We spent our last day knocking out the final items on John’s NYC wish list before heading home earlier this evening.
Day 1: 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Mickey: The True Original Exhibition, Eataly
Day 2: Greenwich Village Food Tour, Old St. Patrick’s Catacombs, Black Tap
Day 3: Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, Oyster Bar & Hamilton
Day 4: Harry Potter, Central Park, Tea at The Plaza, Balloon Inflation, Da Marino, The Ride
Day 5: A NYC Thanksgiving
Day 6: Macy’s Santaland, do, Dylan’s Candy Bar & Sarabeth’s
The Intercontinental Barclay in New York City
Macy’s Santaland
We were up and at em early to go see Santa at Macy’s on 34th!! Eek!!! Now, I broke a rule here that we only see one Santa but hey, it was so worth it.
Everything inside all of the department stores was so pretty. I didn’t torment the boys with shopping, but we did peek our heads inside to see them. It was fun to have a reason to finally walk through one.
The queue was an experience in and of itself and was so cheerful to walk through.
Now, I feel awful for saying this, but I think our Santa at home is so much prettier and just jollier in general, but hey, I’m pretty certain we will never get the chance to do this again. It kills me that the boys are wearing sweats, but it was so cold outside and we had to dress for the day – including the plane ride home – so I let it go.
If you go…
- Check the Macy’s Santaland site for information and appointments. They can be booked from 5 days to 30 minutes in advance. Since we only had one morning we could go, I booked it when I woke up 5 days in advance.
- It is free to walk through Santaland and meet Santa. You can purchase pictures, if you like. But, an appointment is required. I wasn’t sure if this was true or not, but there was a sign stating so.
- A good friend who used to live in NYC advised us to go early in the day because, even with an appointment, the lines and wait times build. We had an 8:30 AM and arrived at 8:32 AM. We were walked right in. The entire experience took us until about 9 AM.
Shopping (do, NBA Superstore & Dylan’s Candy Bar)
The rest of our morning was spent finishing up John’s NYC wish list. I loved just walking around the hustle and bustle of the holiday crowds. Everything in the city was so pretty and festive!
Our first stop was do. I was so happy to see that they had a pop up in the Bryant Park Winter Village. We arrived at opening and had cookie dough for breakfast. Why not?! It was delicious and John was thrilled to finally make it here. We tried Thanksgiving night but it was already closed so we ended up just getting ramen and dumplings to-go from the next stall down.
He had been eyeing the NBA Superstore on 5th since we took The Ride and he spied it. It was closed on Thanksgiving, so we joined in with the crazy Black Friday crowds for him to pick his birthday gift.
Now, you might recall that Whit and I vowed to be looking for The Ride. John and Honey perused every rack in the store and Whit and I quickly grew tired of it. We found a warm spot tucked away in the front window to rest and wait. Well, I started people watching and noticed the man sweeping the sidewalk was the same man that broke out in a broom dance when we took The Ride. We waited until it pulled up and then casually walked down the sidewalk. After he finished we broke out into our own dance – all inhibitions thrown to the wind (you know Whit and I don’t have many to start with, right?!) The people on The Ride were hysterical, taking pictures and videos and saying “look at those tourists”. We almost collapsed in a fit of laughter by the time it was over. Just at that moment, Honey and John walk up and asked what had just happened. We told them and both were so relieved that they had missed the spectacle. THAT is a moment Whit and I won’t soon forget. (I know we are bizarre, strange humans.)
He said we were pretty good… :-)
Our next stop was Dylan’s Candy Bar. FINALLY!! John has been talking about the 3 story candy store for a year.
Look mom… even the floors are made of candy!
So, the funny thing here is that we kept trying to fit this in when we were nearby… but we were never really nearby. Well, we had a big flight drama and ended up having to trade our direct flight home for one that connected through Charlotte. We get off the plane in Charlotte and right there in the airport was a Dylan’s. We all laughed at the irony. It wasn’t 3 stories tall, so the taxi ride to the right one was worth it. :-)
Sarabeth’s Lunch
Our final stop on our NYC adventure was lunch at Sarabeth’s. I LOVE this place!! My favorite is the grown up grilled cheese and we all ended up getting it. They loved it as much as their momma.
As we flew out over the city, Whit looked to me and said with huge eyes “it really is the city that never sleeps.” Due to our flight issues, we had three seats together and Honey sat many, many rows away from us. John orchestrated a warheads sour candy competition for the three of us and my mouth was literally raw by the time that was over. Boys!
And so, we are back in Atlanta, reunited with Elsa and having dinner that Mother and Daddy-O thoughtfully had waiting on us. All of our Christmas lights are on and it feels so good to be home after an adventure to remember. We always talk about our favorites and least favorites after a trip as we travel home. We unanimously chose Hamilton as number one. Honey, Whit and I chose the parade as number 2, and John picked the Greenwich Village Food tour for his. We couldn’t even pick a third between all of the incredible things we saw, did and ate. Every time one of us said one, the rest of us said “oh yeah, I LOVED that!” Our unanimous least favorite was dinner at Eataly. I had a few questions on where we stayed – Intercontinental Barclay – and I will share all of those details real soon. I share a lot on social media (usually not at the times we are actually doing them) and I try not so share too much info on where we are staying until we have left. <3
Thank you so much for following along. I think it’s safe to say we are ushering in 13 on a high note!
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DIXIE DELIGHTS DELIVERED
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I LOVE that you and Whit got to dance with the broom guy! Fantastic!
What a way to usher in thirteen – I know none of you will EVER forget it! xo
So true. It was a celebration for all of us. And yes, dancing with the broom guy was so much fun.
Funny! Before I read this, we went to NYC for 2 nights, were at the Rockettes the same night as you and stayed at the same hotel. I would have died if I had spotted you all. Been a reader for years!
No way!! That is so funny. I met one reader on the airplane and we ran into friends from college at the Rockettes briefly. We had other friends in the city and one of my coworkers but never crossed paths with them either, even though we did some of the same things.
Per usual Amanda, I LOVED tuning in each day to read details from your trip! My mom gave me a birthday trip for my 13th and I thought that was a special something she made up, but I’m glad to see others do it as well! I always appreciate how detailed and honest you are with your blog posts. Now I need to convince my husband that I need this trip for my 35th ha!
It would make a great 35th trip too :-)
What an amazing trip to remember, Amanda. Too funny about Dylan’s! You really covered a lot of ground while you were there and I am sure the boys will never forget the whole experience. By the way – I missed you by one day…we had dinner in the city last night!
Shelley
No way! I would love to meet you in real life one of these days!
I LOVED following along on John’s wonderful 13th birthday trip. Everything looked like so much fun! My mom took me, my sister and my daughter to NYC for my 50th, a whirlwind weekend featuring Phantom of the Opera, and I’ve been back for some quick trips to see plays but you’ve added so many more items I’d like to see and do! Thanks for always sharing the details!
You are so welcome. Thank you for following along!
Loved following along on your trip! I have 2 boys about the same ages as yours — our Christmas gift to them is a NYC trip, so thanks for making my trip planning so easy. :) Curious if you bought one of the city passes for the sites or if you just paid for each one on its own as you went through. Was there anything on the boys lists that they’d have liked to do but didn’t have time for?
Wow, you are right on the Macy’s Santa! They couldn’t find a Santa with a real beard? He doesn’t come close to our handsome Santa at Phipps! I have loved these trip reports. We are taking our kids to NYC for the first time in April so I’m appreciative of all of your great ideas but a little sad to know we will not be getting to take part in the Christmas festivities but that will give us an excuse to go back.