What Time do stores stay open till in NYC in december?
 

Hi. i'm planning on going to NYC for the first time ever in december 2013 as it's always been my dream to go there at christmas time.
i know this is early, but i was wondering what time do the stores, in particular in Times Sqaure in december? i'm planning on going for 15th-22nd December.
thanks :D

First of all, when talking about serious shopping in New York, it shou ldn't be Times Square that you're thinking about! Exactly what type of shopping are you talking about? Regardless, you'll find that most stores are open at least till 9 p.m. nightly.

well. my first priority is to visit Times Square and i want to visit a lot of the stores there. but i mean stores for clothes and food shopping mostly.

There are very few real stores in Times Square - they are mostly tacky souvenir shops, "Going OUt of Business" electronics places with sky high prices or "theme" stores (M & M Store etc) that no one really wants to go to. (Times Square is primarily a theater and restaurant district set in the middle of a business area with a lot of high rise office buildings.)

Major department and clothing stores in midtown start with Macy's at 34th St, head up Fifth Ave through 57th St and then uptown to Bloomies on Lexington or Barney's and upscale designer stores on Madison.

Downtown (Chelsea and SoHo) have another large group of stroes with some braches of major stores and lots of the mall/chain stores. Broadway on the upper west side (60s and 70 has another batch of chain stores - from VS to Coach and many in between.

Store hours are all over the map - although in Dec almost all stores operate on longer - sometimes much longer hours. Many of the department stores operate from 8 am until 11 pm - perhaps even longer close to the holidays. But it varies and you need to check with each store you are interested in. Some downtown stores, book stores etc stay open until 10 pm or later all year round.

Sorry - there are no supermarkets in Times Square. If you head out to the business areas you will find some delis with salad bars where you can get a quick lunch. Also, clothing stores in the area are very limited - I can;t think of a single real one - unless you want a Yankees themed tee shirt or a hat at Lids. That's simply NOT what Times Square is.

thanks a lot :D that really helped.
also i'm hoping it snows when i go. do you think i'll see any snow
between 15th-22nd dec?

It's a crap shoot. You never know. Snow is possible at that time but not a certainty, or even the norm.

Last year we had one snowstorm in October (very unusual) and that was it for the year.

Will it snow or rain where you live between December 15th and 22? Of course, you can't really tell me any more than anyone can predict if it will snow in NYC during that time. About the best anyone can tell you is "maybe". It's a little early in the season for snow in NYC but it's happened in the past but odds are you won't see snow.

aw okay thanks.
and it sometimes snows around that time here. i'm in ireland so we don't get lots of snow.

NYC is about 100 miles south of the snow belt and that is early in the year for snow. That said in the past 10 years we have had substantial snow (once about 12" and the other almost 2 feet)at Christmas twice. It's much more likely to be flurries - or an inch or two - than real snow - so possible but not likely.

About half the years we don't get any real snow - then there are some years we may get measurable snow 10 or 12 times - you never know. If you really want to see snow look at the dreaded "north and west" - often if you go 1.5 or 2 hours in that direction there will be snow when be get sleet or just icy rain.

thanks. yeah. one year if i'm back over in NYC, i'll travel up to the north or west and hopefully see some snow.