The 'Bombshell' Trip to NYC

charly77 · 6 Jul 14, 03:23 PM

So we get to spend Christmas 2014 in THE BIG APPLE! My third visit, DH second and DD (16) and DS (13) first time!

My DH has worked Christmas and New Year for the last 8 years. This year his shifts are in our favour and he is off, for this reason we wanted to go away.
Going abroad at first wasn’t an option, we were looking at finding a quaint cottage in Cumbria. However DH was involved in an accident at work and was given a small amount of compensation which we decided to use towards our break. This meant we could broaden our search! We initially looked to go away for New Year then Christmas then both….! Now where to go…

DD who is 16 and an avid photographer has been asking for a while about us visiting NYC. We were hoping to have done it as a twin break back to Orlando however it hasn’t happened! And DS is mad on superheroes so would be in his element in NYC…well I felt like I was walking through a film set! We looked at some trip reports and decided from this that New Year would be too much and more expensive so eventually settled on Christmas.

So just on an off chance I was looking at deals whilst at work one day…..as you do! As we had some avois points I was eager to use BA. I get home and show DH who was very keen, on the proviso that we keep it as a surprise from the kids….I was up for that!
As I type this the children are still completely unaware!

That night we booked. Flying from LHR to JFK on Tues 23rd Dec and returning on Sun 28th December. Got fab flight times, early morning out and a late one back so we get as good as 6 full days in the city. We booked it as a package as it was the cheapest option, staying at Westin, Times Square.

I have already booked a few things and planned a rough itinerary…I like to be organised 

The thing is, we’re not having a summer holiday so this has kept me going and I do like to research. Even though this is my third time visiting I would like to do different things. The first time I visited was with 5 girlfriends for my 30th Birthday, second time was with DH as a twin centre holiday with Las Vegas for our 10th wedding anniversary. As you can imagine going with our children will be a completely different experience, one I am very much looking forward to!

We have booked ‘Breakfast with a Toy Soldier’ @ FAO Swartz for Christmas Eve, one of our favourite family films is ‘Big’ with Tom Hanks, so I am very excited to have a go on the piano! From here we will go to AMNH and then spend the afternoon in Central Park. When planning our days we have tried to stay in an area so we’re not going back and forth. We are also aware of the weather so will try and keep a balance of activities indoors and outdoors.

The other thing we have booked is a ‘Bus Movie Tour’ for Boxing Day, I know this day isn’t celebrated in the US but to us it is still a special day and we know this tour is on our kids bucket list. Also we can imagine the sales shopping will be crazy so we can escape the madness!

I will upload our itinerary as a separate post.

So would you like to know how we are going to tell the kids…..?!

Okay, so near to the Westin, Times Square is a restaurant called ‘Shake Shack’ and luckily for us we are only 25 minutes away from London and there is one at Covent Garden! Perfect, so the plan is to take the kids there for lunch and give them clues…

So the first is a crossword created by me! The clues are all about our family e.g.; what sport does DD play? What is Mums favourite colour? There are 7 red squares and they are to write down the letters in those boxes which will look like this; E Y O W K N R

Now the tricky bit will be them working together to re-arrange the letters, haha! I can see the arguments now! We also have wrapped up in Christmas paper, 2 FAO Schweetz (purchased from our local Toys R Us-RESULT! ) a plastic green apple, 2 ‘NYC’ style T-shirts & a Brits Guide to New York 2014 guidebook!

So would like to guess by the end of all that they should have a good idea about what is happening!

For DD’s 16th Birthday back in April we gave her a ‘Tiffanys’ voucher for a bracelet of her choice, we said we would have a day in London during the summer holidays to purchase it. Well this was maybe a little bit cheeky on our part but we obviously would like to offer her a double whammy and purchase it in the Fifth Avenue store.

Will keep you posted on what happens next….

Thank you for reading

silverfox46 · 6 Jul 14, 03:41 PM

What a lovely surprise for them . My dgd had asked for some converse for her Christmas present when she was 8.
On Christmas day we gave her an envelope, and said we didn't know which to buy so she could pick herself. When she opened it expecting money she found a BA ticket to NYC. She kept looking, not saying anything and looking at us in disbelief, my daughter started to cry saying how wonderful then opened her gift , which was a ticket to come as well.
Tears flowed for ages.
Fast forward... she is now 20 and we still go together and this year will be her 5th visit.

DapperDisNY · 6 Jul 14, 06:39 PM

Sounds like its going to be a great trip.
I was actually watching big yesterday. Excellent movie!

Looking forward to reading your updates

Thanks for sharing

abiknox · 27 Jan 15, 05:59 PM

I love a NY trippie!

6 Jul 14, 03:23 PM	#1
	6 Jul 14, 03:23 PM charly77 Very Serious Dibber
charly77 Very Serious Dibber Join Date: Feb 08	The 'Bombshell' Trip to NYC So we get to spend Christmas 2014 in THE BIG APPLE! My third visit, DH second and DD (16) and DS (13) first time! My DH has worked Christmas and New Year for the last 8 years. This year his shifts are in our favour and he is off, for this reason we wanted to go away. Going abroad at first wasn’t an option, we were looking at finding a quaint cottage in Cumbria. However DH was involved in an accident at work and was given a small amount of compensation which we decided to use towards our break. This meant we could broaden our search! We initially looked to go away for New Year then Christmas then both….! Now where to go… DD who is 16 and an avid photographer has been asking for a while about us visiting NYC. We were hoping to have done it as a twin break back to Orlando however it hasn’t happened! And DS is mad on superheroes so would be in his element in NYC…well I felt like I was walking through a film set! We looked at some trip reports and decided from this that New Year would be too much and more expensive so eventually settled on Christmas. So just on an off chance I was looking at deals whilst at work one day…..as you do! As we had some avois points I was eager to use BA. I get home and show DH who was very keen, on the proviso that we keep it as a surprise from the kids….I was up for that! As I type this the children are still completely unaware! That night we booked. Flying from LHR to JFK on Tues 23rd Dec and returning on Sun 28th December. Got fab flight times, early morning out and a late one back so we get as good as 6 full days in the city. We booked it as a package as it was the cheapest option, staying at Westin, Times Square. I have already booked a few things and planned a rough itinerary…I like to be organised  The thing is, we’re not having a summer holiday so this has kept me going and I do like to research. Even though this is my third time visiting I would like to do different things. The first time I visited was with 5 girlfriends for my 30th Birthday, second time was with DH as a twin centre holiday with Las Vegas for our 10th wedding anniversary. As you can imagine going with our children will be a completely different experience, one I am very much looking forward to! We have booked ‘Breakfast with a Toy Soldier’ @ FAO Swartz for Christmas Eve, one of our favourite family films is ‘Big’ with Tom Hanks, so I am very excited to have a go on the piano! From here we will go to AMNH and then spend the afternoon in Central Park. When planning our days we have tried to stay in an area so we’re not going back and forth. We are also aware of the weather so will try and keep a balance of activities indoors and outdoors. The other thing we have booked is a ‘Bus Movie Tour’ for Boxing Day, I know this day isn’t celebrated in the US but to us it is still a special day and we know this tour is on our kids bucket list. Also we can imagine the sales shopping will be crazy so we can escape the madness! I will upload our itinerary as a separate post. So would you like to know how we are going to tell the kids…..?! Okay, so near to the Westin, Times Square is a restaurant called ‘Shake Shack’ and luckily for us we are only 25 minutes away from London and there is one at Covent Garden! Perfect, so the plan is to take the kids there for lunch and give them clues… So the first is a crossword created by me! The clues are all about our family e.g.; what sport does DD play? What is Mums favourite colour? There are 7 red squares and they are to write down the letters in those boxes which will look like this; E Y O W K N R Now the tricky bit will be them working together to re-arrange the letters, haha! I can see the arguments now! We also have wrapped up in Christmas paper, 2 FAO Schweetz (purchased from our local Toys R Us-RESULT! ) a plastic green apple, 2 ‘NYC’ style T-shirts & a Brits Guide to New York 2014 guidebook! So would like to guess by the end of all that they should have a good idea about what is happening! For DD’s 16th Birthday back in April we gave her a ‘Tiffanys’ voucher for a bracelet of her choice, we said we would have a day in London during the summer holidays to purchase it. Well this was maybe a little bit cheeky on our part but we obviously would like to offer her a double whammy and purchase it in the Fifth Avenue store. Will keep you posted on what happens next…. Thank you for reading __________________ Whistle-stop Tour Of Copenhagen Feb 2017 The Grand Tour (West to East trip) 2016 The 'Bombshell' Trip to NYC @ Christmas 2014 Trip report, Our first time to WDW Sept/Oct '08;