kswl

We have a family trip of 11 (ranging in age from 5 to 74) leaving for New York very early on Christmas morning. Thus far our itinerary is as follows:

Tues 12/25
10:30 am Arr. LaGuardia
Dial 7 van and car both confirmed to the Buckingham Hotel (101 West 57th Street @ 6th Avenue we have three one-bedroom suites)
Lunch in the area OYO (on your own)
5:30pm Christmas Spectacular Radio City
Dinner: ??? Good suggestions for a crowd, but we'll break up into groups of 4 and 3 to eat...not sure what's open on Christmas Day.

Wed. 12/26
Free Morning Suggestions:
Natural History Museum
Metropolitan Museum
Central Park Merry Go Round
Toy's R Us Ferris Wheel
Museum of Broadcasting
Grand Central Station light show/train exhibit
Citigroup Model Train exhibit
Shopping at Century 21
Empire State Building

12 noon Meet at Junior's Cheesecake
for lunch
2 pm Mary Poppins/ 4
Spamalot/ 4
Legally Blonde/ 3
5:30 Walk Around Times Square/ Dinner if anyone wants it
8pm Chicago City Limits Improv / 6 tickets for 4 young adults and whomever else has the energy to go

Thurs 12/27
10 am Circle Line tour of New York harbor (semi-circle, 2 hours, includes Statue of Liberty)

12 noon Back at Pier and need Lunch (should we move Juniors to this time slot? Patrick suggested this and I think he may be right)

Free Afternoon
See suggestions from Wednesday morning
Dinner OYO
8pm Drowsy Chaperone / all 11

Fri 12/28 Free Day All Day
Our five will visit NY Hospital, our former apt. bldg, Alto's Pizza on First Ave., St. Catherine's Park, St. Ignatius Loyola, our former church, etc.
4 pm early dinner at Mars 2012
6 pm Christmas City Lights Tour (bus will pick us all up at the hotel)

Sat 12/29
9am Deposit all luggage at front desk
10 brunch reservations Ellen's Stardust Diner
1pm Carriage Ride Through Central Park
2pm Dial 7 van and car pickup from Buckingham Hotel
5:10 pm Flight departs LaGuardia

kswl

I don't know how Rockefeller Center was left off my "Suggestions" list, but it's on there, along with the Cafe and ice skating.

Nikki

I don't know whether you can schedule your Central Park carriage ride so close to your departure for the airport. A couple times in recent years I have passed HUGE lines of people trying to get carriages over Christmas week.

kswl

I did not realize that the demand was greater than the supply now, or at this time of year.

Can you think of something relatively close to the hotel that we can do after brunch at Ellen's, which is likely to take a very long time that morning? I appreciate any suggestions.

lovesublime

Window shop!

nytraveler

Suggest Top of the Rock versus ESB - you can get timed tickets for the former and lines for the latter are horrendous.

For Christmas dinner suggest you book NOW (many places will be full already if you want something traditional). Check out opentable.com to see which places are serving and the times of the seatings.

Naturally there will be lots of casuale ethnic places open in residential areas - without lines.

kswl

Yes, that's on the list too, nytraveler. But we have a 9-year-old who is in love with the ESB, so someone is going to have to take him to see it.

Any restaurant suggestions near Carnegie Hall for Christmas night?

TarheelsInNj

The nice thing about Top of the Rock is you also get a great view of the ESB! It's a great focal point for pictures.

Saturday will be tight after brunch, but I would suggest perhaps a quick walk down Fifth Avenue. The stores will still be beautifully decorated, and St. Patrick's Cathedral is epecially gorgeous at this time of year. You can also see the Rockefeller Center tree if you haven't already.

mclaurie

Unless your group dislikes Italian, I can't imagine why you wouldn't have at least one meal at Carmine's which is designed for large groups. While I'm not a big fan, it seems ideal for your group (whether you all dine together or split up into smaller tables of 5 & 6) and would certainly be preferable to Mars 212 which has truly unedible food and is pretty dirty. Ellen's Stardust instead of Mars is another idea and do brunch at Norma's in the Parker Meridien.

2 other restaurants near your hotel that are good are Redeye Grill (seafood) and Trattoria Dell 'Arte both owned by the same co.

As for Xmas day, there are loads of restaurants open. If you look on opentable.com you'll get an idea. Some will even take a reservation for 11. It does occur to me that all the group meals are in midtown near your hotel and while Xmas day might not be the time you want to do much traveling around, it might be fun to go to a different neighborhood. You could even go to Chinatown and have a banquet down there. Another non-traditional idea is Rosa Mexicano for Xmas and they have a location at Columbus Circle.

For something more traditional, Country Cafe at the Carlton on Madison hotel looks like a very nice menu and is a good restaurant.

kswl

Checking out all these good suggestons, McLaurie, thank you!

Mars 2112 is for the astronomy-obsessed 9 and 6-year-olds in our group. I've already warned the adults and young adults that the food will be terrible

Ages of our group:
74/ 62/ 51/ 48/ 43/ 24/ 23/ 21/ 16/ 9/ 6

I think the food will be acceptable to the younger 6, and it is just two blocks from our hotel.

mdn

Quick note about Century 21. Be advised that Century 21 goes nuts this time of year. Very aggressive shoppers are reported to have snatched merchandise from people's arms, in addition to elbowing shoppers to get to a desirable dress/jacket first.
But it's well known that one needs to hustle in NYC & no better place to witness that than Century 21 during the holidays. Keep a camera handy to snap the best moments but clutch it tightly at all times!!

monet77

rue 57 is a good French brasserie with sushi bar at 57th and 6th (southeast corner, opposite your hotel). Casual, varied menu, and can accommodate a group.

As an aside (I am the person who informed you that Peppermint Park is no more), I just realized that you must have lived in Payson House. Enjoy the old neighborhood (my first apt in NY was on 68th between 1st and 2nd, and I had many an Alto's pizza delivered)!

mclaurie

I can't stress to you enough how awful Mars 2112 is. There's no reason for so many adults to suffer this food. Have one adult take the kids for lunch and let everyone else off the hook. Really. It's also not that close to your hotel. It's on 51 st & Broadway while your hotel is on 57th & 6th. Astronomy obsessed kids should be taken to the Rose Center, not this crappy place.
http://www.amnh.org/rose/

GoTravel

My suggestion, pick one major even for first half of day and one for second half.

Don't plan two museums in the same day. It will put you on sensory overload.

Don't plan a big dinner if you are seeing a broadway play. Have a big lunch and either skip dinner or have a snack.

Plan on everything taking twice as long as you expect it to.

kswl

Oh, McLaurie, I was thinking of Radio City instead of Carnegie Hall (where we will be across the street). Mars 2112 is two blocks from RCMH! Well, I have already promised my nephews that we will eat there, and they're going to the Rose Center as well.

It may be that not everyone goes to this restaurant. I'm trying to build in a lot of flexibility for weather, tiredness, changed miinds, etc. A few of us will probably go to Ground Zero, for example, on the free afternoon.

Good advice, GoT; the suggestion list is for all the free time we have, consisting of one morning, one afternoon, and one whole day.

My biggest worry is Christmas Day dinner. I read that recent review of TOTG and think we might go there.

Scarlett

Awww, man, it sounds perfect!!
whimper... Wish I were there

kswl

Scarlett, I'm not sure you would survive the fam, lol! We have one very picky older matriarch (who would wear fur by a PETA picket line with me cringing in her wake); a absent-minded professor, three young adults who will be anxious to go off by themselves, two very lively young boys, and among the group are two people with OCD (the real thing), two with hemophilia, and two with gluten allergies. Oh, and one who insists on wearing stilletos to walk in.

tuscanlifeedit

kswl: we went to the school Christmas pageant at St Ignatius Loyola last year, with my faux grandchildren. What a gorgeous church. Enjoy your visit.

We go to NYC for Christmas every year to be with our family. I love it.

Liz5959

Just to warn you....traffic in NY is as bad as I've ever seen it, especially in midtown. We came back last night from a weekend trip.

The advice to plan for everything taking longer than you think it will is very real. Walking or subway are a much better idea than any surface transportation. So, whoever is wearing stilettos to walk in should be ditched ASAP

kswl

Thank you, Liz. I can't wait to tell her that