new york at xmas with kids

[miche8]

can anyone tell me what new york would be like? would places be open xmas day, would we be able to have xmas day lunch? don't fancy being stuck in a hotel. Our youngest would be in a pushchair still, is that going to be a nightmare?

As you can tell i'm not keen, its dh idea, i think hes fed up with how over the top with presents i go and the fuss about the xmas day meal and who to see which days, i actually quite like that and the build up, i feel sad to not be spending xmas day at home actually. Some tell me how great new york will be...

It will be busy and cold around Christmas, but it really is magical. The lights and trees are fantastic. They really know how to get into the Christmas spirit.
Don't know about Christmas dinner, but in a city like NY I can't see why it would be a problem.

We did it a couple of years ago and it was fabulous. The children were 3 and 1 at the time. Would go again in a heartbeat. We stayed in a hotel ( the Westin on Times square) but we ate out all the time.

Everything is open, the city never sleeps and it has a great vibe at Xmas. But it can also be absolutely freezing and not at all conducive to wandering around. But if you know how to dress for the cold and have all the right gear, it'd be fine. Last year they had a huge dump of snow over Xmas too and a lot of people got stuck.... I'm going on Boxing Day this year and staying for the New Year.

We were out there from 27th to 6th January last year although thanks to the snow it was touch and go as to whether we would make it! Flights were cancelled the day or two before and one BA flight the day before us had a 7 hour wait on the runway at JFK! We were fortunate - just a couple of hours!

It was magical though and New Year was amazing. We had the best time and would definitely go back Christmas/New Year.

It was very cold though - I lived in my North Face coat and snow boots - but as long as you are prepared then it's fine. There was one particular day when we went to see Ellis Island and the Statute of Liberty when it was very sunny and clear but absolutely freezing!