Celebrating a Birthday in New York City : Family Activities

Payton loves to visit a big city and who doesn’t love New York? We love it so much that we have even written a 3-day guide to seeing NYC with your kids. We surprised Payton with a trip to NYC on her 9th birthday, and again on her 15th birthday – celebrating a birthday in New York City is such a treat!

Some of the activities we’ve enjoyed in New York while celebrating birthdays:

Birthday treats at the hotel

We always organise with the hotel to have treats and a cake in the room on arrival. It is a fun and easy way to kick off a birthday vacation!

Hotels are usually very happy to accommodate this kind of request.

Read more about our favourite special occasion restaurants in NYC

Carriage Ride in Central Park

Taking a horse drawn carriage around Central Park is such a treat. It was freezing cold on the day we did this, but they provided us with a warm blanket. It was a lovely way to see the park, and great fun saying hello to the horse afterwards.

If a carriage ride isn’t for you, you can hire a bicycle and cycle around the park instead!

Statue of Liberty

You can’t come to NYC without taking a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty.  It was freezing on the day we visited, so thank goodness for hot chocolate!  No words can ever really describe the feeling of looking up at the Statue from a boat on the water and  imagining the emotions immigrants felt when they saw it for the first time.

A Broadway Show

We love to catch a show on Broadway when we are in NYC. The Lion King is a fantastic show to see if you have kids, and the performance is phenomenal.

Skyscrapers

New York City, the land of skyscrapers. We love to go up high buildings, so we are in our element in NYC. From the classic Empire State Building, to the Top of the Rock, and the new Edge at Hudson Yards, if you want great views and some thrills, New York has so many options.

On our last visit, Payton and I did the City Climb at the Edge in Hudson Yards. It was exhilarating being out on top of the building. We did something similar in Auckland NZ on the Sky Tower, and since then, we are hooked!

• One World Observatory
• Empire State Building
• Top of the Rock
• The Edge
• SUMMIT One Vanderbilt

Times Square

An evening in Times Square is an experience! There are crowds, flashing lights, performers, and some a cacophony of sounds – it can definitely be overwhelming (especially with autistic kids!). There are some family-friendly attractions like the Disney Store and M&M’s World to visit while you’re there.

Eat somewhere special

We love to find special places to eat wherever we go. One of our favorite restaurant chains is The Buddha Bar (we’ve been to many Buddha Bars around the world), so of course we had to visit the one in New York. We are lucky that Payton is an adventurous eater, so we can push the boundaries of normal family dining!

The View is a fabulous revolving restaurant in Time Square which we enjoyed for Payton’s 9th birthday.  We have done a special occasion restaurants in NYC round-up, so read more there!

River / Harbour Cruise

We love a sunset cruise on the Hudson River.  To watch the sun set and the lights of the city come alive over NYC is magical!

Whether you choose a day tour or a dusk tour as we did, seeing New York from the water is special. For normal sightseeing, we recommend just taking the free Staten Island Ferry to experience the views from the water. But for an NYC birthday trip, I recommend taking a tour!

Parks & Cakes

When traveling with kids, it’s important to take lots of time for breaks, snack and play! You can’t sightsee too much when kids get tired, hungry or overstimulated. Payton loves swings, so we often find spots for her to do that when we are visiting a new place.

Stop for rainbow cake at Cake Boss, enjoy the playground at Central Park, and just have fun – that’s what birthdays are all about.

Celebrating a Birthday in New York City – Payton’s 9th & 15th birthday

I have no doubt that Payton enjoyed every minute of her two birthdays in New York City (we all did)!  The skyscraper tours, the adventures, the food, the moments together are priceless. Celebrating a birthday in New York City is great for any age, and I think it has become a tradition for us to spend a birthday there at least once a decade.

Where will YOU spend your next birthday?

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