Top Christmas Trips with Kids

Okay, I'm writing this when it is currently 80+ degrees outside and sunny. I absolutely love the summer and am sad to see Back to School things sprouting up already. That being said, I know that most people start thinking about, planning, or booking their winter trips now or soon. So here are our top trips to take with kids around Christmastime, specifically in the US:

1.) New York City

This one is obvious and probably the first thing everyone thought of, but it's popular for a reason. We absolutely LOVE taking our kids to NYC around Christmastime and have done so many different times, at many different ages from a 6 month old baby in a front carrier to a toddler in a back carrier to a small child with my death grip around their hand to older school-aged kids and teens. This year, we even included my entire family, which meant 7 kids ranging in age from 18yo to 7yo. So why is NYC at Christmastime so wonderful? First, a lot of the festive sightseeing is free...the Rockefeller Christmas tree, the decorations around 5th Avenue including store windows, Macy's Santaland, and the Dyker Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn. ALL free!! (If you've never heard of Dyker Heights before, definitely look into it if you're headed to NYC at Christmastime. This was the first year we went there, and it was absolutely amazing. It's a neighborhood in Brooklyn where there are streets upon streets of houses decorated FULLY, like in two of the pics below.)

Secondly, there's ice skating at one of a number of different locations (we chose in Central Park so it wasn't quite as crowded or expensive as Rockefeller Center) and amazing hot chocolate all over (but especially at Glace or Max Brenner's).

If you are okay with spending some money, a horse-drawn carriage ride through Central Park can either be romantic for a couple or great fun for little kids. There's also the Rockettes or some Broadway or off-Broadway shows that can be Christmasy, like Elf the Musical. Speaking of Elf, our kids LOVE seeing places from some of their favorite movies, like from Elf and Home Alone 2.

Kids love a carriage ride through Central Park, especially with our driver pointing out filming locations such as from Home Alone 2

There's SO much in terms of the retail-loving end of this holiday, like the M&M store or FAO Schwartz. Finally, some people would also add to this list the Christmas markets, especially Bryant Park. That being said, that is my absolute least favorite part of it all. It sounds so nice in theory, and I love the Christmas marketplace near my hometown, but Bryant Park is CROWDED, chaotic, and overwhelming. And this is while saying I absolutely love NYC at Christmastime and the Rockefeller Tree.....clearly those are already crowded and chaotic things, but Bryant Park is a whole other level for me. It felt impossible to actually look around, buy anything, or enjoy any second of this journey the two times we tried. I really wanted to love Bryant Park, but I'd personally say "pass!"

Oh, and if you're not looking to ONLY do Christmas things while there....other things we've enjoyed in NYC with our kids included the Central Park Zoo, just letting the kids climb around on the giant rock boulders all through Central Park, the Ice Cream museum, the Slime museum, and the firehouse from Ghostbusters.

2.) Orlando, Florida

We went to Disney around Thanksgiving/Black Friday time this past year with an 18yo girl, 10yo boy, and 7yo boy. There are several different ways to enjoy holidays around Disney, and we tried to do as many of them as possible.

First, you can explore the gingerbread displays in several different hotels by taking different Disney transportation to those hotels. This includes at the Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Beach Club Resort, and Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. The kids were fascinated by the beautiful and impressive builds, and they also enjoyed buying gingerbread cookies and hot cocoa from the lobbies!

Gingerbread carousel at one of the Disney hotels

Second, Disney Springs has a Santa if you want. You have to be at the location to be able to join the virtual queue and then can walk around Disney Springs and/or get dinner around there until it's your time to actually join the line. This was stressful for me, but we timed it right and made it work. Do your research and hope for the best! At Disney Springs, there's also a fun Christmas tree scavenger hunt that our kids really enjoyed. The trees are decorated like different Disney movies or themes.

Third is, of course, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. We showed up right when you can get in for the party at 4pm and had our rough idea of what we wanted to do for the night. I always suggest researching, making a rough schedule, but also being comfortable with knowing you may need to deviate from it when time comes. Know your must-dos beforehand though! For us, we prioritized all things Christmas party specific because we've been to Disney several times before and didn't necessarily need to prioritize the rides. That being said, we still rode many rides because lines are much shorter, but for us- priority was the Christmas parade, the Christmas shows/performances, the rides with Christmas overlays, and the special yummy holiday treats. We wore Christmasy t-shirts and shorts for earlier, then later in the evening changed into Christmas PJs, and that worked for the weather we had when we went.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Finally, but for me, most importantly: Epcot's International Festival of the Holidays. I absolutely loved everything about this. Similar to the party, we made a list of must dos, a tentative schedule, and went in slightly flexible. There were definitely some rides we wanted to hit, but our priorities again were the holiday-specific things. We loved the storytellers in the different lands that help to educate the kids about that culture's holiday traditions. The Joyful! Celebration of the Season show celebrating Kwanzaa was fantastic, and the Candlelight Processional was absolutely amazing. We booked a reservation at a restaurant that was part of the package which included timed tickets to Candlelight Processional so that we were guaranteed seats and not stressed about missing that. Although it was a little pricey, it came with dinner too, and we felt like it was worth it for our time and the lower stress. At Epcot, there was also delicious holiday-inspired yummy food to get, as well as some ride overlays (like the Living with the Land ride---try to do this after dark if possible), and an Olaf-themed scavenger hunt. Have I mentioned my kids love a good scavenger hunt?

3.) Asheville, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia

We were there by chance in late-November once and, admittedly, it was without kids. That being said, the Biltmore Estates were decorated beautifully for the holidays and we were amazed by the decorations and live music singing Christmas carols. We stopped there on our way to Georgia, where we toured the Coca Cola factory. Because of the time of year, it was all decorated for the holidays, including the Coca Cola Santa all over and the Coca Cola polar bear greeting visitors for photos. Totally random stops that I never would've otherwise thought of for Christmas, but they made for fun adventures and I think they kids would love them too.

4.) Sesame Place

We went to Sesame Place several times at Christmastime with our boys when they were younger. I definitely wouldn't recommend it for older kids, but for younger kids, it's wonderful! I'd recommend it for ages 1-6 or so, and will say that around 3-4yo was the absolute perfect age! You have Christmas decorations, Sesame Street characters performing shows specific to the holidays and singing Christmas songs, and several small rides. This is a more accessible option than Disneyworld for most people, but honestly just as enjoyable for young kids!

5.) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Okay, this is a bit of a cheater for me because this is where I'm from and spend all of my Christmas seasons! That being said, there is SO much to do here at Christmastime that we love and also, the internet agrees with me and put it on a top 10 Christmas spots list I saw! Some of our favorite places to go in Pittsburgh at the holidays include Kennywood Amusement Park lights, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden lights, the Pittsburgh Botanical Garden lights, University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning which decorates its classrooms to look like different countries' holiday traditions, and the downtown area for ice skating near the big Christmas tree and stopping at the German-style Christmas marketplace. Near the downtown ice skating, there's the international festival of Santas where you can walk around the room filled with "santas" from different traditions and countries. There's also outdoor Christmas-lighted and decorated mini golf at Fun Fore All, an awesome Christmas pop-up at Northstar Restaurant, and a variety of drive-through light displays such as in Clinton, Overly's, Oglebay's, or at the Zoo. If you don't mind crowds, you could kick off the holiday season at Light Up Night, though we usually prefer to go sometime after. Finally, there are Christmas shows/musicals at the different theaters (we've seen The Nutcracker, The Hip Hop Nutcracker, A Musical Christmas Carol, and Elf the Musical with our kids through the years) and a variety of pop-up Christmas bars, some of which have certain times where kids are allowed too.

And finally, places that I have seen advertised online that I would LOVE to go to at the holidays but haven't yet: Santa Claus, Indiana; Sante Fe, New Mexico; and Leavenworth, Washington

No matter where you choose to celebrate your holidays or no matter which holiday you choose to celebrate, enjoy yourself and your time with family and friends :)