Reasons Why It's Fun To Visit New York City During Thanksgiving Holiday

New York City is one of my favourite cities in the world. There are plenty of things to see, do, try out, and definitely worth coming back for.

Last year, hubby and I had the opportunity to spend the Black Friday Season but have missed the Thanksgiving and the Macy's Parade by 1 day. It was a last minute decision because I thought my vacation leave wouldn't get approved. I am glad I was allowed to go but it had derailed a lot of plans in the process. Still, the last minute decision paid off even if we didn't get a chance to take the flight our of Dubai on Thanksgiving.

Getting around New York City especially at this time of the year when it's getting cold and there are plenty of chance to experience the Thanksgiving time is an experience I lover reliving.

Here are some reasons why I find visiting NYC during Thanksgiving fun:

1. It's Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the US. It has been around since the early 1800s and is considered an official holiday in the US. Experience the hospitality of your family and friend when you visit during this time of the year.

Aside from your relatives and friends' hospitality, you can smell home-cooked goodness from a mile when you're around during the Thanksgiving holiday. What's good about that? A lot! If you have family and friends to visit, you will be entertained endlessly and fed with delight to showcase their home-cooked turkey dishes and other staples during Thanksgiving.


2. Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

This is one parade that I have not watched yet in the flesh. It is in my bucket list to watch the live parade but when we visited last year, we didn't get to watch the parade because flights were full. We could only fly to the US on Black Friday which is another reason why it's nice to visit NYC during Thanksgiving holiday.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade has been around since 1924 and is one of the most watched and attended parade in the whole of US. You can watch plenty of colourful participants walking down the famous thoroughfares of Manhattan.  You can expect to see musical numbers, dancing and singing, colourful costumes and floats,  and the famous and humongous helium-filled balloons that the marchers hold while the walk in the parade.


3.  Visit the Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park

Bryant Park is one of our favourite park to hangout when visiting Manhattan. I like the laid back feel of sitting there, watching the birds being fed, enjoying a hot cup of coffee on a cold day, reading my mails in my gadget using the free public wifi available around NYC, and most especially, during this time, check out the Winter Village set there.

The ice-skating rink is open and buzzing with lots of skaters especially towards the afternoon until evening where the place is alight with plenty of Christmas lights.

Aside from the free ice-skating rink, there are more than a hundred shops to visit selling Christmas wares and other crafty stuff and when you get hungry, there are numerous food kiosks to choose from.

The place can get very crowded towards weekend and after school and office hours. So, if you want to enjoy the place sans the crowd, go there during off-peak hours. The shops will be open until first week of January only.


4. Black Friday shopping

Another favourite past time of mine! I love shopping so this will come as no surprise because Black Friday deals are my thing.

If you don't dig going out of town then retailers and shops in Manhattan are open to cater to the discerning tastes of the consumers a.k.a. the savvy shoppers.

Can you guess what's inside those bags?

Enjoy huge discounts during the Black Friday sale but be sure to get ready to work your way through a throng of people just to get a certain item. Hubby and I avoided that scenario so we opted to visit the outlet mall. However, we anticipated the difficulty that we would encounter if we had to head back to Manhattan so booking a hotel for a night nearby was the best decision. Traffic was horrible and it was difficult to grab a cab. Good thing, the hotel was just 10 minutes walk from Jersey Garden. We got it all covered.


Thanksgiving Holiday in the US is one experience I will never forget. You can skip the shopping if you are not into spending money but because the deals were too nice to resist, we took advantage while we were there.