Festive: A New York Holiday

A trip to New York at any time of the year can be a cool experience, but a trip during the holiday season can be magical. There is so much to see and do that the tough part will be staying long enough to see everything. Bring along your walking shoes and prepare for a generous helping of festive cheer!

The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden is beautifully created using natural materials.

New York Botanical Garden
A trip to New York City isn’t complete without a visit to the world-famous New York Botanical Garden, and their holiday experiences are amazing!
  • Holiday Train Show - Using natural materials such as berries, twigs, leaves and bark, the team at Applied Imagination creates over 190 iconic New York City buildings such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and so much more. Running through this magical miniature city are more than 25 model trains and trolleys, along almost an entire half-mile of track. The Holiday Train show runs usually runs from late-November to mid-January.
  • NYBG GLOW - Experience New York City’s largest outdoor holiday light display at NYBG GLOW. The beautiful garden landscape and historic buildings of the New York Botanical Garden are illuminated after dark for the holiday season. Move quick, tickets sell out quickly to this magnificent event every year.
The New York Botanical Garden is located in the Bronx. We recommend JW Marriott Essex House, right across the street from Central Park as a great central location.

Holiday window displays can enchant and delight everyone in the family.

Holiday Window Displays
Retail in New York City is famous for it’s fantastic holiday window displays. These enticing annual displays can be a welcome and festive part of holiday shopping, and the best part is that they are completely free to view, that is until you find yourself at the counter because you found that perfect gift (even if it IS for you!). Here are some of the displays we recommend.
  • Bergdorf Goodman (Fifth Avenue at W 58th Street)
  • Bloomingdale’s (Third Avenue at E 59th Street)
  • Macy’s Santaland (Seventh Avenue at W 34th Street)
  • Saks Fifth Avenue (Fifth Avenue at W 50th Street)
  • Tiffany & Co. (Fifth Avenue at W 49th Street)
There is a lot of retail in New York City, so we recommend The W New York Times Square, near Times Square as your retail central location.

Handmade Russian eggs at Union Square Holiday Market at Union Square Park.

Holiday Markets

For some fun, unconventional retail therapy New York City offers many holiday markets. Vendors and offerings vary, which adds to the fun of planning a tour of the holiday markets because you never know what treasures you are going to find. Here’s our “short" list of markets to visit while you are in New York City over the holidays.

  • Bryant Park Winter Village (Midtown Manhattan)
  • Christmas Market at Amaze Light Festival (Flushing)
  • Columbus Circle Holiday Market (Midtown Manhattan)
  • Grand Central Holiday Fair (Midtown Manhattan)
  • Grand Holiday Bazaar (Upper West Side)
  • Pop-Up Holiday Market at Empire Outlets (Staten Island)
  • The Market at Westfield World Trade Center (Financial District)
  • Turnstyle Holiday Market (Hell’s Kitchen)
  • Union Square Holiday Market (Union Square Park)
Holiday markets can be found in many places in New York City, so we recommend New York Marriott Downtown, near the Financial District, as a central location for your holiday market experience.

The amazing light displays in the Dyker Heights neighborhood make this a must-see for holiday cheer.

Holiday Light Displays
What are the holidays without lights? New York City offers a multitude of impressive light displays that are sure to dazzle and amaze. Here are some of the displays we recommend.
  • Brookfield Place Winter Garden
  • Central Park
  • Chelsea Market
  • Dyker Heights (Brooklyn)
  • Lincoln Center Plaza
  • New York Stock Exchange Christmas Tree
  • Prospect Park Christmas Tree (Brooklyn)
  • Pulitzer Fountain
  • Radio City Music Hall (see the fountain across the street)
  • Rockefeller Center (home of the Rockerfeller Christmas Tree)
  • The Plaza Hotel
  • The Shops at Hudson Yards and The Vessel
  • Washington Square Park
  • Winter Village at Bryant Park

With the blend of Tchaikovsky’s score with beautiful ballet visuals, a viewing of The Nutcracker has become a holiday tradition for many.

Christmas Shows and Art Displays
New York is famous for shows and spectaculars, and for the holidays they go all out. If you have the time, here are our recommendations.
  • Christmas Spectacular, Starring the Radio City Rockettes
  • The Nutcracker
  • A Christmas Carol
  • Spectacular Factory: The Holiday Multiverse at Chelsea Art Center
 

To be close to most shows in New York City, we highly recommend staying at New York Marriott Marquis, in the Theater District.

Want to experience NYC in festive mode without all of the crowds? Then January and February are also fantastic times to visit. You can still ice skate at Rockefeller Center, many of the museums offer free admission days, Central Park is a winter wonderland, the Statue of Liberty and Elis island look amazing in the snow. Don't miss a visit to Rolf’s German Restaurant, which offers a truly unique holiday dining experience all year round.
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About the Author: The above piece was compiled by Penny Anderson, mother of two young athletes, and Merchandising/Ecommerce Manager at Costco Travel. Penny has been a Costco employee for 26 years, 17 of these years at Costco Travel.