Michaël shared with us many of his experiences from his last trip to New York. He been to New York several times, but this was his first time with his children of 10 and 12 years.
He surprised his kids by, visiting the toy stores of 5th Avenue and surrounding areas.
If you also want to share your best tips in New York, read this article, I explain how to do it.
Memo NYCTT.
Your kids are going to be tired after visiting museums and walking through the streets of New York. This small circuit around 5th Avenue, is perfect for them. They will love it and after that, they will go anywhere you want.
Summary :
The best stores for kids on 5th Avenue (Good Tip in New York from Michaël)
├ Build a Bear
├ American Girl Place
├ Nintendo World Store
├ Lego Store
├ FAO Schwarz
└ Where are the best stores for kids in New York?
Build a Bear
The tour begins at Build a Bear, a store near 5th Avenue, behind the Empire State Building. Your kids may (and some parents too) make their own teddy bear, 100% customized.
First you have to choose the shape of your teddy (unstuffed yet), and it is complicated because there are: bears, dinosaurs, rabbits, cats, fictional heroes… After selecting the shape, you can choose accessories like a specific smell, a sound (if your teddy is an animal …). The accessories are not mandatory.
Then you need to stuff your bear. To do so, you have to approach a salesperson who will ask you if you want a bear with soft or firm padding. There is a ritual, the kid grabs a small heart, and rubs it against his own heart and puts it in his teddy before stuffing it.
Once the teddy is ready, you can buy it clothes… It may take a while because there are a lot of styles, from sportswear to traditional.
After all that, they give you a birth certificate for your Teddy.
For a “naked” Teddy, you may spend between 20 to 25 dollars. Clothing costs between 10-20 USD.
American Girl Place
The 2nd stage of the tour is for girls, with American Girl Place store. It is a paradise for those who like dolls, both modern and collectible.
It is a 4 story shop with many different models, you can choose the color of the hair, eyes, skin… There are many accessories and clothing.
Speaking of clothes, you can buy the doll clothes and the same design for your daughter. They’ll look the same 😉
The dolls are a bit expensive. A doll costs about $ 70, or more. But the quality is impressive, 10 years ago I bought one for my daughter, and she¡s still in perfect condition.
Nintendo World Store
You will then arrive at the Rockefeller Center and its Nintendo World Store, a perfect place for gamers. My 10 year old son told me it was a small paradise.
You will find an incredible amount of consoles, and you can play the latest games of the brand.
In addition, there are many goodies featuring Mario and his friends, games, clothing, stuffed animals…
It will fascinate your kids but also those nostalgic about the 80’s and 90’s, because a corner of the store is like a museum with all the consoles and the bestselling games that are part of the success of the brand.
Lego Store
Not to far away, you will find the Lego Store. There is another Lego store in the Flatiron District. For the fans of the brand, I recommend going to both stores.
You will find all the collections of the brand, from Duplo, to Lego City, Star Wars, Technic…
In these two stores, you can create Lego characters, and there is a huge wall with blocks of any shape and every color you can imagine. You can take as much Lego’s as you want, with any color you want.
FAO Schwarz
The tour will end in the famous FAO Schwarz store. The famous toy store just returned to NYC on November 16, 2018!
You will find giant stuffed animals, construction toys, dolls, table games, costumes … I cannot describe to you everything you will find in that place.
Depending on the season, there are makeup workshops for kids.
As you can see on the picture below, there’s a lot of people, be patient and plan ahead if you want to get in the store!
Anyway, with all these beautiful and original shops, your kids will stand open-mouthed for a while. It is also a good deal for you, because after that, they’ll follow you wherever you want like visiting museums 😀
Where are the best stores for kids in New York?
BUILD A BEAR
Address: 22 W 34th Street, New York, NY 10001 (Empire State Building)
Business hours: every day from 9am to 9pm.
Address: Queens Center, 9015 Queens Blvd., Elmhurst, NY, 11373.
Business hours: Sunday from 11am to 8pm every day from 10am to 9.30pm.
Address: Kings Plaza Shopping Center, 5100 Kings Plz., Brooklyn, NY, 11234.
Business hours: Saturday from 10am to 10pm, Sunday from 11am to 8pm, every day from 10am to 9.30pm.
Website: www.buildabear.com
AMERICAN GIRL PLACE
Address: 609 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street, New York, NY 10017
Business hours: every day from 9 am to 8 pm and Sundays till 7 pm (specific business hours on several days of the year).
Website: www.americangirl.com
NINTENDO WORLD STORE
Address: 10 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 (On 48th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues)
Business hours: Monday to Friday from 9 am to 8 pm, Friday and Saturday from 9 am to 10 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 8 pm.
Website: www.nintendoworldstore.com
LEGO STORE
Address: 620 Fifth Avenue @ 50th Street New York NY 10020
Business hours: Every day from 10 am to 8 pm, Sundays from 10 am to 7 pm.
Address: 620 Fifth Avenue @ 50th Street New York NY 10020
Business hours: Every day from 10 am to 8 pm, Sundays from 10 am to 7 pm.
Website: www.lego.com
FAO SCHWARZ
Address: 30 Rockefeller Plaza,
Business hours: Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 9 pm; Friday to Saturday from 9 am to 10 pm; Sunday from 11 am to 8 pm.
Website: www.faoschwarz.com/
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The best stores for kids on the 5th Avenue (Good Tip in New York from Michaël)
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