Which location for Xmas hols (not a Xmas thread!)

[newyorknewyorkforevernewyork]

I finally went to nyc for Xmas last year. Me and my dc.

the thing is, we didn’t get to see too much of it, due to dc being young and neurodiverse

we did times sq, the rockettes and Macy’s, Central Park and the subway

I didn’t love Xmas day in nyc myself, I missed home and Eastenders and a roast dinner and mint sauce😂

so I have a choice to make. I want to go for a week this time with dc, just before Christmas

but do I go to NYC again, and try to take in many more of the sights, now I know how my dc will cope. Or do I go to Chicago, another place I’ve wanted to visit for the first time?

wwyd

yabu - chicago
yanbu - nyc again

tia xx

Austria.

I lived in NYC over 2 Xmas-es and I think it’s way too busy and overhyped. I’d take London over NYC during Xmas any day!
if you want to take the sights why don’t you go during a different time of the year.
i can’t speak of Chicago apart from the awful cold and wind there at that time of the year but if it’s a bucket list destination for you may be try and see how it compares to last Xmas trip?

I'm not going to let you get away with this lightly at all. 😊Nope.

I think this too.

Btw I was on your New York thread and I definitely remember people recommending decent boots and trainers due to winter weather there…one pair of trainers and crocs was never going to be suitable! Also I would absolutely stay in midtown, better for sightseeing and not so crazy as Times Square.

How did you struggle for food in that area? There’s gazillion places within 2 mins walk to grab food quickly - pret, pizza slices what not instead of waiting for close to an hour for room service??? You can always order Uber Eats as well (including groceries like fruit and snacks) that would come to you much faster than room service would.

Yes definitely! I had boots, one pair of trainers, crocs and lots of socks and winter wear!!

but she (dd) wet herself on the plane and I didn’t realise! So that meant the trainers were out of action. So we had the boots and crocs (for short trips to McDonald’s for example). She lost a croc so I had to take her to buy a second pair of trainers.

also, we were at capacity in our one suitcase.

this time, I would ditch the fur coats we wore, to look iconic (yes) and take one coat each and extra trainers for her 🙈😅

for myself just trainers and crocs - it snowed but I was okay in my trainers

Cold?

I love the cold 🤷‍♀️😂

She wouldn’t eat lots of stuff! Was insane!

in the end I found a pub run by a former Londoner that did French fries! Maybe she was missing England?!!

she took a while to warm up, which is why I think she might cope better at the same hotel but being there for longer

I’m not rich so had to save hard - and so I didn’t have loads of money for anything expensive

i packed pot noodles but she wouldn’t eat them - she barely ate McDonald’s french fries and nuggets

i was worried she was unwell but I just think she needed time to take in the place, so 4 nights wasn’t enough

on the other hand - we can’t always holiday at the same place 🤔🤔

If you didn’t really like Christmas in New York last year, what makes you think you’l
enjoy it more this year?
Personally Finland is where I would go, incredible place.
If you want a major city, have you thought about Tokyo?

I didn’t like Christmas Day, having spent 34 cristmases at home, surrounded by food and sugar, watching Eastenders 😂🙈

but I loved the trip otherwise. This time I’d go but come back before Christmas Day

NY goes absolutely mad with crowds from thanksgiving weekend to Christmas. If you can go outside that time, it won’t be as overwhelming (still busy but that 4 or so week period is on another level)

We did okay with crowds. The one thing that would’ve been insane was seeing Santa at Macy’s but as she is disabled they run a queue skipping service

it’s actually the first time she didn’t cry at seeing Santa, which has become a tradition

part of me thinks because she can tell the person isn’t Santa, my smart little thing 🥰🥰

(she is non verbal so can’t verbalise what she is thinking)

we actually had a worse time in central London on a Saturday than we did in Times Square

We stayed at the Sheraton Grand, it was on the river north area. It had stunning views!

I need to know if you have mint sauce with Christmas dinner. It feels like an important clarification for this thread.

Omg 😂😂

Thank you 🥰

chicago is much cheaper than nyc for a week before Christmas 👀

It's a very, very different type of cold from what you get in the UK. It's unpleasantly cold. I recently visited Sweden and it was -12°C but completely fine as there was no wind. That same temperature in a windy city is not fun. Of course, you don't have to take my word for it! Just do whatever you want to do. But I personally wouldn't go to Chicago in winter.

It's currently -14 in Chicago, feels like -21. I just don't think it's possible to enjoy that!

I’d honestly love to give it a go 😂😂

So I’ve decided on nyc again, fingers crossed

i had a dream that I was looking at an apartment inside of The Bean in Chicago though, no idea what that means 👀👀👀

if I move to Chicago to start my life as an unwed Alicia florrick, I shall let you all know! 😂😂🥰🥰