NYC New Years with family?

What to do after dinner on NYE with family of five (kids 17,16 and 9).

There seem to be plenty of nightclub-based events incl. alcohol, but nothing thats not quite so adult (and poor economy, since the kids can%26#39;t partake in the included drinks).

Not exactly after a kiddy event, (teenagers would rebel).

Thoughts on times square? Would that be fun?

Not being American, the ball-dropping thing is pretty unknown to us, and I have to admit I%26#39;m finding it hard to see the attraction. But I%26#39;m happy to be convinced.

NYC New Years with family?

Well, a few folks have given good reviews of the New Year%26#39;s Party at the Olive Garden in Times Square. It is a chain restaurant with what seems to be a direct view of the ball-drop. So, you%26#39;ll be inside a warm place with food, drink and toilets, withing spitting distance of the scene, and it might cost $200 per person instead of $500.

See this previous post for details (it%26#39;s towards the bottom):

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k43014-T鈥?/a>

The other option is going to see the fireworks in Central Park (with a ';fun run'; running race at midnight) or in Grand Army Plaza/Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Both of these evens are free, outdoors, family-oriented and not super crowded.

For the Brooklyn firewords, take the #2 or 3 train to Grand Army Plaza. This stop is about 30 minutes from midotwn Manhattan.

The website for the fireworks is:

www.prospectpark.org/event/main.cfm鈥?/a>

NYC New Years with family?

Thank you so much!

The Olive Garden sounds very civilized, and the whole other Central Park thing sounds good too (and free!).

I cant believe they actually pen people in Times Square, like cattle (and I live in Tokyo, so thats really saying something).

Hi there. Yes you will be ';penned'; in times square on nye. There are TONS of people so I don%26#39;t know if you would like that. You basically can%26#39;t leave or move. Olive Garden will be packed so be prepared. I really can%26#39;t comment on the central park thing as I was in my hotel room looking at the ball drop. Its good to see once in your lifetime, in my opinion. Good luck!

Have you considered going to a show on or off Broadway? Several Broadway shows have 7 pm performances. Look here

playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/95592.html

Off Broadway, kids and teens seem to love Blue Man Group. There%26#39;s also Drumstruck, Stomp, Slavas Snow Show. There are also some audience participation shows like Tony %26amp; Tina%26#39;s wedding that could be a hoot on NYE where dinner is included. It%26#39;s like you attend a wedding. Here%26#39;s a list of off Broadway

http://www.playbill.com/events/listing/2.html

The Big Apple Circus (not just a kiddy thing) also does a 9:30 performance on NYE.

bigapplecircus.org/TicketTourInfo/venue.php鈥?/a>

gocitykids.com may have some other ideas if you put in your kids%26#39; ages and the date.

I just took a look at New Yorkled%26#39;s Holiday events page for Xmas and New Year%26#39;s. It has some good information that may help you and give you more ideas:

newyorkled.com/moreNYseasonal_NewYears.htm

So it sounds like there%26#39;ll be fireworks at the Statue of Liberty this year!!

Times Square is only worth doing if you are staying in a hotel on The Square. Then you can come and go as you please. Otherwise you will have to be there from mid afternoon.

Thank you all for your advice.

I think we will definitely avoid Times Square, it sounds like its not worth the effort. We will probably have a lateish dinner then head to Cental Park for midnight.

We are spending new years eve in NYC with our 20 year old so in the same boat, but its a pretty good boat. We bought tickets for a show and are planning on a late snack or dessert and the fireworks after the show, there is also circus in lincoln center, lots of show choices, on and off broadway. We saw Mama Mia in San Diego, loved it, very light hearted, fast paced, music and dancing, not beyond the 9 year old%26#39;s comprehension but not at all ';kiddy'; The music is ABBA songs. There is a lot of great stuff open on New Years day, the museum of natural history, the museum of modern art, the statute of liberty, the empire state building

nywhiz, please tell us about the fireworks at Statue of Liberty on New Year%26#39;s Eve. We%26#39;re staying at Embassy Suite Hotel and maybe could walk down the road to see it if we%26#39;re not lucky enough to have the good view. Somebody also mentions that there might be fireworks at South Street Seaport though we could not see any details at their official website