Christmas in NYC 2023

Jamie’s Journeys NYC first trip to NYC, was our Christmas trip! We had a few minor bumps in the road but overall I think it was a great trip! We left Columbus at 7pm on December 7th, made a few pick up stops and then drove thru the night, arriving in NYC Friday morning around 6am.

The bus dropped us off at Rockefeller Center, and the first item on the agenda….the TREE! Honestly it is the perfect time to see the Rockefeller Center Tree. This early in the morning there is nobody around, and it is still dark enough that you can get excellent pictures! So we spent probably 45 minutes there taking pictures, and soaking it all in! New York at Christmas is something everyone should experience.

After we finished at the tree, we headed to our hotel. This visit we stayed at the Staypineapple on West 36th Street. It is a cute little boutique hotel, with a great staff, and comfy beds! Honestly I really want the comforters they have on the beds! I would definitely give this hotel 5 stars. They checked us in, but the rooms are not ready this early in the morning, so they checked our bags so that we could get a start on our day. So we quickly checked the bags, and got a cab, because we had tickets for the Statue of Liberty at 9am and by this time it was 8:30am. We booked our Statue of Liberty visit through cityexperiences.com which was about $25.00 a person. We got the Pedestal tickets, and it was a great view. Since we hadn’t eaten yet, we were starving, so we ended up having lunch at 10am, at the cafe at the Statue of Liberty. The food there is good, but a bit pricey, but when you have teenage boys, who are starving, and hangry you get what you get.

After the Statue visit, we took a cab back to the hotel, and got in a small power nap, then went to an early dinner at Rolf’s. Rolf’s is the restaurant that is decorated, wall to wall, for Christmas. We were lucky to get reservations, because they are booked all the time. This place is beautiful, beyond words, pictures do not do it justice. The food is great too! I had the meatloaf and mashed potatoes, my son had the rainbow trout.

The final activity for the first night was Hudson Yards, and the Edge! First off the Christmas decorations are gorgeous! So we took a few pictures, and then did a little shopping at Dylan’s Candy Store. The line to get up to the Edge is long, but you have times, so they line you up by the time of your tours. It takes about an hour or so to get through the lines. The whole time is an experience! The elevator ride up to the 101st floor is an experience in and of itself. Once you get out on the balcony, the views are breathtaking of the city. You can also go over to the little section where the floor is glass, and get a view through the glass. Again, it is an experience everyone should have, and I was so proud of my son for facing his fear of heights!

The second day we had breakfast at the Skylight Diner. The food was great, and we ran into some of Jamie’s Journeys passengers having breakfast there too. It was reasonably priced, and the food was good. Then we headed to the reason my son went on this trip, 30th Street Guitars! He had been waiting for months to go to this store. He had found them on Facebook and was so excited to see the store. He played a couple guitars, and chatted with the guys behind the counter. He was in heaven, and almost bought a guitar. You can find this store on West 27th Street, and if you love guitars you will not be disappointed! We spent about an hour there, but honestly my son could have spent 4 hours there!

From the guitar store we headed to Carnegie Hall. At this point we discovered that it was Santacon weekend! What is Santacon? Well it is thousands of people dressed up as Santa, or elves, or any other Christmas themed costume, and bar hopping. So traffic was worse than normal! We made it to Carnegie Hall in time for our scheduled tour! Wasn’t sure if this was going to be interesting or not, but it was completely worth the price! I think it was about $30.00 for the two tickets. It is a beautiful place, with tons of history, and our tour guide knew every little detail about the venue.

After the tour we met our friends in Little Italy and had lunch at my favorite place Cafe Napoli on the corner of Hester and Mulberry. We stuffed ourselves with bread, pasta, Sangria, and then desserts! I did a little shopping at the Christmas Store on Mulberry, then we went for dessert part two at Ferrara’s Bakery at 195 Grand St. This is the one spot in NYC that I never miss! We sat and had coffee and more desserts. If you want to check out their website at ferraranyc.com.

Our final stop was Bryant Park Christmas Market. We braved the crowds, and pushed through to find the hot sauce shop Hell’s Kitchen. My son and husband love this place, and always have to stock up! We also checked out Pook, but did not buy anything for the first time ever. I got a couple little gifts at the market, and we walked around.

Finally we headed back to the hotel, and got our bags and made our way to catch the bus. We loaded at 10:15pm, and headed back home. Everyone was exhausted, ready to relax. All in all we had a great time, and can’t wait to go again!