Holiday advice - NYC

Jan-Feb...kind of the cold time to go there, but anyway, first thing i would recommend---whatever hotel you get, make sure you run it through http://bedbugregistry.com/; NYC had a little epidemic of bed bugs in the past, and even the 5 start hotels got hit.

I used to travel there for business and some of my colleagues who stayed in Manhattan got hit. I used to stay in the hotels in Secaucus (New Jersey) and didn't have a problem, but this was 3 years ago; maybe things have improved, but best to check out the hotels for bed bugs.

Also, I always used trip advisor to look at hotel reviews.
If you go on trip advisor, you will see people who have come up with all types of itineraries. Are you a museum fanatic? A music fanatic? Most likely somebody on trip advisor already came up with best places to go to/see, so maybe start there: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60763-New_York_City_New_York-Vacatio...

Also, a basic primer on nyc or any other city: http://wikitravel.org/en/New_York_City

The wiki usually has updted tips on how to ride the metros, get around on foot, etc.

And finally, one thing I noticed on my last trip to NYC earlier this year, was that a lot of young kids are peddling their music; they come to you put their CD in your hands, and then they demand money.

It happened to me and when I tried to return the CD, the guy wanted money so I just placed the CD on the floor and I walked away; next thing I know the guy is yelling profanities, but luckily for me, there was a cop nearby and I immediately sought help so things didn't escalate.

But I read the wiki on NYC. Plenty of tips on there.