Thanksgiving in NYC
When we heard the Pride of West Virginia (WVU’s marching band) was going to be in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, we decided to book a trip over the holiday (we went previously 8 years ago when the two older kids were MUCH younger!)
We stayed at the JW Marriott Essex House which is right on the parade route facing Central Park so early part of the route.
DAY 1: Arrived on Tuesday afternoon to check-in and unload car before we jumped on the Metro at Columbus Circle. Ended up getting a Metro card for each person just to make it more efficient going in and out since that’s how we planned to mostly get around. The kids enjoyed learning the different lines and how many stops or whether we needed to be going Downtown or Uptown. Wandered around Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall area and then right outside of NBC Studios, I said uh hey guys, isn’t that Jimmy Fallon?! And it was, he was filming right on the sidewalk! Then saw the tree and ice skaters and decorations before heading to some shops - Lego for the 5 yr old, Nike for the 15 yr old and Sephora for the 11 yr old. Stopped for pizza slices at Abitino’s which was supposed to just be a little snack….then off to the iconic toy store FAO Schwarz which wasn’t as grandiose as I recall but still a fun experience. Line wrapped around the block of people waiting for the Jellycat Diner inside. Grabbed a quick dinner at a place called Field Trip for various rice bowls before heading back uptown to ice skate at Wollman Rink in Central Park. All the kids did really well ice skating - first time for the youngest and he wanted to try it solo. Beautiful views from Central Park, more laid back and not as jam packed at Rockefeller Center for ice skating, no hot chocolate though!
DAY 2: Wednesday morning once everyone got moving, grabbed a quick breakfast bite & coffee at Le Pain Quotidien before jumping on the Metro to head to the flagship Macy’s at Herald Square - cool to see all the new windows and “Give Love” theme - Give Surprise, Give Wonder, etc. plus they were setting up for the TV filming portion of the parade & performances that happen right outside of it but us regular people can’t just watch it from there! On to the Empire State Building which I haven’t been to in years so was really neat to see all the renovations, upgrades and interactive experiences learning about the making of it, the movies filmed there, etc. Plus a King Kong exhibit where you can take pictures and videos in his hands coming out of the wall and videos of him behind it make it look like you’re in a movie! While we were at the Empire State Building, my mom went to the Barbie: A Cultural Icon exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design and really enjoyed it - especially chatting with women her age reminiscing on the various dolls over the years. Kids requested pizza again so tried different pizzas across the street from the Gershwin Theater before our matinee Broadway show of Wicked. We figured it was the perfect first Broadway show for the kids to see before the new movie version coming out at the same time! We loved everything about it - definitely recommend! Then quickly rushed back uptown to catch the end of the Balloon Inflation by Central Park - all the balloons get inflated and the floats are getting lined up in preparation the night before the parade. I definitely did NOT remember it being such a mad house and crazy lines to get in but still was fun to see. Finished with dinner at Old John’s Luncheonette - cozy diner with great food.
DAY 3: Thanksgiving & Parade Day! My husband got out there around 5:30am and said already a few folks there to set up chairs and grab spots on the sidewalk just to the left of the hotel. The rest of us joined him and the rain started to pick up quite a bit, the balloons were lower than usual but still an amazing experience! So neat to see how big the balloons are up close and how many people it takes to steer & handle them (including a captain with a whistle instructing them!) and I love all the clowns or different entertainment in between the floats and balloons that you don’t see on TV version. We knew WVU Marching Band was the last band before Santa finishes so that was pretty cool to see - many Mountaineers around us chanting and singing too. Thank goodness we were able to just scoot right up to our hotel rooms and take off the wet clothes to dry and hang out in our bathrobes to watch the parade on TV until the rain stopped. Headed back on the subway downtown toward Sloomoo Institute - grabbed smash burgers at Black Burger (super yummy, quick and wow a LOT of fries, should’ve shared them!) before the slime experience. Lot of different activities with slime including a DIY Slime Bar to pick the texture & feel, the smell, the color and charms to add in plus get covered in plastic and then get slimed! (I did not partake but my family did!). Our oldest requested to go to the 9/11 Memorial so we headed there before back to hotel to relax for a bit before dinner. We had a fantastic dinner experience at Fresco by Scotto - beautiful decor, great service and traditional turkey dinner as well as Italian meal options, all was very tasty. Stopped for hot chocolate at the Winter Market at Bryant Park on the way to Times Square which was as hustling and bustling as any other night before our last subway ride back uptown. Next morning, ordered bagels and lox at Broad Nosh Bagels for our drive back to West Virginia.
Overall, the parade and NYC during the holiday time is pretty magical and definitely recommend going at least once! I will say it is an odd feeling to me that the most quintessential Thanksgiving thing doesn’t really feel like Thanksgiving to me when it’s not spent in a home with a big home-cooked meal with your family and friends but still worth doing!
