NYC Activities for Over the Holidays

New York City attracts people from all over the world for the holiday season, but some native New Yorkers still don't take advantage of all of the amazing activities that occur in the winter. Here's a guide to the best holiday activities to do in New York.

An obvious and beloved winter activity is ice skating, but where are the best places to go?

Here is a guide based off of different rink-aspects:

Best ambiance

 Bryant park and rockefeller center are surrounded by festive attractions such as the winter village and the rockefeller tree, and have a very magical feel while on the ice. These rinks are perfect for a good “New York” experience with holiday cheer, but can be a bit cramped due to their high appeal and small rink space

Best skating

Wollman and Lakeside rinks are both located in large parks, with Wollman being in Central Park and Lakeside being in Prospect Park. These rinks are very large, providing an amazing experience on the ice. If you’re willing to make the commute, Lakeside rink is a great skating experience with a large rink that get’s regular resurfacing, good hot cocoa and fries, and relatively low prices.

Best view

Winterland and Glide rinks are located near the Brooklyn Bridge, giving amazing views of one of New York’s monuments. These rinks have an open air feel and a beautiful site, but the ice at these rinks isn’t amazing.

Aside from ice skating, here are some other activities:

Winter villages

The winter villages located at Union Square, Columbus Circle, and Bryant park all have a multitude of stores with food, jewelry, and artisan items. While some of the options are pricey, these winter villages are super fun to walk through and window shop in, and get excited for the holiday season.

Hot Cocoa

What is more cozy than hot cocoa? A fun and cheap activity to do in the holiday season is going to get hot cocoa with friends, or making some at home. For going out, any cafe with hot cocoa and comfy seating is perfect! Some good hot cocoa brands to use at home are sillycow, ghirardelli, and, a classic, swissmiss.

At home activities

Some activities to do at home are watch holiday movies, bake cookies, and read some books. Some good holiday movies based in New York are Home Alone 2, When Harry Met Sally, and, my favorite, Elf. 

Thanks for reading this guide and have a happy holidays!