things to do in Boston in December

Travelling to Boston at the beginning of December with 2 others for 4 days and want to know about some fun things for us girls to do there .

Any suggestions on the following would be most helpful:

~ Shopping

~ Hairstylists/Spas

~ Eating Out

~ Places of Interest

~ Things to do in the evening – shows etc…

Also will it be very cold in early December?

We are travelling from Ireland so want to fit as muchin as we can in the 4 days!

things to do in Boston in December

I had the pleasure of living in Boston for 2 winters, while my husband was in grad school. If it wasn%26#39;t for his studying and my taking care of a newborn, here%26#39;s a few things I would have done:

-gone to the Boston Pops Holiday concert at Symphony Hall-there is one on Dec 9 (we actually did get to this when we had a sitter-it was awesome!)

-spent a a Sunday afternoon at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for lunch, a chamber music concert, and browsing the beautiful galleries.

-spent hours shopping at Prudential Center, Newbury Street, Downtown Crossing area, Quincy Market/Fanueil Hall-all areas festive with holiday decorations

-skated at the Frog Pond in Boston Common if my little girl had been older

There are so many previous and excellent threads on dining out-check some out. We were just in Boston in July and had great Italian dinners at LaSumma and Giacomo%26#39;s in the North End, and nice light meals and desserts at Finale.

The Blue Man Group show comes highly reccomended by my 20-something niece, if you are not into classical music. The show is at the Charles Playhouse.

I don%26#39;t remember it being as bitter cold in Dec as it gets in the dead of winter-Jan, Feb. March, although there can be snowstorms from November on. Best to check forecast 1 week before you travel.

things to do in Boston in December

Shopping--Newbury Street, Prudential Center Stores (indoors so you%26#39;ll be comfortable), Boylston Street,

Eating--North End for Italian, plenty of places on Newbury Street, South End, Copley Square area -- depending on your taste

Places of Interest--plenty of history in Boston-Old South Meeting House, Paul REvere House, etc.; Museums--Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Gardner Museum, Museum of Science, Aquarium; Harvard Square in Cambridge

Shows--bigger theaters are The Opera House, The Wang, The Colonial. check out broadwayinboston.com; artsboston.org, boston.com/travel

Weather--depends on what you think cold is. it%26#39;s all relative.

Boston Weatha..

Jan freekin freezin

Feb freekin icy

March freekin windy

April freekin muddy

May freekin wet

June nice

July freekin buggy

August too freekin hot

Sept too freekin cold-all-of -a suddin

Oct too freekin dark

Nov freekin gloomy

Dec Freekin cold

DKEL

White Christmas-the musical, is playing at The Wang throughout the holiday season. If you enjoyed the original movie (Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera Miles) then you may want to look into getting tickets.

Hello Fobs:

As the previous posts state shopping in Boston at the Pru Shops can%26#39;t be beat; many many shops there and all very good. Check out Newbury St as well as Boylston for fun boutiques, as well as fantastic restaurants for lunch, look for this restaurant www.cromaboston.com it%26#39;s great! It%26#39;s at 269 Newbury St., between Fairfield %26amp; Gloucester Sts. This is a pizzeria %26amp; bar that%26#39;s very popular and quite good. You%26#39;ll really like Newbury St and the Pru Shops; this area will keep you so busy you won%26#39;t know what to see next, trust me!

If you want to try a different place for a hair cut check out this site www.shagboston.com it%26#39;s in Southie at 840 Summer St. not far from South Station at all, either hop in a taxi there or walk if it%26#39;s nice, it%26#39;s not even a 2 mile walk from the South Station train/bus station. There%26#39;s a ';T'; bus that will say ';City Point'; from Congress St. that will take you near there. This hair shop is the hottest place now in Boston for a haircut. Check out the thread and you%26#39;ll see what I mean. My nieces won%26#39;t go anywhere else now for cuts! Friends of mine only go there too now!

I could see Blue Man Group over and over again and never be bored, I saw it 3 times with family and friends! It has different parts in it that change all the time. It%26#39;s extremely good and is at the Charles Playhouse while you%26#39;re in Boston. We usually get our tickets at BOSTIX down at the Quincy Market. The trick is to get them at 11:00 right when the box office there opens. It%26#39;s right near Houston%26#39;s Restaurant you%26#39;ll see the little box office marked BOSTIX. If you%26#39;re in Boston between a Monday and Thursday this is the way to get your tickets for any plays or shows that are in the Theater District. You%26#39;ll get them for that particular nights performance at 1/2 price. It%26#39;s well worth it. This Houston%26#39;s Restaurant in the Quincy Market is at 60 State St. it%26#39;s very good, a little expensive but great food! It%26#39;s a chain, they%26#39;re all over the country from what I%26#39;m hearing. We love the atmosphere there, it%26#39;s a fun place!

Go to the North End for dinner while you%26#39;re here. There are so many places there it%26#39;s not even funny! Massimino%26#39;s on Endicott St., Limoncello%26#39;s on North St., #5 North Sq., it%26#39;s not too far from Limoncello%26#39;s near the Paul Revere house over there (Leonardo DiCaprio was seen having dinner in here). The Daily Catch is fantastic but extremely popular and crowded. That%26#39;s the only thing that drives us crazy. Having dinner in the North End? It gets packed everywhere, so we go right at 5:00 when all the places open during the week only, we never go on weekends, it%26#39;s ridiculously insane, that%26#39;s the key with this place then you have time to walk around and check out the city later on!

Dress warm this is when it really starts to get brrrrr freezing!

Have fun!

Hello FOBS again:

If you do get a TAXI in Boston, make sure there%26#39;s a METER in the taxi and make sure it%26#39;s a legitimate taxi company, I listed them below for you. By the time you get to Boston in early December this nut will be caught, here%26#39;s what happened....it was just on the nightly news that some guy posed as a taxicab driver and raped some women from the Quincy Market taxi stand. This is very very NOT likely to happen in Boston from a taxi stand, believe me. I have my doubts that this will continue with this creep; so by the time you get to Boston in December this perpetrator will be caught, we%26#39;re all hoping and praying!

Remember if you take a taxi make sure you see these taxis from the following organizations ONLY.....write these down somewhere to bring with you....

Boston Cab, (617) 536-5010

Checker Cab,(617) 536-7000

City Cab, (617) 536-5100

ITOA, (617) 825-4000

Metro Cab, (617) 782-5500

Town Taxi, (617) 536-5000

THanks for all the suggestions. Its great to get sucg great first-hdand knowledge. Being as we will only be there fr 4 days we don%26#39;t want to spend ages deciding what to do but get our schedules ready (to some extent) from Ireland.

Keep all the suggestions coming. Our winters (in Ireland) have gotten very mild so will have to get some sweaters in anticipation for our trip but don%26#39;t want to bring too much luggage as want to save some space for Shopping!

Also have 2 small kids that I have to buy for so any suggestions of places to shop for kids stuff also greatly appreciated!

This is a real treat for my sister and I to go for 4 days away without the kids and also for my mother who deserves the best so we are really looking forward to the trip!!!

If you want to do the ';Mall'; thing the Cambridgeside Galleria is pretty good. It%26#39;s easy to get to on the T, just go to Lechmere, the end of the line, the mall is a few minutes walk from there.

Yes it%26#39;ll be very cold in early December. It%26#39;s a hit or miss but usually that%26#39;s when it starts to really get chilly. Be prepared, with layers so you%26#39;ll be ready for it. It%26#39;s a lot colder than Ireland during the winter.

Here%26#39;s the site for the Shops at the Pru on Boylston St.

www.simon.com/mall/mall_info.aspx…

This will give you an idea of what shops are here for children shopping. If you don%26#39;t see what you want here then wait because there%26#39;s more at the CambridgeSide Galleria. I%26#39;ll tell you about it.

First if you get the chance what you want to do is plan one morning to go to the Museum of Science because the launching of the world premiere of ';Star Wars---Where Science Meets Imagination'; starts Oct. 27th, so you%26#39;ll be here for that in early Dec. you can get your tickets for it online or when you get here. Here%26#39;s the Museums site www.mos.org

After you see the Museum and the show head out and within walking distance is the ';Cambridgeside Galleria'; on the next corner from the Museum located at 100 Cambridgeside Ave. you can%26#39;t miss it, you%26#39;ll see the huge brick complex at the intersection. They have an Old Navy and a Childrens Place in here, you%26#39;ll have to check out FILENE%26#39;s in here too because they always always have great sales on childrens clothes. Here%26#39;s the site for the Cambridgeside Galleria to check out the stores www.cambridgesidegalleria.com

They have a ';Cheesecake Factory'; restaurant at the Cambridgeside Galleria, if you get the chance? Try to have lunch here, it%26#39;s GREAT!

If you have any more questions you can email me at IALITTLEIRISH@aol.com.

Enjoy your trip! You%26#39;ll have a really good time!

I wanted to tell you this; if you do end up getting to Southie to ';Shag'; for haircuts? Then afterwards walk up to the intersection and you%26#39;ll be at L %26amp; E. Broadway. Take a walk up to WILD PLUMS at 601 E. Broadway. It%26#39;s a Childrens shop that is a BIG hit in Southie these days. A little expensive but very very different %26amp; adorable clothes that you won%26#39;t see in the Malls at ALL, just go check this shop out and you%26#39;ll see what I mean.