New York with 3yo and 1yo

[WingingIt101]

Dd1 was born in lockdown. Dd2 arrived a few months ago.

We are planning on an all inclusive trip this spring as dd1 understands the concept of going on a plane and having a holiday. Likely Europe, warm, pool, ice creams etc.

My DSIL lives in New York - more specifically jersey, about an hour travel on to Manhattan.
We would love to be able to spend Christmas with her having only seen her once since 2019 due to lockdowns and the challenges of having young babies.

I have found really good flights on the BA sale, and some air b&b options (sil lives in an apartment that can't host us all, and honestly with what will be a nearly 4yo and a 15 month old at Christmas (2023) we will all want some privacy and space im sure.
Essentially it's £2500 for flights and accommodation for us all which seems like an amazing deal.

My concerns / questions for you all are;

• we would have 3 days which are not Christmas/Boxing Day with family - what on earth do we do with two toddlers / preschoolers in NY that doesn't cost a fortune but that they will actually enjoy.

• is it madness to assume we could get the train onto Manhattan with the kids as we can't afford to stay on Manhattan

• what can we do to make the trip more enjoyable for all?

• is there any transport options on Christmas Day / Boxing Day in the us or is it just like Uk where we should assume no public transport and so Uber / cabs or hire a car are the only options.

• if we use Uber / pre booked cabs is it possible to get ones with suitable child / baby seats?! I wouldn't even know how to sort that here let alone abroad!

It just seems like such a great opportunity to spend time with SIL (she's 8 years younger than us and no kids yet) but we are nervous of spending £4K plus (once transfers / spending money etc included) only to get there and all be really grumpy because the kids are bored / restless and it's all more hard work than we can make fun!

I can’t answer it all but public transport Will be running as they don’t shut down at Christmas like we do.

the subway and commuter trains are not pram friendly, if you’ve ever been on the Paris metro it’s like that. My NYC friends use a sling a lot.

NYC is a massive city with loads for kids but it’ll be very cold so you’ll need proper clothing for it.

It will be several degrees below freezing and with the wind chil factor will feel a lot less. Hell on earth with a toddler and baby.

I can't answer your specific questions but in your shoes I'd be looking to visit at a different time of year eg spring or autumn. I've spent time in NYC in the winter - not with kids - and I always find it brutally cold. Sidewalks are icy/slushy. Taxis are in high demand and sometimes hard to get. Very busy generally at Christmas time. You might not be bothered about any of that and I can understand the appeal of visiting family, and the price you found is definitely cheap. But yeah, it has the potential to be a nightmare imho

I would go to NYC in a heartbeat especially for Christmas it's my most favourite city in the world....though with young children in the cold (and there really is no cold like NYC cold) it will feel like hell on earth! There will be plenty for them to 'do' but it will be bloody freezing....this website has some good ideas www.timeout.com/new-york-kids/things-to-do/the-best-things-to-do-with-toddlers-in-nyc

First of all, you need to check your proposed AirBNB in Jersey is legal or you could end up out of pocket, or even worse out on the street. The restrictions vary depending on where in NJ it is but these are the ones for Jersey City to give you an indication :

www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2682

This is why most visitors to NYC stay in hotels as there as legal AirBNBs can be hard to find (unless you're genuinely renting a room in the same property where the host actually lives and will be there when you are).

Secondly, do you really want to do this? It sounds like hell to me. A toddler and a baby on a 7 hour flight plus the usual long queue at US immigration, and then you'll still be a 2 hour return train journey into Manhattan each day. In the middle of winter. NYC is COLD in winter. I was there one year when it was -20. Brutal. Everyone stays inside.

I can understand why you want to go but I think you'd be better off either leaving the DC with family and going as a couple if you want to go at Christmas, or going as a family when it's less cold, so in spring or autumn.

Thanks all for the replies!

Will look into the time out article and the legalities of air b&b - hadn't realised that element so thank you so much for the poster who shared the link!

If it's going to be a child centered holiday, I'd look into whatever simple facilities and attractions there are for children in the place your sister lives, and I would avoid schlepping the little ones around the freezing streets of NYC - maybe do one short city day. Check ahead for opening hours of anywhere you want to see.

Strolling around to see the sights will require warm, down- filled coats, waterproof snow boots, hats, mittens, patience, and fortitude (it's hard to push a stroller through snow).

In my area (not NY or NJ) there are attractions like lovely indoor conservatories with talking parrots, big koi ponds, rooms with different environments (desert, tropical, etc). an indoor skating rink with family skating hours, a gymnastics center with public hours for kids under 7 (need to pre book and pay). I once encountered a family from Glasgow having the time of their lives at ny local one. Have your Dsil investigate what local.park districts offer. Also local large libraries for storytime, etc. If you're lucky enough to get some snow, consider a day spent making snowmen.

You can pre book a taxi with baby/toddler seats, most likely a mini van. It will be pricey.

Where in Jersey? You might be closer to Philly.

It’s a lot to spend and at those ages I would recommend the Jersey shore during June or September. For Christmas I’d pay for your SIL to visit you.

Agree. I've been four times, twice in March / April with my children (who were all 13+ at the time, one of the times it was warmish, the second time it was bloody freezing) New York is completely wasted on younger children anyway and at the time of year you are not going to love trying to push a pram in the freezing cold (and in not that child friendly a city). Go in the summer, if you go at all. Sorry, I know a bargain is great, and you want to see family, but really, please reconsider.

Or it could be warm like it has been over the last month. It's 13 degrees today.

Hi OP, we were there with an 18 month old in Jan 2019.

It was thick thick snow/compacted ice on every sidewalk. It was bloody freezing and we immediately had to buy thermals and massive coats as our UK ones weren't in the right league.

There are no lifts or escalators on most subway stations, you have to carry the buggy down the stairs. A woman had died right before we went doing Xmas shopping and carrying the pram, slipped and broke her neck:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/29/new-york-subway-woman-dies-baby-stroller-stairs

The other thing that was a nightmare was changing nappies - we stayed for 4 months total and I never found a single baby-changing bathroom in Manhattan - not in a museum, art gallery, posh restaurant, McDonalds, Starbucks - nada. I used to have to take my coat off, lay it on the bathroom floor, lay baby on it, then changing mat... then wash coat once we got home. Not good!

All of that said, NYC is great and loads of fun - I just would personally wait a few years for your kids to be bigger, and probably not go in winter - but that's just my opinion!