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NYC is a perfect place for a birthday!!
Picture yourself surrounded by bustling crowds, the lights and sounds in the town that never sleeps! Enjoy a great meal at a restaurant and then walk a few blocks to the Theater District for a show!
That’s exactly what we did on December 22 this year! Hi, I’m Agnes and I turned 11 years old, so my parents gave me a huge birthday surprise: a weekend in NYC! But you don’t have to be 11 to enjoy a short weekend birthday trip to NYC!…
For me, the best surprise OF ALL was tickets to the Rockettes Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall! I have always wanted to see them!
The Rockettes were awesome! My favorite part was when they were dressed as tin soldiers marching around in a line…. then they all slowly fell down like dominoes on each other. And their nativity scene was sensational, with real camels! I was NOT expecting that!…
(The Music Hall prohibits recording and discourages cell phone use during the Christmas show, and we respect their wishes. There are plenty of recordings on Youtube if you’d like to see some of their performances, but there is NOTHING that can compare to seeing this show in person! Just sayin…. And as someone who just went in with NO IDEA what I was going to see, I highly recommend keeping it a surprise for yourselves!)
Turpin Tip: For shows, you don’t have to buy full price tickets, or even stand in lines for discounts at the booth in Time Square. And really, don’t buy from sketchy online “bargain” sites either. Sometimes, after taxes and fees, you can end up paying a lot more than you “bargained” for, unless you do your research and trust the site! You could do all of those things to get your tickets, but there’s an easier way!…
You can get discount tickets right on your phone with an app called TodaysTix. If you have a flexible schedule, you can get very good rates for lots of shows! And with the app, you can get the tickets in advance and plan the rest of your visit around them.
When we got out of the Rockettes show, there were so many people coming out into the street that we could only follow the crowd which kept moving us along. We suddenly found ourselves in Rockefeller Center, which is right around the corner!
We thought the Rockefeller tree was huge!… until we looked up at the building behind it! That is where Top of the Rock is located, if you want to go up 70 floors to the observation deck. You can purchase tickets for a specific date and time in advance online. If you prefer to stay on the ground, there is ice skating right below the tree all winter! You can just walk in to their skate shop for tickets and skates. In the other seasons, this area turns into a restaurant where you can eat or have a drink under their big table umbrellas.
The fabulous thing about NYC for a short trip, is there are lots of activities and restaurants located right in this area. No need to rent a car, or take too much transportation. You can plan a trip with plenty to do right near your show! Don’t overthink a short visit. If you plan to see ALL of Manhattan, make sure you’re staying a lot longer!
Coming in by train or bus would land you right in this area: at Grand Central Station or the Port authority Building. If you have to fly in, trains run from all the major airports. But the Lyft App is an easier way to order yourself up a ride to and from the city without taking an expensive taxi. Give it a try!
Across this street from rockefellerCenter is Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, a not-to-be-missed NYC site! A large Nativity Scene was set up for the Christmas season.
Bryant Park is also a great place to go ice skating as well! Or you can get food and some hot cider to watch for awhile. There is plenty of unique shopping to do at the Christmas market set up in Bryant Park. Even in the summer this is one of our favorite parks to stroll around in, and to visit the NY Public Library. Bryant Park is literally the library’s back yard!
Right down the road a few blocks is the Empire State Building! But don’t try to visit the uppermost top observation deck before July 2019 because it’s closed for renovations.
I recommend you stay in a hotel right in the area if you are just here for one night or two. There are plenty of great choices in all price ranges right around this midtown area. A good booking site we’ve used is www.booking.com. We’ve stayed in various hotels in this area such as the Manhattan at Time Square, the Hampton Inn at Time Square, Holiday Inn Express, the Belvedere… but THIS trip we had a downright AWEFUL hotel! So bad we aren’t even going to broach that subject (We can’t complain too much since it was free, and we did take some hilarious videos!)
It was nice not to have to walk too far after our night on the town. Another place we look for rooms and apartments for rent is airbandb.com and there are some AWESOME choices on this site for Manhattan at really reasonable prices! We would have paid good money to ditch our hotel for one of these! Go see for yourself!
The next morning, we chose Follia’s for a Sunday brunch. Even though it was not in our midtown area, it came highly recommended to us by my sister in NYC, and we were not disappointed. Getting there on the subway was an easy ride south on the A train. They have a delicious brunch menu, and awesome, friendly staff! (My mom says to get the Prix-fixe menu with 2 hours of unlimited brunch cocktails!)
Nearby were the best Christmas Markets in NYC at Union Square! Lots of unique shopping and goodies were found there to finish off our Christmas list.
We met vendors from Berlin and France and points beyond who come every year to sell their handmade wares at the Christmas market here in NYC.
Since my birthday falls in the winter, conveniently right before Christmas, it is a really magical time to see NYC. But really, a birthday weekend would be magical here any time of the year! Don’t you agree?
Do you have questions for me? Just leave a comment below! I’d love to know what shows you’ve seen in NYC in case I get to hint around for a repeat birthday present!
Yours Truly,
Agnès Turpin, Junior Blogging Assistant (with detail editing by Bridget, the Party Planner, for this one!)
