23rd, 2010, carolers will perform from 5:30-7:30pm.  On Christmas Eve, enjoy the Victorian Vocal Quartet from 5pm-9pm and on Christmas Day from noon-2pm and again from 5pm-7pm. 

Also stop by to enjoy Madeline Tea at The Carlyle’s famous Bemelmans Bar.  Madeline Tea is a delightfully playful afternoon for children and parents alike.  Guests can listen and sing along to tunes from the Madeline Song Book with Tina de Varon while dining on Madeline’s Children’s Buffet, afternoon tea, or an a la carte menu for adults.  Every Saturday with seatings at 10am and 12:30pm.  Don’t forget to check out the gingerbread house on display in The Gallery.  It’s an endless source of temptation for both young and the young at heart.  Located at 35 East 76th Street. www.thecarlyle.com  212-744-1600

Victorian Holiday Lighting (At the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center – Inside the Park on 110th St between 5th and Lenox Aves)  – Sunday, December 5, 2010  – 3:00pm to 5:00pm.  Celebrate the season in Manhattan’s Victorian winter wonderland at the Central Park Conservancy’s 14th Annual Holiday Lighting.  Enjoy hot cocoa, live carolers, cookie decorating, crafts and an opportunity to take photographs with Father Christmas.  FREE.  No advance registration.  All ages welcome.  For more information, call 212-860-1370.  http://support.centralparknyc.org/site/Calendar/1253496182?view=Detail&id=112081

Origami Christmas Tree at the American Museum of Natural History – For over thirty years the museum has celebrated the holiday season with its origami tree.  This year will be no exception as it will be decorated with the theme of discovery, from dinosaur digs to space exploration.  Also, don’t miss the two 19-foot Holiday Barosaurs lit up for viewing as well.  Tree viewing begins on November 22, 2010 and will remain up until January 2, 2011.  Central Park West at 79th Street.  212-875-5456 www.amnh.org

Christmas Tree at The Metropolitan Museum of Art  November 23, 2010-January 6, 2011.  The Museum will display its Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Creche.  The twenty foot spruce will be adorned with 18th century Neapolitan angels and Cherubs flanking the nativity scene in the Museum’s Medieval Sculpture Hall.  Lighting ceremonies are held Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 3:30pm and 4:30pm, and Fridays and Saturdays at 4:30pm, 5:30pm, and 6:30pm.   1000 5th Ave  at 82nd Street.   www.metmuseum.org 212-535-7710.

Park Avenue Tree Lighting Ceremony– Sunday, December 5, 2010 6:30pm.  The Brick Presbyterian Church located at 91st Street and Park Ave.  Every year since 1945 the firs that line Park Avenue have been lit to remember and honor those who have lost their lives in our nation’s wars.

Tree Lighting Celebration at Citi Pond inside Bryant  Park– Thursday, December 2, 2010  at 6pm.  www.bryantpark.org

Lighting of the World’s Largest Hanukkah Menorah– This 32 foot tall, two ton candelabra will be lit at the Grand Army Plaza at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street.  The nightly lighting ceremonies will be accompanied by folk dancing and holiday jelly donuts.   The festivities take place on December 1 – December 9, 2010 at 5:30 pm and 3:30pm on Fridays.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting– Tuesday, November 30, 2010.  7pm-9pm.  The Norway Spruce will be illuminated by 30,000 environmentally friendly LED lights on five miles of wire!  www.rockefellercenter.com

Chorus Tree at South Street Seaport – Don’t miss the tree lighting on Friday, November 26th 2010 at the South Street Seaport’s Historic Cobblestone Area – South Street and Fulton.  6pm.  Soon enough, the bright lights of New York City are going to be drowned out by the beautiful lights of the holiday. The South Street Seaport is kicking it off with a traditional tree lighting ceremony where a 55 foot Norway Spruce will be lit up the day after Thanksgiving.   Santa will be available for complimentary photos from 6:30pm-8pm.  Carolers perform Fridays at 6pm and 7pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm and 4 pm through Christmas.  It provides a festive break from the holiday madness.  www.southstreetseaport.com

 

Santa

Macy’s Santaland and Puppet Theatre– Visit the real Santa Claus at Macy’s Santaland located on the 8th floor of Macy’s Herald Square.  Open daily from 9am to 9pm, from Friday, November 25 through Saturday, December 24, 2010.  Admission is free.

Santa Pub Crawl– For the over-21 crowd, this holiday season you can follow Santa and his helpers to local bars for the Santa Pub Crawl.  The 2010 Santa Pub Crawl New York City will take place on Friday, December 10th.  For more information, visit www.spcnyc.com.

 

Ice Skating in New York

The Ice Rink at Rockefeller Centerwww.therinkatrockcenter.com  212-332-7654

Citi Pond at Bryant Park – Citi Pond is the centerpiece of Bryant Park’s winter season.  The 170’ x 100’ rink features free admission skating in addition to high quality rentals.   Open October 29th, 2010 until February 27th, 2011.  Sunday through Thursday, 8am – 10pm and Friday and Saturdays from 8am –midnight.   www.citipondatbryantpark.com

Trump Wollman Rink – Located in Central Park, the rink is near the east side of the Park, just steps from the Central Park Zoo and The Plaza Hotel.  It offers ice hockey, a skating school and party facilities.  For more information including rink hours call 212-439-6900 or visit www.wollmanskatingrink.com 

Best Places for Hot Chocolate

Dylan’s Candy Bar – Visit the upper level of this Willy Wonka like candy store for a mug of hot chocolate topped with either cookies, birthday cake or, of course, candy. One size $7.00  www.dylanscandystore.com  1011 Third Ave.

La Maison du Chocolat – The grand daddy of chocolate shops has a tasting salon in the back where hot chocolate lovers are in for a real treat.  Try the semi sweet or very dark blends for an over-the-top, hot chocolate experience.  One size: $8.00  1018 Madison Avenue (between 78th and 79th St.)  212-744-7117  www.lamaisonduchocolat.com

Sant Ambroeus – 1000 Madison Avenue (between 77th and 78th St.)  212-570-2211  www.santambroeus.com . Their hot chocolate is beyond!

Lexington Candy Shop – Sit at the counter and have an old New York experience as you and your children will enjoy the classic Nestle’s cocoa.  One size: $1.50 or $2.95 made with milk.  1226 Lexington Avenue at 83rd Street.  www.lexingtoncandyshop.com.

Francois Chocolate Bar at Mauboussin – Located on the fourth floor of jeweler Mauboussin, on the Upper East Side.  Indulge in Payard’s signature sweets which are on full display.  You can buy some fabulous jewelry while you’re at it! 714 Madison Avenue (fourth floor) 212-759-1600.

 

Holiday Lights Bus Tour

Year after year New York is the top destination for Holiday travels.  Come get a taste of why Christmas in New York makes the season bright for so many.  See the lights, the music, everything that makes New York spectacular during the holidays!  On this guided bus tour through New York you will see the city’s famous holiday lights!  Come see Rockefeller Center’s Holiday splendor.  Rockefeller Center’s lighted Christmas tree and its outdoor skating rink are just some of the many sites you’ll enjoy on this unforgettable tour of New York City and its Holiday lights.   The tour runs approximately 3 hours daily at 7pm, 7:30pm, or 8pm, November 23, 2010 – January 1, 2011.  Tickets range from Free for children under the age of 5, $33.95 for children between the ages of 5-11 and 48.95 for Adults.  There is a $5 savings for tours booked online.  Reserve online or call toll free at 888-880-9108. 

http://www.nytours.us/?event=offer.detail&offerId=5170

                    

  

 

 Christine Miller Martin, Managing Director – 212-439-5194 / cmartin@warburgrealty.com

Hunter Hulshizer Hunter Hulshizer, Salesperson – 212-439-4564 / hhulshizer@warburgrealty.com

 

 

 

 

 

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