With the holiday season upon us and winter break from school near, we asked a few of our dads for suggestions on what to do with their children in and around NYC during this time of the year. Here are some of their suggestions, and if you want more check out our summary of fun winter activities for kids.

MTA Holiday Nostalgia Rides

The MTA is continuing its annual tradition of Holiday Nostalgia Rides on vintage trains. Having grown up in the city, I always think this means the cars will be covered in graffiti and I’ll be mugged by a guy named Fleabag Jimmy, but no! Vintage subway cars from the 1930s will roll out along the A, C, D and F lines on Sunday afternoons during the holidays. My 5-year-old daughter loves going on these cars at the Transit Museum and it’ll be great for her to see them in action as we schlep around the city doing our Christmas shopping. Rumor has it that the MTA’s infrastructure is also from the 1930s, but you already knew that.

— Peter Duffy

Skating and window shopping

We love to ice skate during this time of year and are fortunate to be near so many thrilling ice rinks in NYC. Our favorite is Wollman Rink in the middle of Central Park with its expansive ice rink, sweet skyline views, and warm hot chocolate when you’re ready for a break. We also love Bryant Park’s Ice Skating Rink because of its convenient location and if you own your own skates, it’s free admission.  Plus, the surrounding Winter Village is fun to walk around before or after our family skate.

Another favorite winter break tradition is doing a Department Store Window Walking Tour. First, we get large cups of hot chocolate. Then, we stroll from Barneys to Bergdorf Goodman to Saks. Saks has an amazing and free light show on their building that’s entertaining for the kids. It’s also right next to the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree so that’s a mandatory stop on our tour as well. This year we plan to make a pit stop in FAO Schwartz now that our favorite toy store has reopened in a new location at Rock Center.

— Lance Somerfeld

Gingerbread Lane

Every year during the holiday season, we go to the New York Hall of Science to see Gingerbread Lane. It is the biggest collection of gingerbread houses. Sometimes you can even meet the baker who created all of these gingerbread houses and have a talk with him.

— Larry Interrante

Other suggestions:

• The annual Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx
• Winter ONEderland  at One World Observatory
• Radio City Christmas Spectacular

For many of us, Angry Birds was the first game we played on an iPhone. It got us hooked. And subsequently, it got our kids hooked on gaming on iPhones and iPads.

Toys, movies and dozens of upgrades later, Angry Birds has become part of the fabric of our lives. That is why I was so excited to learned the New York Hall of Science was going to have an Angry Birds exhibit.

I was a little skeptical, though, but they had me at life-sized slingshots you could use to destroy structures and knock down pigs. No actual pigs were harmed in this exhibit, they are just large green vinyl pillows. We went early in the afternoon and the exhibit was not very full. Which was good.

The highlight of the exhibit is the slingshot area. You have to build a structure, place your “pigs” and then fire Angry Bird kickballs at them. You could hear squeals of delight and laughter as kids and grownups alike played. The staff keeps it safe by being very firm with the rules about when you could fire. Since there were very few people there, we were able to go back in line over and over. During busy times, there may be a wait.

But there is more. There are stations where you can play the classic version of the game. It is actually behind a beautiful display of the Angry Birds, with descriptions of the characters. There are stations where you can draw, compose music, design scenes on the computer and even make short animations.

One of my favorite parts is the interactive pulley display. There are three birds that say they weigh 25kg and you can try to pull them up by a rope. The secret is each of the pulleys attached to the birds makes it easier or harder to lift the bird. My son insisted that one of the birds was heavier. Then I explained the pulleys and he saw why one seemed much heavier than the others.

On weekends this exhibit will be really crowded (especially at first) but take the opportunity to see some of the other great exhibits. My personal favorite is Connected Worlds, which is basically a virtual waterfall room. It is beautiful and relaxing and simply amazing.

Whenever and wherever you are the New York Hall of Science, you should interact with the staff. They are all very enthusiastic, great with kids and love sharing their love of science. The staff that developed the Angry Birds Universe exhibit, are very clever as they snuck in a lot of science in the fun. Just don’t tell the kids they are learning.

The exhibit runs through August 27, and is free with museum admission. The New York Hall of Science is located at 47-01 111th St, Corona, NY 11368.

Summer 2013 officially started today at 1:04 a.m., New York time, so we ask you to close your eyes and think of the perfect summer day.

Did you think about a trip to the beach? A camping trip where no one suffered bug bites? Maybe it was simply endless hours of climbing trees in the woods or playing ball with friends?

We all have different visions of the perfect summer day and that’s how it should be. However, we can all agree that summer holds a special place in our hearts, first as children and now as parents.

We asked members of our NYC Dads Group to tell us what they wanted to do most with their children this summer to create those memories. Here are their responses. Please add your thoughts and ideas to the comments section.

Togetherness
I imagine that most of us try to recreate those classic summer memories that we so cherish. After all, my kids will love swimming in a freezing cold river in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, right?

Maybe.

Probably not.

As my kids — ages 3 and 1 — get older, I realize that my experiences and memories are just that, mine. Trying to recreate what we enjoyed growing up is not the way to make memories for our kids.

Amazingly enough, I find the best way is to just let those moments happen. We need to allow them to make their own memories. You can do your best to create a perfect vacation, but the most important thing is being together and sharing time away from the normal routine.

So this summer, I’m gonna worry less about big plans and perfection and instead try to enjoy the simple joys of being together. Sharing time with those we love and care about – that’s the perfect summer day.

— Bryan Grossbauer (shown with his family), Red Wagon Stories, @bryangrossbauer

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Set the night on fire
This summer, I’m taking Jake to Philipsburg Manor for “A Night on Fire.” He’s going to stay up past his bedtime to see “A Different Spin to Sleepy Hollow,” a group that mixes comedy, fire and juggling into a choreographed routine. He can’t wait to see “four flame-wielding, fire-eating jugglers” performing a variety of acrobatic stunts.

If he has a great time, which I’m sure he will, I’m taking him back later in the summer for the “Pirates of the Hudson” festival where a crew of boisterous pirates will storm Sleepy Hollow for four days of fun and music.

— Jason Grant, Daddylogue

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Life, finally, is a beach
What I most want to do this summer with my 14-month-old daughter is spend time at the beach. I suffered from gynecomastia (male breast enlargement) from ages 11 through 29 when I had two surgeries to correct it. This condition caused by a hormonal imbalance that contributed to a deep depression. I refused to publicly expose my chest meaning I couldn’t go to the beach without feeling naked despite wearing a shirt.

Not helping matters was the fact that my back looked like a lawn in desperate need of mowing. Following a nervous breakdown, significant therapy, and two years of laser treatment, my depression has slowly abated and my back is finally hairless.

So this summer, I will experience the beach through two new sets of eyes – my daughter’s and my own.

— Lorne Jaffe (shown with his daughter, Sienna), Raising Sienna

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Blind them with science
One of our favorite places to hang out is the New York Hall of Science in Queens.  It’s got an amazing outdoor playground in the back with rope climbing, musical walls, a long slide, lots of water areas and climbing walls. They also time the entries for the playground so it’s never overcrowded.

The Hall also has a separate space-themed mini-golf area that is fun thought it costs extra. There’s also 3-D movies and, of course, lots of “please touch” science exhibits and demonstrations.

The Hall is close to the Queens Zoo (all on the former World Fair grounds in Flushing Meadows by Citi Field. It’s accessible by subway (the 7 train) and they have a big parking lot (paid, unless you are a deluxe family member). Admission is $11 for adults, $8 for kids (ages 2-17)

— Adam Gertsacov, DADapalooza, Digital Family Summit, @dadapalooza

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Make books come to life
This summer we are looking forward to staying in NYC and bringing some of our 3-year-old son’s favorite books to life.

He is obsessed with farms and animals so we will start with Urban Roosts, to learn about fun places where birds build their homes; then we are going to visit a roof top garden like in The Gardener; and we plan to make our own version of ABC NYC.

The options are endless in NYC and any other city!!

— Marty Forth, @marty4th

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Thrill ride into summer
Summer’s arrival in our house has nothing to do with calendars, temperatures or fireworks.

It starts with a steady ascent of anticipation, teases us with a quick dip then throws us a curve before plunging us into the thick of it with a rattling, headlong rush.

Summer comes on the Dragon Coaster.

Unlike many who grew up a short trip from this 84-year-old wood-beamed marvel, I have almost no childhood memories of the rollercoaster or the Playland amusement park that surrounds it in Rye, N.Y. That’s what makes our annual trip there as special to me as to my two children.

On our last ride during the past’s summer’s trip, we reached the peak of the Dragon Coaster just in time to see the sun setting behind the treetops in the west. It filled the sky, and us, with an orange Creamsicle glow — the kind you only truly know when you’re a kid during the summer.

— Kevin McKeever, Always Home and Uncool, @homeanduncool
(those are his kids, Li’l Diva and Excitable)