New York City is a place my family and I travel to often due to family and it’s a place I never get sick of traveling to. My favorite time of the year in the city is Christmas as it’s just such a magical time. The streets are full of people, festivities, and Christmas markets. This year was our first year as a family (with my little guy and Regis) to spend Christmas in NYC.
This would be our 4th trip to NYC this year and I have been trying out hotels this year to see if there is somewhere new I would like to call my NYC home whenever we visit as we are there 4-5 times a year. For years we stayed at the St. Regis but when Marriott took over, the hotel has been very stingy about upgrades and every little thing you ask for even though you are a Starwood Platinum member or a returnee. On our previous two trips, we stayed at the Peninsula (never to return to until they upgrade their rooms!) and the Plaza (which I love but the size is just too large and not intimate). So on this visit, it was between the Rosewood Carlyle and the St. Regis. Since the Carlyle is still under renovations and the restaurant barely reopened before Christmas, we decided to stay with the St. Regis, which I’m glad we did. Two days prior to checking in, I send an email to my contact at the hotel regarding our requests. Unfortunately, I received a return email stating that she was not available until after Christmas (which I later found out that was not the case as we ran into Sarah the morning after we checked it!). So I called the hotel directly and spoke to the front desk and to my surprise, they have already requested a larger suite for us! Of course, this is never guaranteed until check in…..well, our Christmas wish came through (Thanks Sarah!). It was really nice to see that the hotel went through the list of their guests and took care of their regulars. I found this was not the case the previous year but it looks like they are slowly returning to their old ways.
And of course the St. Regis is pet friendly! They had bowls ready for Regis when we arrived! For those of you who don’t know Regis (tired after a day in the city), he is our beloved Goldendoodle named after the St. Regis hotel!
It’s always difficult to spend Christmas away from home especially when you have little ones. What do you do with presents and a Christmas tree? Well, this year, in addition to shipping gifts through Amazon to the hotel, I actually packed a large Amazon box full of wrapped gifts and wrapping essentials for all the niece and nephews and also for my little one! We even managed to pick up a mini Christmas tree on Christmas Eve from a little Christmas shop on 6th Avenue.
Our makeshift Christmas tree 
Christmas morning at the St. Regis 
Michael leaving cookie and milk for Santa
Prior to arriving in New York, we bought tickets to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular and the Troll’s Experience. We weren’t sure how our little guy was going to react to the Rockettes as it is a 90 min show! To our surprise, he loved it! The show has so much music, digital effects, and dancing that any 2 year old toddler would be engaged. My little guy loves to dance so he was in love with the Rockettes! To this day, he loves to re-watch parts of the show on Youtube!
The Trolls Experience was great fun for the little ones also! It takes about 45 minutes to get through the whole experience and the kids get to meet Poppy at the end. Remember to book ahead of time. The experience started back in November and it’s not as busy now but they still recommend you book ahead. A great place to eat before or after is the Brooklyn Diner and it’s right next to the Trolls Experience! Great place to take the kiddos to eat!
Pircture with Poppy! 
Making music with the Trolls 
Trolls
NYC is a bit different for me now that I have a little guy. We used to stay downtown every once in a while but now that we have a toddler, we prefer to stay near Central Park. Central Park of course is a great place for kids to run around in but they also have great playgrounds for the little ones. My favorite is the one near Central Park South close to Columbus circle. It’s a great place to take your little ones to run off some energy! We also love the Central Park Zoo. It’s not too big so easy to do in an hours time.
Christmas in New York isn’t Christmas without a stroll to Bergdorf Goodman. I love to shop so if I am in NYC for Christmas, you will find me at the shoe department on December 26th for their shoe sale! It’s the best shoe sale and any shoe lover will attest to that! But the best time to see Bergdorf during the holidays without hurting your wallet is at night. The windows come to life during the holidays. The window designers do the most amazing job. This year’s theme was candy!
You can’t leave NYC without venturing to some of the great restaurants in town. Most of the great restaurants are downtown but midtown has a few hidden gems. This Christmas Day we decided to venture to the Whitby Hotel for Christmas brunch! Which turned out to be a great meal! If you even get a chance, go have a meal there or even better, stay there! It’s a great little boutique hotel. Will be trying out this little gem in the new year. The rooms are small for what they are priced but you can’t beat the location. Couple other favorites of mine in midtown are La Bonne Soupe and Benoit. One of my must go to restaurant on every trip is Basta Pasta and that is just outside of Union Square. They have the best paramesan prosciutto pasta! They dip the pasta in a big wheel of parmesan so that its all covered in cheese!
Bar at the Whitby 
Dining room at the Whitby 
Love good Pate!
It’s always hard for me to leave NYC as I love the hustle and bustle of the city. It reminds me so much of my childhood. I am looking forward to my next trip back to New York as I am hoping that on our next trip we will be tourist for once! It’s been a long time since I’ve done that!
