How would you as a tourist spend Dec 25 when every museum, zoo, and aquarium is closed in the United States of America?

Armstrong Wong
Hong Kong

Hi Armstrong:
How about a church service at St Patricks or Cathedral of St John the Divine or pick any house of worship. Then a nice brunch at a nice restaurant. Then take a ride to The Bronx Zoo. They are open on Christmas Day. Closed Christmas Eve. They have a lovely display of lights and special night feedings for the animals
www.bronxzoo.com
Right next door is New York Botanical Gardens. Always a special place during the holidays www.nybg.com.
Have a great time!

Hi AC,

Thanks for your wonderful idea. None of travel books by Fodor, LonelyPlanet, and Let's Go mentions a special itinerary for Dec 25. Last Dec 25, I and my two sons spent the Dec 25 at the birth place of George Washington in Virginia, 4 hour round-trip driving from Washington, DC. Of course, it was hardly entertaining especially for my two sons.

Armstrong
Hong Kong

You would have to tell me what city I would be in. But, I would point out that there are still some "tourist attractions" open on Christmas, and you can bet they will be much less crowded than at any other time. There also are, depending on the city, sporting events scheduled for that day. So, if you were posting because you will be touring the US on December 25th, let us know where exactly you would be on that date, and somebody here will help you I'm sure.

Hi Larry:
The reason I knew Armstrong was going to be in NYC was a previous post about 2001 in Times Square.
Sorry about the confusion.

Hi Larry,
Sorry for the confusion. My forum topic avoided mentioning cities by purpose to order to induce wide-range discussion. It's an important subject especially for tourists becasue it's the date when almost all attractions including restaurants, McDonald's, Wendy, Arby, and supermarkets shut down in the United States.
For the coming trip, I'll take my two son to visit Chicago, Dayton, Columbus, Washington Dc, Annapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York.
Please help plan ahead a wonderful Dec 25. Thanks a lot.

Armstrong
Hong Kong

Most national parks are open, but not many national monuments, battlefields, etc. Most of those lodges are full for family gatherings and dining.

No way in hades would I go to Disney World for XMas-New Years; it's the most crowded time of year with wall-to-wall rudeness.

Armstrong,
I don't mean to repeat myself, but where will you be on December 25th? You mentioned 8 different cities- at the risk of stating the obvious you can't visit them all on the same day. Also, sure many things are shut down, but there will be plenty of restuarants open (just not many of the fast-food type)and actually most large supermarkets that I am aware of (New England/Philadelphia/South Florida) will be open on Christmas with reduced hours.

Hello -

If you are looking for a wide ranging discussion, there are a lot of things one can do on Christmas Day, if you have a little ingenuity.

If you are anywhere the weatehr is decent, a nice long walk is great - I was in New Orleans on Christmas a couple of years ago, and we walked from the French Quarter to a park about three miles away. The walk was great, and can be repeated in many locales. For those more ambitious, hiking trails, beaches, etc. are open regardless of what day it is.

As stated earlier, any place except very small towns will ahve restaurants open, and in large and medium size cities places serve a fancy brunch and/or dinner.

Many movie theaters are also open, and at least where I live, in DC, they seem to be pretty busy come Christmas night.

Things vary from region to region. In my area, absolutely everything closes about 6 p.m. on the 24th. On the morning of the 25th, the video stores open, as do the gas stations near the interstate. The only open restaurant I know of is a Hardee's along the interstate.

The big draw here is when the movie theatres open about 1 p.m. And if you're at a hotel, I guess you could swim.

With Christmas on a Monday this year, Monday Night Football will be Dallas at Tennessee. Earlier in the day there's a bowl game in Hawaii.

Larry,
Again sorry for not being specific. However, I can't be too specific at this moment because it depands the availability of parking space, lodging, local events. Nonetheless, I'll stay in NYC on Dec 25 this year. Still I could drive to cities like Guttysburg, Williamsburg or Montreal if others suggest some attractions may help my two kids learn about humanity and science. Thanks again for your input.

Armstrong
Hong ong

Yes, there will be restaurants open, but you had better plan in advance! We have driven 700 miles on Christmas Day before, leaving right after lunch. The only thing we found open on the Interstates were 1 truck stop and Waffle Houses (which was standing room only)! We had incorrectly assumed that we'd find a nice restaurant open along the way. Even gas stations were closed!

Mr Wong, typically most of us tend to spend the morning with family, eating and opening presents, sometimes in transit to another place for more of the same. As a tourist, I would suggest a Christmas Eve or morning service at church - take your pick of protestant or Catholic churches - any should be special. Make reservations in advance at a restaurant. (Be prepared for early restaurant closings on Christmas Eve as well.) Christmas afternoon should find more activities open. I think a lot of movie theaters will be open. A lot of cities have drive through light displays in some of the parks. Christmas Day tends to be very laid back. The Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee has spectacular light and other displays throughout the multitude of atriums in their almost 3,000 room hotel. I'm sure other facilities across the US gear up for Christmas as well.

How old are your boys? Hope you and they have a good Christmas and enjoy your stay.

Isn't anyone a little suspicious of this guy's questions? And if he's really in Hong Kong, he's been posting continuously from 10 at night till 3 in the morning local time.

Snif,
I'm a software distributor and have to work late to stay in touch with my suppliers and publishers in the States. It's a tough job!

Not all Americans celebrate Christmas. My family and friends have our own tradition for Dec. 25th. We go to an afternoon movie, especially to big blockbusters which open that day or close to that day. Then we go to wonderful Chinese restaurants, though this would not be much of a treat for you. Chinese restaurants always seem to be open on Dec. 25th. Last year we had over a dozen friends at dinner after the film and it was a memorable feast indeed.

The Mariner's Museum in Newport news Virginia, just about 45 minute drive from Williamsburg, is closed on Dec 25 but open every other day.They have, until jan 1 or 2, a terrific display of photographs by Aubrey bodine who was a photographer for the baltimore Sun paper for many years, these are exquisite black& white documentation of life as a waterman on the Chesapeake Bay. Don't miss it if you come down. Plus lots of places in Colonial Williamsburg ARE open on Dec 25, they do Christmas right in Wmsbg & are decorated to the hilt!

Celebrate Christmas like everyone else. If you don't have family, there are plenty of free gigs to go to in Churches all over the country, or help the homeless - the Samaritans would love your help.

Hotels and hotel restaurants have to stay open on Xmas, but the fancier the restaurant, the more likely you'll need reservations. People who are suggesting you attend church services are not necessarily trying to convert you so much as inviting you to observe what is usually a lovely show - er - service, with good music. But believe me, movie theaters are definitely open for Xmas afternoon.

And perhaps the most compelling suggestion would be to spend some of the time at a soup kitchen or shelter, helping out those who try to give our forgotten people some kindnesses. Not exactly four-stars on the tourist list, but extremely revealing of a lot about America's failings and virtues.

NYC is a great place to spend Dec. 25.
Stores are closed, but there are lots of movie theatres, some galleries are open, and people are everywhere. There are some shows on Broadway, too, to which you can't get a ticket on any other day.
Plenty of restaurants are open, especially ones that feature ethnic food.