Family of 3 adults travelling to NY for Christmas, Dec. 22-26, 2006. Can someone familiar advise what sites will be closed during this time and perhaps provide a sample itinerary for things to do. We have a high energy level and want to see all we can in 4-1/2 days! We want to do most of the tourist attractions (Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building or Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center, China Town, Little Italy, SOHO, MET, Christmas Windows, shopping, Broadway, etc.

Our hotel is in Times Square area and we have tickets to the RCMH Spectacular on Christmas day. Will ice skating be open on Christmas day? Are the Christmas window displays better at night?

Thank you!

Almost everything wil be colsed Christmas Day - but you've laready taken care of that. Now you need ot reserve a place for Christmas dinner - since many places don;t open and the ones that do typically have set seatings at specific times.

And yes - I think the windows are better at night.

We always start our stroll at L&T at 39th St and walk north from there - stopping at St Pat's, looking at the Tree, watching the skaters, doing some last minute shopping (usually for extra goodies - Godiva etc).

The last few days before Christmas the stores are open outrageous hours (call them and check - often from 7 am to midnight) - except for Christmas eve - when they usually close at a reasonable hour.

And we always have dinner one night at the Sea Grill in Rock Center so we can watch the skaters as we have dinner. Great seafood and the price is not bad for the quality.

Whenever I have family in town, I usually do variations on the same "tour" for them. I try to break the city up into areas because if you aren't familiar with the subway system, you will probably be walking a lot. So this is just my suggestion, based on proximity:
Day 1: Midtown - Times Square/Rockefeller Center/Walk around Fifth Avenue/St. Patricks Cathedral/You can see excellent window displays at Macy's/Saks Fifth Ave/Lord & Taylor and Bloomingdales and they are all in the area (however prepare for madness at all during this time). There is a great restaurant BLT Steak off Park in the 50's. I highly recommend it for a great holiday dinner.
Day 2 Downtown
No one ever goes to the Statue of Liberty it's a waste of time. You'll spend hours in line and it looks the same from the Manhattan shore as from up close. IF you want to get closer, ride the STaten Island Ferry for free. Also downtown you have beautiful churches like St. Pauls, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge. If you are still able to walk north, you can hit Chinatown. I would not recommend doing Chinatown at night. Do it during the day - just my opinion.
Day 3 - SOHO/Village
The best streets of SOHO are Prince/Spring between 6th Avenue and Broadway. You can get to any shopping from here. Little Italy is also in this area as well. If you want a great NYC slice try Ben's of Soho (Spring/Sullivan I believe). Whenever I have family in I take them to the Comedy Cellar. They have a website or you can call ahead and you usually don't need much advanced notice. I've never seen a bad comedian there. If you're looking for a cool lunch place, there is the Peanut Butter company which serves nothing without peanut butter. I think it's on Thompson but again definitely online.
Day Four- Museums/Central Park. New York has some of the best museums in the world. You can easily spend a day more more in the MET or the American Museum of Natural History. Those are the two big ones, however others might interest you as well.

Any evening/afternoon you can see a Broadway show. You can spulrge beforehand and get tickets or you can go to the TKTS booth at the Mariott Marquis and get discounted day of tickets. You risk not getting your first choice, but you'll save $$.

Hope this helps.
ps- i think Rock Center Skating is open Christmas Day but you can check their website as well.

I appreciate your feedback. I will definitely use this information for our planning. We enjoy seafood, peanut butter, and pizza...so the tips on places to eat are great! Have never had a bad experience with a good recommendation! Thank you!

Well then you certainly must visit Peanut Butter & Co! It's an entire restuarant featuring peanut butter as the primary ingredient.
http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com/