Tips for holiday time in NYC with a 4yo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our kids loved the Rockettes, even at that age.

Its VERY cold so if you have room bring a snow suit so they can last in the elements longer.

There are going to be HUGE lines to get into FAO Schwartz and Lego Store, but those are fun for littles.

Stay away from Times Square. A nightmare with a kid that age!

Or just go to a toy store or the Lego store close to home with no lines, and a 4 year old is not going to know the difference.

Ok Scrooge. You have no idea why they will be in NYC. They will be there even to your discontent, so your comment is very unhelpful.

I mean, I’m pretty sure my suggestion of not standing in line outside for an hour to go into a Lego store when there is a Lego Experience at the Springfield mall with a perfectly good store , with a preschooler, is actually pretty helpful. I lived in NYC when my kids were young. Our chain stores are not that much cooler than these same chain stores near you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Second the don't go recommendation

Third the don't go recommendation

[Anonymous]

I second Transit Museum. Great for that age. Kids do not want to leave.

Brooklyn Children’s Museum, too.

Running around Little Island, if not too cold.

Paper bag Players if performing that weekend.

Big staircase outside The Met Museum.

[Anonymous]

Children’s section upstairs at Strand Bookstore. Bathrooms there, too. 12 th and Broadway.

Economy Candy store. Floor to ceiling candy. Rivington St.

[Anonymous]

Don’t go was same thought. Really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe a horse ride in Central Park?

Umm no. Those horses are treated terribly. They almost passed a bill to ban it but it failed at the last minute.

OP we went at Christmas when DD was 6. Lots of time in Central Park , we also googled playgrounds and went to a couple right in the city.
Times Square was ok during the day. Not in the evening, way too crowded.
Saw the Lion King and Rockettes.
Lego store if you go early enough it’s not packed

[Anonymous]

See if they are renting the mini sailboats in Central Park. Read a picture book of Alice and Wonderland and go see the statute also in Central Park. Look for a good playground (Ancient Park/Hecksher is in Central Park I think but there are plenty you should be able to google one near you). Take the tram to Roosevelt Island (not a lot to do when you get there but it's riding the gondola that should be fun for a 4 year old so you can just turn back around and come back). FAO Shwarz I reopen I think and kids love to roam the store. There are also zoos and children's museums if you need something to entertain for longer periods of time.

[Anonymous]

-See the train show at the NY Botanical Garden. Take MetroNorth out of Grand Central to the Botanical Garden stop--it's a 20 minute ride and will drop you directly across from the entrance. (Grand Central also has its own small holiday train show, which you could check out either before or after.)

-Ride an old-fashioned subway train on a "holiday nostalgia ride"
https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/holidaynostalgiarides/

-Read "Lost in the Library" (a picture book about the lion statues outside the main branch of the NYPL), and then go see Patience and Fortitude in person, visit the original Winnie the Pooh characters in their display case, and walk around the library itself (skip neighboring Bryant Park unless you truly don't mind intense crowds...)

-If you want to go ice skating, I'd go at an off time if possible and choose Wollman Rink over Rockefeller Center or Bryant Park.

-If the weather allows, play in a Central Park playground on the East side such as Ancient Playground, then grab a hot chocolate at either Butterfield Market (85th/Madison) or Glace (Madison between 90-91st) and stroll the nearby streets to look at all the decorated brownstones.

-Go to the Museum of the City of New York to see their gingerbread house competition. If the weather is mild, you can stroll through Central Park either before or after (the Conservatory Gardens are across the street from the museum).

-The crowds by Rockefeller Center can truly be overwhelming, but if you are going to brave that area, make sure to hang around long enough to catch the Saks light show across the street.

[Anonymous]

Dyker heights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:-See the train show at the NY Botanical Garden. Take MetroNorth out of Grand Central to the Botanical Garden stop--it's a 20 minute ride and will drop you directly across from the entrance. (Grand Central also has its own small holiday train show, which you could check out either before or after.)

-Ride an old-fashioned subway train on a "holiday nostalgia ride"
https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/holidaynostalgiarides/

-Read "Lost in the Library" (a picture book about the lion statues outside the main branch of the NYPL), and then go see Patience and Fortitude in person, visit the original Winnie the Pooh characters in their display case, and walk around the library itself (skip neighboring Bryant Park unless you truly don't mind intense crowds...)

-If you want to go ice skating, I'd go at an off time if possible and choose Wollman Rink over Rockefeller Center or Bryant Park.

-If the weather allows, play in a Central Park playground on the East side such as Ancient Playground, then grab a hot chocolate at either Butterfield Market (85th/Madison) or Glace (Madison between 90-91st) and stroll the nearby streets to look at all the decorated brownstones.

-Go to the Museum of the City of New York to see their gingerbread house competition. If the weather is mild, you can stroll through Central Park either before or after (the Conservatory Gardens are across the street from the museum).

-The crowds by Rockefeller Center can truly be overwhelming, but if you are going to brave that area, make sure to hang around long enough to catch the Saks light show across the street.

These are good suggestions. Except for the saks show. I’m a New Yorker and when I’ve taken my kids to see the saks light and the tree at rockafeller center, I honestly feared i was going to lose them in the crowds on fifth avenue across from saks. It was mobbed.


I would take your kid to serendipity in Times Square or upper east side for a frozen hot chocolate and decadent desserts. It’s my son’s favorite place. He also loves the train shows at grand central and NYBG.

The Bronx zoo has a nighttime holiday light experience that we love going to.

Not sure if you have a boy or girl. My 4yo daughter loved the American girl store when we went recently but over the holidays the lines will be nuts.

Nice playgrounds all over the city - Central Park has many, as dose riverside park on the upper west side. The upper west side also has a children’s museum.

My son also enjoyed the lion king around 5 years old - maybe your four year old would be up for that.

Chelsea piers is another good place to burn off some energy indoors.

[Anonymous]

It’s been really warm

I’d use the mall under the World Trade Center as home base, then go to all of the playgrounds right around there. Stumble upon various restaurants and attractions while you look for the playgrounds.

If the weather is rotten, maybe try the Complete Playground or other indoor playgrounds listed here: https://mommypoppins.com/new-york-city-kids/play-gyms-sports-centers/the-top-12-indoor-play-spaces-across-the-city

But ignore the people who say not to go. Just accept that you’ll do different things than if you visited with an older child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:-See the train show at the NY Botanical Garden. Take MetroNorth out of Grand Central to the Botanical Garden stop--it's a 20 minute ride and will drop you directly across from the entrance. (Grand Central also has its own small holiday train show, which you could check out either before or after.)

-Ride an old-fashioned subway train on a "holiday nostalgia ride"
https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/holidaynostalgiarides/

-Read "Lost in the Library" (a picture book about the lion statues outside the main branch of the NYPL), and then go see Patience and Fortitude in person, visit the original Winnie the Pooh characters in their display case, and walk around the library itself (skip neighboring Bryant Park unless you truly don't mind intense crowds...)

-If you want to go ice skating, I'd go at an off time if possible and choose Wollman Rink over Rockefeller Center or Bryant Park.

-If the weather allows, play in a Central Park playground on the East side such as Ancient Playground, then grab a hot chocolate at either Butterfield Market (85th/Madison) or Glace (Madison between 90-91st) and stroll the nearby streets to look at all the decorated brownstones.

-Go to the Museum of the City of New York to see their gingerbread house competition. If the weather is mild, you can stroll through Central Park either before or after (the Conservatory Gardens are across the street from the museum).

-The crowds by Rockefeller Center can truly be overwhelming, but if you are going to brave that area, make sure to hang around long enough to catch the Saks light show across the street.

This actually sounds like a really pleasant weekend, but- I cannot stress this enough- your 4 year old will be melting down. Do this lovely itinerary when he is 8. Do you really want to wait in line and go outdoor ice skating with a preschooler who can’t skate and will be crying and falling over? Will your preschooler want to walk around admiring decorated brownstones?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe a horse ride in Central Park?

Please, please, please . . . for the sake of those poor animals . . . do not do this. If you can't hack walking in the park, hire a pedicab instead.

[Anonymous]

We have family in nyc and so went when our kids were that age and I agree it was tough. That said some things we liked included: transit museum, grand central (when our kids woke up at 5am that is where we went for coffee), Roosevelt Island tram (there is a big grass field and a Starbucks on the Roosevelt Island side so we’d let our kids run around while we took turns getting coffee). If weather is nice enough, the Intrepid is great.