Ice skating is a beloved New York City Christmas tradition.The holiday season is among the best times to visit New York City, and with direct flights now running from Chattanooga to NYC, you can reach the Big Apple in no time. A quick Google search reveals that a round-trip flight leaving Chattanooga Dec. 2 and returning Dec. 5 takes about two hours, and the next-shortest flight, including a layover in D.C., gets you to NYC in about four hours. The difference in cost was minimal, with most flights in the $200-$250 per ticket range.
What to do:
The classic Christmastime New York experience is ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Never skated before? The rink offers private 30-minute lessons for $50 per person, which includes general admission. The rink is open daily, with the first session beginning at 8:30 a.m. and the last ending at midnight, until April 10, 2017. You can also enjoy this tradition from the sidelines, for the length of time it takes to enjoy a cup of cocoa and take a few photos of the tree and scarf-draped statue below. You'll still be part of the lovely scene at Rockefeller Center that is New York City at Christmastime.
Keep in mind that the admission price goes up the closer you get to Christmas, and after the holidays, you're less likely to have to wait in a long line to skate.
Other ways to get on the ice without a wait include getting a VIP pass or the rink's new Starlight Skates, for which people can make reservations for the last skate sessions on select dates. Since the Rockefeller Center is practically the center of Christmas in the city, the rink's price schedule is a good indicator of which days you'll find the peak crowds - and the peak prices - at many other places in the city you may want to visit.
The "peak" prices are Dec. 1-4, 9-11, and from Dec. 16 through the rest of the month. For reservations and more information, visit therinkatrockcenter.com.
Make the (free!) trip to see the "real Santa Claus" of Miracle on 34th Street fame, found only at Santaland on the eighth floor of Macy's in Herald Square every day up until Christmas Eve. To avoid, or at least shorten, your wait time, you can make reservations online at macys.com/santaland 30 minutes to 48 hours before your visit with Old St. Nick. Or, try to go during less-popular hours, such as when the store opens or around an hour before close.
If you think Tennessee's got some over-the-top holiday light displays, you've clearly never been to Brooklyn's Dyker Heights, which is said to have the most extravagant Christmas light displays in the country. You can cruise the neighborhood on a cheesy, yet climate-controlled, bus tour by booking at asliceofbrooklyn.com/bus-tours/christmas-lights-tour.
Other holiday traditions in the Big Apple include The Christmas Spectacular, featuring the Radio City Rockettes, and a stroll down Fifth Avenue to check out the extravagant window displays. The Toys-R-Us in Times Square, complete with a Ferris wheel inside, is sure to be a hit with kids.
New York has far more to offer than an abundance of holiday cheer. A Broadway show is definitely an essential part of the New York experience. Hamilton is a wildly successful musical about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, now on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Or there's Andrew Lloyd Webber's newest musical, School of Rock (he's also responsible for Cats), at Winter Garden. And The Color Purple, featuring Jennifer Hudson of American Idol and Dreamgirls as blues singer Shug Avery, runs through Jan. 8.
Where to stay:
When I think of New York City at Christmas, I think of The Plaza Hotel, thanks to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, in which young Kevin McCallister becomes separated from his family at the airport and ends up spending the holiday alone in one of the Plaza's finest suites. Even if you don't stay here, at least take a break from your shopping and stop in for lunch or a drink in The Palm Court, decked out in its holiday finest.
Live like a true Upper East Sider at The Lowell, where many of the rooms have wood-burning fireplaces and the afternoon tea is the best ever. The Hotel Plaza Athénée is a another good option about a block away, where it's not uncommon for the lobby to be taken over by a film crew. I never fully understood how movies and TV shows could be filmed on the streets of New York without anyone passing by giving the cameras so much as a quick glance. Those passersby are actually carefully costumed by stylists in hotels such as the Plaza Athénée, then released onto a blocked-off street. (Signs are posted along the street a few days before filming, informing residents that filming will happen on a particular day and they'll need to park elsewhere.)
The Ritz-Carlton in Battery Park offers rooms with spectacular views of the Statue of Liberty, and rooms facing the statue include a telescope to help you get a closer look. It's within walking distance of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum, a definite must-see.