New York City at Christmas! Get the cheapest apartment prices right now!

For many Americans, the onset of the holiday season is associated with the lighting of the huge Xmas tree in Rockefeller Center Plaza, new york City's bona fide vacation headquarters. Travelers and natives visit the plaza in hordes, where they can ice skate on the rink made below the plaza's Prometheus statue, or merely gaze in wonder at the huge Christmas tree, strung with some 30,000 LED lights.

Get the youngsters and hightail it to every kid's dreamworld, FAO Schwarz, the monumental toy retailer where it actually is possible to play the piano with your footsies on the enormous flooring keyboard, a la the Tom Hanks' movie, Big. Next off, you'll wish to meander to Macy's Santaland, a true winter wonderland filled with toy trains, pixies, Xmas trees and other holiday scenes sure to conjure up wonder in the entire family. Last of all, if you have not maxed out on the vacation crowds, be sure to order tickets to the Radio City Music Hall's Christmas time Spectacular, where you'll not just see dozens of dancing Santas, but also the high-kicking legs of the legendary Rockettes.