Christmas Time in the City-Radio City Music Hall

    I realize this site is for things to do around the Point Pleasant area, but I wanted to write about an experience I had in New York City with my daughter that was absolutely amazing! Yes, it was a little bit of a drive and definitely a long day, but so worth it!

  My mom was coming to visit, and we wanted to do something special together while she was here. I looked around for something with Santa for mid-November, and saw that Radio City Music Hall’s yearly Christmas Spectacular was opening November 13th(through December 30th), the day before my mom went back to California. Admittedly, at first I was not sure if a 19 month old little girl would be able to really take in a show like this, but my concerns were completely unfounded – I just needed to do a little prep work beforehand. I asked some other parents who had taken small children, and was given great advice. First, buy an aisle seat so you have easy access to leave if needed during the show. Second, try and coordinate show time so it doesn’t conflict with nap-time. Third, bring snacks, and then be ready to have a GREAT time! http://www.radiocity.com/

    We bought tickets to the opening 11:00am show, and left Brielle at 7:00am that morning to ensure we had plenty of time to get there and have breakfast somewhere close by. I actually parked in Jersey City, in the parking garage by the Grove Street PATH station, instead of attempting to drive into NYC on a Friday morning. Good idea. It was easy and Ava LOVED going for a “train ride”. We took the 33^rd Street train, and got off at the last exit – 33^rd Street, right by Macy’s. It was a nice morning in NYC, so we walked the approx. 14 blocks or so to Radio City, which was a nice outdoor break for everyone. We ended up going right in, as they had just opened the doors at 10:30am, and just walking inside such a spectacular building was enough to make Ava stare in amazement.

  We had great seats, about 10 rows back in the orchestra section, which were perfect. Again, on an aisle in the middle of the auditorium. And they have a stroller check right before taking you to your seats. Once the lights dimmed and the curtain went up, I wasn’t even watching the show – I just sat and looked at my daughter, whose face was lit up with the wonder of it all. The music, the Rockettes, the lights, the costumes, and of course Santa – well, it brought tears to my eyes just being there and seeing her experience this for the first time. The entire show was a little under 2 hours, and she sat through it almost in entirety. We had to take a bathroom break about 10 minutes before the end of the show, but that was just fine! We bought a program for $20, which came with a Holiday CD of the Rockettes singing Christmas songs, which is actually quite good and we listened to it on the ride back home. We stopped at a nice kid-friendly restaurant called Cowgirl (http://www.cowgirlnyc.com) and grabbed a quick lunch, and then got on the “train” to head back to Grove Street and drive home. It was an unforgettable day and an experience I highly recommend! We will definitely be going back next year!

Contributing Author

Stephanie Frith