What is there to do in NYC during Christmas?

Christmas in New York City can be both magical and maniacal.  While it is true that there is a cheer inside the chill, the hustle and bustle is still very much alive. So, outside of being thrashed at a toy store over that last Turbo-Man action figure, what is there to do while in town?

Bip bip bip... Earth to Captain Obvious, come in Captain Obvious... bip..bip... In case you haven't noticed, there's an 80 foot tree and ice skating rink parked right in Rockefeller Center! Alright, so maybe you already knew that or maybe you're actually looking for something else to do while you're in town other than gawking over a slowly dying, leafy corpse wearing a coat of bulbs. BTW, that corpse usually arrives the last week of November and stands lit from about 5:30 in the morning 'til 11:30 at night (24 hours on Christmas). It finally gets laid to rest after the first week of January.

What else? Well, there's the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes, if you're sweet on the idea of watching a bunch of broads waving their legs and kicking their feet in Christmas garb. That starts in early November and runs through the end of December and kills about an hour and a half of your time.

If that's not prissy enough for you, there's always the ballet. Lincoln Center hosts the annual George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, complete with 90 dancers and just as many musicians and stagehands. The performance also includes a cast (two actually) of 50 students from the School of American Ballet, in case you've got a starry eyed youngling with you. Ah, the ballet... what could be better? Go spike that eggnog fellas! That fading memory of the Rockettes won't be enough.

Grand Central Terminal hosts a variety of annual events from Kaleidoscope Light shows to holiday gift fairs and train shows. To see what they've got planned this year, check out their digs right here!

Beginning November 28th, there's a Lights of the Holiday Bus Tour you can take (at night) that passes many of the destinations mentioned here. It's a good way to see the city at night during the season.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a tree of it's own ,yawn, complete with Neapolitan Baroque Crèche (Nativity scene), but the real attraction for all you geeks, I mean wannabe wizards and Excalibur types, is  Christmastide at The Cloisters Medieval Museum and Gardens. They go hog wild with the evergreens up there! Get the skinny on the MET and The Cloisters here.

Of course, if you brought the brats, then a day at FAO Schwarz is almost unavoidable. If you think your feet hurt from all the walking you've done, wait until your wallet gets a dose. Remember, all the crap you buy isn't going to fit in the overhead bin on your return flight to reality, so if you don't know how to say no, you may want to abort this mission.

Another attraction that will definitely appeal to you cheapskates is the annual department store holiday window displays. All you need are some warm clothes and rested legs to join in the festivities. You'll probably wanna begin at Macy's (34th St./Herald Square). They set up shop on both 34th St. and on Broadway. The rest are a bit of a trek, but not far from each other once you get going, about 10 blocks between them. After Macy's you're gonna need to head down to Fifth Ave. and work your way Uptown. First stop, Lord & Taylor at 39th St. Next up is Saks at 49th St., then Bergdorf Goodman at 58th St., then you'll need to skip on down to Madison Ave, and 61st St for Barneys and finally ending your journey at Bloomies on third Ave. and 59th St.. Here's a map...