We want to visit NYC in Nov or Dec. We wnat to see the store displays and other Christmas displays. When do these go up? What is not to be missed?

Usually they start right around the week of Thanksgiving, so end of November / early December would be your best bet.

As for what is not to be missed, of course the standbys would be the tree in Rockefeller Center (which is usually lit around December 4th - 8th) and ice skating in Central Park. All of the stores around Herald Square always have the displays and checking out Radio City Music Hall is also a good thing to do.

Most department stores unveil their holiday windows the week before Thanksgiving. Favorites are Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Saks, and Barneys, though there are many others. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a famous indoor Christmas tree decorated with beautiful figures.

If you want to purchase Christmas ornaments or visit Santa Claus, Macy's sets up a Christmas Village for ornaments on one floor and a Santa extraganza on another. The ornaments are set up by Halloween, but Santa doesn't arrive until Thanksgiving Day at the end of their famous parade.

If you want to visit then you need to get a hotel ASAP. This is the most crowded and expensive time of year - and anything decent at a reasonable rate may already be gone. I would move quickly to get reservations - like this week at the latest. (Thanksgiving week itself is probably the most difficult.)

How long after Christmas do the decorations stay up?

Decorations are usually up until New Year's Day or the day after.

The tree at Rock Center traditionally is taken down on Jan 6 - and by that time the stores are changing to cruisewear windows.