I don’t think it’s possible to visit New York without experiencing something of its nightlife and we had 3 very different nights out during our stay.

Ice Hockey at the Prudential Center, New Jersey: Unsurprisingly, the first was an evening of ice hockey and the first time either G or M have been to a proper NHL game. As soon as our flights and hotel were booked,  Mike was on the lookout for who would be playing where over the Christmas period and as soon as the final schedule was released, big decisions had to be made. We were originally considering a New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden, but the cost of the seats combined with what we considered to be limited viewing based on our previous visit to see the New York Knicks meant that it looked unlikely we would go.

In a moment of almost sheer desperation, Mike decided to widen his search to see whether the New Jersey Devils were playing at home during our visit and there he struck proverbial gold. Not only were they playing on the 27th, but much to Mike’s delight, they were up against his team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even though we were crossing state lines, the trip to the Prudential Center in Newark by PATH train was easy and took us almost directly to the door. The children cheered their way through their first hockey game with G wearing proudly the NJ Devils hoodie she bought beforehand, mostly in a bid to rile Mike. It was a great family evening out for all of us with G and M now fully indoctrinated into the love of the sport and the right final result being achieved on the night, if you are to believe Mike and M!

Rockettes Christmas Spectacular, Radio City Hall:  This is an experience like no other and one that I would heartily recommend time and time again. It was also the reason behind my Mum’s wish to be in New York during the Christmas period for her 70th birthday. For the uninitiated, the Rockettes are a dance troupe started in 1925 in St Louis, inspired by the British Tiller Girls of the same era. They are known for their iconic and incredible dance line and the impressive precision and impeccable timing of their dance routines. To watch 36 dancers perform routine after routine in absolute sync with each other is simply breathtaking and both G and M were totally absorbed from the moment the music started.

Their Christmas Spectacular is, quite simply, that. Spectacular; and utterly awe-inspiring in just how spectacular it is. Radio City Hall is an amazing venue and one that I would happily visit again and I would love to do a backstage tour there if the opportunity should come up in the future. There were some wonderful surprises in store as we watched, the most outrageous of which I won’t share, just in case you are ever lucky enough to visit yourself. Let me just say, that the nativity scenes were not quite what we had expected and definitely worth a watch! M loved the Santa Claus routine, whilst G was hard-pressed to pick her favourite, so amazed was she by their skills and dance moves.

Movie night at AMC Empire 25, 42nd Street: Christmas for the last few years has meant one thing when it comes to films and that has been our family visit to see the latest in the Star Wars saga. 2019 was no different and given the epic nature of this final film, it only seemed fitting to watch “The Rise of Skywalker” somewhere amazing and different. Our unplanned evening out did not disappoint and we lapped up the opulent luxury of the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street, just opposite our hotel. We are not a family who splashes out on the VIP seating in our local cinema, but even we know that that has nothing compared to our seats at this NYC cinema, which had the functionality to make them recline and to raise a foot rest so that we were truly comfortable for the duration of the film.

Our last foreign movie night out was during our last trip to Canada, when we went to see “Avengers: Infinity War”  at a wonderfully old-school cinema in downtown Toronto. The experience was just as magical, but so very different in just about every way imaginable. It was a fitting end to our busy few days in NYC and we left the cinema with 2 very happy youngsters.