Tips for visiting Santaland at Macy's NYC and ice skating at Winter Village at Bryant Park
Head to New York City this holiday season and meet Santa or go ice skating. Credit: Charles Eckert
How does that holiday song go? Oh yes — "Silver bells, silver bells, It’s Christmastime in the city.” With New York City so close, families on Long Island can plan a day seeing the "real” Santa Claus and skating on a rink amid Manhattan’s skyscrapers.
Here’s how:
First stop: Macy’s Santaland
Santa attends holiday celebrations at Macy's Herald Square. Credit: Getty Images for Macy's/Eugene Gologursky
Santa ho-ho-ho-ed into New York City on his sleigh, as he has for the past 100 years, during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. While the rest of us ate turkey, Santa hopped off the parade’s final float and took up residence on the eighth floor of the Macy’s department store on 34th Street and Sixth Avenue.
The Macy’s Santa is the O.G. Santa — after all, he proved it in court in the iconic 1947 movie "Miracle on 34th Street.” Luckily for those of us on Long Island, getting to Santaland at Macy’s Herald Square is a quick walk from the Long Island Rail Road Penn Station at 34th Street and Seventh Avenue.
But the trip planning begins five days in advance — that’s when families can sign up for a time slot to talk to the man in red. Sign-ups open each day at 6:30 a.m.; the person making the reservation must be at least 18 years old, everyone in your party has to be included on the reservation, and you can include up to nine people. Once you secure a slot, that is just your time to get on line — you’ll still have to wait for your turn to chat, and wait times average 30 to 90 minutes.
Children won’t be climbing onto Santa’s lap — they will sit next to him or on a nearby red box as the jolly man sits on his throne. Babies will need an adult to hold them in photos. The visit to Santaland is free, but photo packages starting at $39.99 are available after the visit.
Macy’s does offer the opportunity to meet a Black Santa or a Spanish-speaking Santa — your reservation will prompt you to make a selection. Santaland also offers sensory-friendly sessions on select dates.
Hungry? Stay in the building for something to eat — different floors offer different eateries, including a Starbucks on the Mezzanine, NYC Pizza on the third floor, Just Salad on the fourth floor, Stella’s Trattoria and a McDonald’s on the sixth floor.
More info macys.com
Next stop: Winter Village at Bryant Park
Visitors from near and far ice skate at The Bryant Park ice skating rink in midtown Manhattan. Credit: Anthony Lanzilote
Walk seven blocks up Sixth Avenue to 41st Street and you’ll find the outdoor Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park. The centerpiece is a festive ice-skating rink surrounded by 170 holiday booths selling gifts, ornaments and food.
Skate rentals start at $20 per person with advance registration. Bring your skates and skating is free — free sessions slots open up one week in advance. Sign up at wintervillage.org — you have to register for a digital ticket even if you are bringing your skates. Sessions include 50 minutes of ice time, says John Zeitoun, director of partnerships for Bryant Park Corp., the independent nonprofit that manages Bryant Park for the city.
Zeitoun says children younger than 14 must be accompanied by an adult, but the chaperone doesn’t need a ticket to skate.
Booths such as "S’mores and More,” "No Chewing Allowed” or "Café’cito” offer hot chocolate or artisanal coffee drinks. You can even reserve a private igloo near the rink for a fee (starts at $242.69). Take home a New York City-themed ornament — perhaps a yellow taxi? — that has the family members’ names monogrammed on it to commemorate the holiday trip to the city.
More info bryantpark.org
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.