new york city Archives

February 6, 2024February 6, 2024

Review: Tea Around Town with kids

Pop songs reconceived as chamber music are piped through the bus speakers as the children double fist sweet tea in travel mugs and miniature chocolate mousse pastries.

My girls, aged 5 years and 364 days, and 11, lounged against a banquet covered with a soft pink throw as the double-decker bus navigated the canyons of Midtown Manhattan. A tour guide shared a few factual tidbits, then broke out into song (and she could actually sing).

I don’t really remember what she talked about, and neither do the kids. The city information seemed beside the point on TopView’s “Tea Around Town” tour bus.

The upper deck of Tea Around Town. Photo by Anne Miller.

December 17, 2023December 17, 2023

New York Transit Museum Holiday Train Show

Something the kids and adults will all like: the New York Transit Museum holiday train show. It’s at Grand Central Station’s transit museum store through February 2024.

New York Transit Museum holiday train show. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

You’ll find a city within a city, with miniature electric railroads running over, through, and beneath some landmarks you’ll recognize. There are tracks at several levels, great for young kids who can see many of them from their own eye level.

November 30, 2023November 30, 2023

Visiting the Tin Building in New York City

When you’re down in the Seaport area, or maybe making a specific trip to the Seaport area, make sure the Tin Building is a destination and you have time to explore (and eat). It’s maybe not the best place to take the kids for a meal (it’s pricey) but there is an awesome candy store (also pricey) and it’s gorgeous to look at.

The Tin Building at the NY Seaport. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

November 27, 2023December 17, 2023

Holiday Scenes From NYC 2023

We did our annual NYC excursion on Black Friday to see the lights, the windows and the crowds. This post shares some random things we saw.

Bryant Park 2023. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

We headed to the Bryant Park Winter Village to see the holiday shops. They have a lovely tree. In addition to the skating rink, they have igloos you can rent out, and nearby curling as well (not on ice). In January they’ll have on-ice bumper cars you can rent! As always it’s crowded.

November 27, 2023November 27, 2023

2023 NYC Holiday Windows: Bergdorf Goodman & Bloomingdale’s

This post is one of two about the 2023 NYC holiday windows. This is the Bergdorf Goodman & Bloomingdale’s edition. Click here for the 2023 NYC Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue window post.

Bergdorf Goodman 2023 NYC holiday windows

Bergdorf Goodman windows 2023. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

The theme of the 2023 Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows is “Isn’t it brilliant?” and you’ll see in the next set of pictures all the brilliant reflections. The window above is “first light” and has two giant roosters and disco balls and a bedazzled llama and other farm animals.

November 26, 2023November 27, 2023

2023 NYC Holiday Windows: Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue

The NYC holiday windows are up, and here’s what you can expect to see. This post has 2023 NYC holiday windows: Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, and you’ll find the Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale’s windows in another post.

2023 NYC holiday windows: Macy’s

Macy’s windows 2023. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

November 21, 2023November 29, 2023

Weekend in New York Without Kids

If you’re in need of a vacation away from the kids, and don’t want to go far, go to New York City. Spend the weekend in New York without kids. It won’t be cheap, but if you live within train or bus distance, you save on plane fare. Here’s a sample itinerary for a weekend in New York without kids.

The Spyglass Rooftop Bar at the Archer Hotel. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

We’ve stayed at a number of hotels in New York City, from StayPineapple, to Hotel Elysee, to The Muse, to Hotel Giraffe, to Yotel. And that doesn’t include all the more corporate hotels I’ve stayed in for conferences, since I didn’t want to head home late at night. This time we stayed at the Archer Hotel in midtown. It was a few blocks from Bryant Park, a good place in the summer to go for outdoor drinks.

July 10, 2023July 11, 2023

Is Shucked Appropriate for Kids?

When Shucked the musical came out on Broadway, I thought it looked pedestrian and corny (yes, a pun!). Turns out I was wrong. Though it IS corny! But is Shucked appropriate for kids? Read on.

Shucked on Broadway. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

March 28, 2023March 28, 2023

Review: New York Hall of Science

“Mommy! Are those real rocket ships?”

Rounding the corner into the driveway of the New York Hall of Science, my preschooler lost her mind. You can’t climb the rockets, but yes, they are very tall, very real, and clearly, very exciting.

January 19, 2023January 19, 2023

The Pinocchio Exhibit at MOMA: The Making of Pinocchio

I admit to seeing the Pinocchio exhibit at MOMA before seeing the movie. I wish I did the reverse, but the exhibit really brought home how much work went into the movie-making and I think I watched it (in awe) the next night.