Well, here it is. The holidays in New York City. My kids have not been sleeping well…or rather, I have not been sleeping well. The little ones have been waking up way too early for my liking and I am not sure why. It may have something to do with the excitement in the air overall.
This is our second Christmas in New York City since we moved back from Wisconsin. When I lived in WI, and any time I lived anywhere other than New York and spent the Holidays there, I was miserable. I missed the lights, and music. The sounds of the songs coming from stores, the bells ringing from the Salvation Army volunteers on every corner. It always made my heart sink.
And since I have returned, I have made sure to take it all in, not miss a thing…and in the process expose my kids to all the magic that is New York City during the Holidays.
So, in the next couple of days or so, I will share with you some of the things we are doing during the holiday season, and if you aren’t here, or can’t partake in some of the fun going on, I hope, as is always my wish at any season, that you will decide to celebrate it here next year.
Today we headed to Grand Central Station. You know, the same place I wrote about when I told you about the awesome marketplace they have there (back in the day when I used to hide behind my words and write in third person). Well, Grand Central Station has a few things going on during the holidays. I made a brief mention of it on NY Metropolista, but our real life adventure was way more fun.
We started off by visiting the Holiday Fair. It wasn’t too crowded. Very colorful and a lot of hand made products and products made with natural materials, which made each gift very crafty and unique. One of my favorite booths was the Ka Kee Organics booth. Such cute little outfits and toys. I immediately thought about my little nephew out in Austin, TX and all the cute little things I could get him from there. Check them out, sweet, sweet selection of clothing, toys for both baby and pet. My kids discovered a plush toy called Art Plush, which are toys inspired by the art of many famous artists such as Keith Haring, John Pollock, Jean Dubuffett, and more.
The rest of the fair had hand made jewelry, soaps, wool hats, ceramics, and glassware. The fair is only on till tomorrow, Dec. 24, but if you have a chance to stop by, even if just to look and pick up some business cards for online shopping later on, it’s a nice experience.
After browsing through the Holiday Fair, we walked over to the Main Concourse and waited to see the Holiday Light Show. It starts everyday at 11:00am and continues every half hour to 9:00PM till Dec. 31. Once the music and display started, the boys sat on the floor and watched in awe. It’s pretty cool, and the kids really enjoyed it. I looked around as people rushed passed all the displays and thought to myself what a shame it was the so many missed it in their hurried frenzy.
After watching the Light Show, we walked over to the NY Transit Museum to catch the 8th Annual Train Show, a display of Lionel trains honoring all the various MTA trains recent and past. For my boys this was the cherry on the cake. They were totally into it…and to tell the truth, so were the very many other little boys and dads in the store. The display is on till Jan. 18.
We soon started feeling hungry. A lot of people don’t know this, but Grand Central’s Food Court is the best food court in the city. This is because the vendors are from some of the best eateries in town. From Junior’s Cheesecake to Manhattan Chili Company to Cafe Spice, this is such great food that we often just go there, because it’s all the great stuff in one location. But our absolute favorite place with the kids is Two Boots. There are several locations throughout the city, and I have to say it is one of the most kid-friendly pizza joints I know, and man is the pizza delicious!
I usually order a cheese pizza for the kids, and hubby ordered a Po’ Boy, but I ordered my favorite pizza there, the Bayou Beast. Spicy hot, with shrimp and andouille…it is yummy. We had a great time and it was a perfect ending to our time at Grand Central, which made for a good 2 hours of Holiday fun we all enjoyed.
Check again soon to read about our next Holiday Adventure!
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Meryl
I was there this week, but I missed all the Christmas fun. I love Grand Central.
New York City prepares for the holidays | Babble New York
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