Press

By Kelly-Jane Cotter, Asbury Park Press

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style…

New York shines during the holiday season. The city’s energy reaches new heights from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve.

But unless you’re a tourist on vacation, you can’t spend days sightseeing during the busy holiday season. So what to do with the free time you carved out of your schedule? And what best to show the kids?

Where to begin …

Children’s Museum Of Manhattan

The museum offers multi-cultural programming and exhibits throughout the season. You can trim a Christmas tree, make a felt gingerbread doll or a peppermint bath pod. Collaborate on a pinata for Las Posadas, a Latin American Christmas tradition that commemorates the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Design a dreidel for Hanukkah; create a Kuumba drum for Kwanzaa.

And everyone can get together for early New Year’s celebrations from Dec. 28 through 31, including a ball drop and dance party on New Year’s Eve.

Go: Children’s Museum Of Manhattan, Tisch Building, 212 W. 83rd St. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, plus Sundays, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays. Cost: $15 for all ages, except $12 for seniors and free for babies under one year. Info: cmom.org.