Start your day with a brisk skate around an outdoor ice rink. Since 1936, children and adults alike have made their way to New York's Rockefeller Center to skate on the large outdoor rink in front of the center's floodlit towers, underneath the giant Christmas tree.
The ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center accommodates only 150 skaters at a time--ensuring that it never gets too crowded. Private skating lessons are available, and the rink is open from October until April, from early morning until late evening. Admission prices vary according to date, but are most expensive from late November to early January.
Alternatively, if you choose to go skating in the evening, try Central Park. The website of New York's Central Park claims that its two ice skating rinks--Wollman and Lasker--are even more picturesque than Rockefeller Center's. The website explains that the absence of bright city lights in the park makes for good nighttime stargazing opportunities. The two Central Park skating rinks are open from November to March, and are slightly cheaper during the Christmas period than Rockefeller Center's rink.
Spend the afternoon and early evening strolling along New York's main shopping streets--such as Fifth Avenue and Broadway--purchasing last-minute gifts and admiring the fabulous department store window displays. Each Christmas season, the department stores of New York City create extravagant, themed window displays--so popular that they are a tourist attraction in their own right. Stores such as Barney's, Macy's, Bloomingdales and Lord & Taylor, which has the longest tradition of holiday windows, and hence the most classical-looking, spend a whole year and millions of dollars creating the spectacular displays, which make their debut at the end of November each year.
After so much activity during the day, you can spend the evening in a theater seat enjoying a good show. For more than 75 years, the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular" has entertained tourists and New Yorkers alike with its annual stage show, which features singing, dancing, comedy and traditional Christmas scenes, as well as the famous Rockettes dance troupe. The show runs from early November until late December, and (as of 2009) ticket prices are between $42 and $250.
