Tips for holiday time in NYC with a 4yo

[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.