Traveling to New York with a Toddler

This weekend was our annual Holiday weekend in New York City. I grew up on Long Island and the tradition in my family was to go into the city on black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) to start our Christmas shopping. Most of our shopping took place in Chinatown where we stocked up on knock-off bags, cheap trinkets, cool toys and Chinese slippers. So, I wanted to bring that tradition to my family... not the black Friday part... mainly to introduce my daughter to the magic of New York City especially in December.

New York is expensive for families any time of the year, but in December everything skyrockets! Especially rack rates at hotels. Ugg... I think the Holiday Inn's rates sit at around $400 per night ... and I think its about 30 minutes out of the city! So, what is a young family to do? I say rent an apartment! Sounds that it would be even more money... but its not! This is one of my favorite travel secrets! Especially for parents with young children! Now that I have your attention... here's how you do it! Search online for NY apartment rentals on Google or check on Craigslist.com under rentals in the New York area. Then, pick the apartment based on your needs. There are studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms... all the way up to fabulous penthouses (but these are more expensive than staying at the Ritz ...) This year we chose a two bedroom apartment in the Theater District. It has a small kitchen, a small bathroom with a tub and two very cozy bedrooms off. Are you ready for the price? $300 per night! BAM!

We arrived in NY on Friday night and settled into the apartment. As I put our two year old down for the night (in her own room), my husband ran across the street to the Food Emporium and picked up some groceries and wine. We then ordered dinner from Carmines (ummm... Italian) and watched a movie. We wanted to keep our Friday night low key because we had a big day planned for Saturday. The next morning, we woke up and had some cereal and coffee (which would have cost well over $30 for room service at a hotel!) and got ready for our day. There is a subway station on the corner of 8th and 50th and we jumped on the C train and headed uptown to the Children's Museum of Manhattan. This is a great choice for parents with little ones. The museum is 4 floors packed with fun things for them to do. Eva loved crawling under play sheep, driving a play school bus, fire truck and taxi... and we all enjoyed storytime where an author came in and read his new book! Here's something that could only happen in NY... while we were in the museum, Eva decided to play with a beautiful blonde girl. She was cute and her mom looked really familiar. I then realized that it was Jennifer Gardner and the pretty little girl was her daughter, Violet. Ok, so... this is New York and I am used to seeing famous people here... but this was different. You see, Jennifer and I gave birth to our daughters the same day! OK... well, not so amazing to you... but, I always check on Violet in the rags just to compare her to Eva... how tall she is... did she get her teeth... etc. So, to see the two little girls in front of me playing was one word... SURREAL. I actually introduced myself to Jennifer and she was very nice and totally "normal" which is always really nice to know. Only in NY...

After the museum, we took Eva out for a little culture. PIZZA.. and like a good Italian, she loved it. Good girl. We then jumped back on the subway and headed back downtown to Lincoln Center and walked over to 5th Avenue. We loved walking through the chaos of FAO Schwartz and peeping into the Holiday windows at Saks. We then wandered over to see the tree at Rockefeller... with about 5 million of our closest friends! It was insane. So, be prepared!

After we snapped some pictures, we went to the safety and warmth of a nearby Pret a Manger for a hot chocolate before making our way back to the apartment to get ready for dinner. We met Samantha and Kevin out at a Mexican restaurant called Zarela's on the east side. Again, another great experience on the subway! Don't be afraid of using the subway with your kids!! The subway is really cheap and still the best way to get around NYC! AND... they will love it!

Today we are visiting a friend in Edgewater, New Jersey for a playdate before we make our way back to Maryland. Don't worry... I had a bagel with a shmear and three black and whites delivered to the apartment this morning. I was NOT going home without having all of the best flavors of New York.

Until next time...
*L*