You don\u2019t need us to tell you that New York City is magic (and mayhem) over the holidays, and catching all the yuletide buzz around town is definitely worth it with kiddos. Here\u2019s where to go to make the most of mistletoe madness in NYC.<\/p>\n
A winter wonderland<\/p>\n
Enjoy a meal in the glass chalets at Watermark on Pier 15. Watermark<\/p>\n
Sugarplums and sparkle await at Pier 15 once again at Santa\u2019s Winter Wonderland at Watermark, presented by the experience collating platform, Bucket Listers. There you\u2019ll find 10,000 square feet of lights, over-the-top decor and delights, including a candy cane tunnel, and 12 heated glass houses with cinematic views of Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
Santa will be bringing the ho-ho-ho seven days a week, and adults can extend their patience with spiked hot chocolate and cider or jumbo cocktails. Satiate a sweet tooth by roasting s\u2019mores, or dig into a winter kale and squash salad in the cocktail chalet. Guests who purchase seating in glass houses (from $55 per person, or the chalet, from $50) receive an entr\u00e9e as part of their ticketed experience. Or, simply purchase food and drinks from the outdoor bar and food station.<\/p>\n
78 South St., Pier 15; until Dec. 31; $17<\/p>\n
Light fantastic<\/p>\n
Head to Hudson Yards which is awash with lights. Hudson Yards<\/p>\n
Everyone has been yapping about this whole Hudson Yards thing, so now is the time to actually go. Shine Bright is the sixth annual lighting display, boasting some 2 million twinkling links, 725 evergreen trees and a 32-foot hot air balloon centerpiece.<\/p>\n
Expect six pop-up Toy Soldiers performances, Santa and his sleigh and the Hanukkah menorah lighting with the Chabad of Midtown on Dec. 15. Stroll around with little ones, ideally with a hot chocolate from the La Maison du Chocolat pop-up.<\/p>\n
Later, walk to the Edge for Pinkmas at Edge, ($45 adults, $40 children, $43 seniors) where the Museum of Ice Cream is taking over the indoor sky deck to, well, deck it out in lights and bold hues, complete with life-size interactive ice cream pints, a banana jungle exhibit, ice cream delights and more (until Jan. 5).<\/p>\n
20 Hudson Yards; main events run until Jan. 7; free.<\/p>\n
Songs of the season<\/p>\n
Sing the tunes at Little Maestros\u2019 holiday specials. Casey Klein for Little Maestros<\/p>\n
Bask in the blizzard of holiday cheer that is Little Maestros, an award-winning early childhood music program. Their Holiday Celebration and Sing-A-Long features performers with Broadway-worthy chops who run the shows, complete with instruments, puppets, interactive storytelling and classic holiday songs.<\/p>\n
Chiotes Hall, 337 E. 74th St. and multiple locations citywide; Runs Dec. 15 to 19, from $40 per class.<\/p>\n
Join the choir<\/p>\n
This year, St. John the Divine\u2019s annual Christmas concert, presented by the combined Cathedral Choirs and Orchestra, will feature Bach\u2019s Magnificat in D Major, as well as Handel\u2019s Organ Concerto in B Flat performed by Daniel Ficarri.
You can also look forward to works by composers Alison Willis, Emily Hazrati and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor while singing along to beloved Christmas carols.<\/p>\n
1047 Amsterdam Ave.; Dec. 13, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. From $55 per person.<\/p>\n
Track this down<\/p>\n
Hope aboard Grand Central Station\u2019s festive vibe. Courtesy of Grand Central Terminal<\/p>\n
All aboard for Grand Central Terminal\u2019s annual holiday fair, a bustling hub for 35 artisan vendors and small businesses including the viral Inciardi Mini-Print Vending Machine, offering 30-plus new prints, and an Uncommon Goods pop-up.<\/p>\n
The Grand Central Gift Shop and Holiday Train Show is pretty neat too.<\/p>\n
Grab a bite at the Grand Central Oyster Bar or snag a coveted balcony booth overlooking the main terminal at newcomer Palladino\u2019s Steak & Seafood, where the sundae is a must.<\/p>\n
89 E. 42nd St; through Dec. 24. Free.<\/p>\n
Christmas in the city<\/p>\n
Learn about the city\u2019s colorful holiday history on a two-hour Empire Tours walkabout. Empire Tours<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the best way to experience NYC holiday magic? By foot. Skip the sleigh and venture around town with Empire Tours\u2019 two-hour NYC Christmas holiday tour that will make you fall in love with your hometown all over again.<\/p>\n
Animated guides will share stories of the city\u2019s holiday history, and you\u2019ll indulge in treats from Myzel Chocolates before ending up at Bryant Park Winter Village.<\/p>\n
Starts at 764 Doris C Freedman Plaza. Runs until Jan. 4. Cost is $35 for adults, $29 for children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You don\u2019t need us to tell you that New York City is magic (and mayhem) over the holidays,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":423796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,44679,197666,182109,7709,1165,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,1164,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-423795","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-christmas","10":"tag-family-fun-2025","11":"tag-hanukkah","12":"tag-holidays","13":"tag-lifestyle","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-newyork","17":"tag-newyorkcity","18":"tag-ny","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-travel","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115660566584003230","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}