Alison Stewart: This is All Of It. I'm Alison Stewart, live from the WNYC studios in Soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful that you are here on today's show. The Queer Urban Orchestra is here to perform live in Studio 5. And we will hear highlights from our Get Lit with All Of It book club event with author Susan Choi and musician Sarah Kinsley. That's the plan. Let's get this started with some ideas.

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My great colleagues David Furst and Tiffany Hansen will be filling in next week because I've saved up my days and I'm taking a vacation. But not just any vacation. I'm taking a staycation. Last year, around this time of year, it wasn't so great for me. But this year I can enjoy the holiday and this magical time of year. This is where I need your help. What should I do? How should I spend all my free time? Oh, that's so nice to say. All my free time. In the next week, what are your staycation ideas for New York City? Call or text us right now, 212-433-9692. 212-433 WNYC. You can join us on air, or you can text to us at that number. I have in studio with me producer Luke Green, who for some great ideas because he took a few days off last week for his own holiday staycation. Hey, I'm excited to talk to you, Luke.

Luke Green: Alison, I'm excited to be your happy pre staycation and also I'm a little jealous that you might be getting some snow to kick off a staycation.

Alison Stewart: I'm so happy about that. How did you end up a staycation?

Luke Green: Well, like you, I needed to take some vacation days to fill the quota every year to reach the cap. I didn't necessarily want to plane travel or do anything because the planning time that would have happened was around the shutdown and things were a little crazy then. I was like, you know what, it's the holidays. I love New York in the wintertime, specifically around the holiday season. So maybe I'll just take Thursday and Friday off, which was last week, and just make a little long weekend out of just enjoying being here, taking time off as it's nice to feel, you get deep breath a little bit, shoulders drop. That's what I did.

Alison Stewart: As someone who has taken a staycation, what are the benefits of taking a staycation?

Luke Green: Well, as I said, I'm not someone who really loves plane travel or long distance travel. I'm a bit on a taller side. Plane travel in economy

Alison Stewart: You're six' four.

Luke Green: Yes.

Alison Stewart: You're big.

Luke Green: It can be a little tight in the seats, so that's not exactly pleasant. I think I get from my parents a bit of like anxious traveling. Sorry, mom and dad. I like to just be still, be present and just enjoy the space, relax. I would say the benefits of a staycation is you don't have to worry about any of that. You already live in the place that you know and you can just pick things that you've always wanted to do, but in your usual day to day routine, we know how it is. You work, you get home, you don't want to do anything. You just want to sit on the couch. You actually have the time to enjoy the places, make that list of things you've always wanted to do and go and do it.

Alison Stewart: New York, what makes New York specifically such a great place?

Luke Green: Well, we all know it's like the best place to live. We already know that, that's why we're here. I would say is that there's so many different corners of the city like you hear about on this show. There's so much to do all the time. But because we're working our 9:00 to 5:00s, it's hard to find that time. When you're taking a staycation in New York, you can almost switch your frame of mind and think, okay, let me just pretend that I'm not living my 9:00 to 5:00 here and just act like I'm here for the first time, or at least I have time to enjoy the city and see it in a new way and go to corners of the city or different neighborhoods or different boroughs that you might not usually get to do in your daily routine.

Actually, a fun example of this, I took another staycation in October and I biked to Flushing Meadows for the first time. I saw the Unisphere. I went to see the panorama at the Queens Museum. Like these are things that I just probably wouldn't have done if I didn't have that extra few days. Especially during the weekday when there's less crowds, you can take advantage of the sunlight that I couldn't be able to do if I was in this office building.

Alison Stewart: What were your big ideas? How did you plan your staycation?

Luke Green: I would say, well, first of all, I planned it with my girlfriend and I, so we tried to plan it, as I said, doing things that we wouldn't normally get to do. Also, I would also say that embrace the holiday season of the city. Now, I know it gets a bad rap where it's like, oh, there's tons of crowds. It's cliche. Like, who would want to go to see the Rockefeller tree? I understand that. But also, I think as just someone who loves getting into the spirit of the holiday season, it's one of my favorite times of year, especially in the city, actually, just embracing it and just diving right into all the cliches, I think actually could be kind of fun and a good way to switch your frame of mind to sort of being bummed out by being dark early all the time and just [crosstalk].

Alison Stewart: So dark so early.

Luke Green: I know it gets really dark, but if you take a staycation, you have the whole day.

Alison Stewart: That's true.

Luke Green: You can take advantage of that sunlight in a way that you can't do if you're working. You can take your time, get out of bed at 9:00 or 10:00 and still have like three hours to do all the stuff that you want to do. Then when it gets dark out, you can hibernate a little or do something else.

Alison Stewart: All right. You saw some Christmas trees. Talk about staying in the spirit.

Luke Green: Oh, yes, I did. Last Thursday, my girlfriend and I, we tried to challenge ourselves to see if we could see the most amount of trees as possible via walking. We started around Central Park, walked around there, and then walked down fifth Avenue, do all like the window shopping and stuff like that. Ended up at the Rockefeller tree, which actually I realized I had never been to before. It's something that just feels like you know, but you actually going there in-person, you're like, oh, yes, wait, I haven't been here before. It's turns out it's a really big tree. It was really nice, and it was the day after. It had just been lit with the whole NBC special, so that was fun to be there. Then we continued down, every store has its own tree. We saw the Bryant Park tree. We didn't go into the Bryant Park Market because even during the day, that place is just crazy. I'm not going to lie.

Alison Stewart: It's very busy.

Luke Green: It's fun. It's just so busy. We saw the tree from afar, and then we continued down to 14th street to the Union Square Holiday Market, and then finished downtown. A lot of trees.

Alison Stewart: Lot of trees.

Luke Green: It was a fun challenge.

Alison Stewart: Let's take a couple calls. Vicky in Tudor City. Hi, Vicky. Thanks for calling All Of It. Where should I go?

Vicky: Oh, Alison, you cannot miss the Monet exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.

Luke Green: Yes.

Vicky: Now, I know from Manhattanites it's a little daunting to go to Brooklyn, but it's a quick trip on the four, and you switch to the two or the three, and it leaves you right in front of the museum. These paintings, Monet and Venice, were painted at the suggestion of Monet's wife because he was stuck doing the water lilies. She said, "Let's take a vacation and go to Venice." When he was there, he didn't want to paint Venice, but he did anyway. Then when he went back to Giverny, he finished his water lilies in two or three different iterations.

Alison Stewart: Thank you.

Vicky: It's very exciting. There's also-- I'm sorry to interrupt you. There's also a photograph exhibit by-- I'm going to say his name improperly. Seydou Keïta.

Alison Stewart: Yes.

Vicky: The African photographer. The fascinating, unbelievably interesting photographs from the '40s in Africa.

Alison Stewart: Thank you so much, Vicky.

Luke Green: I've actually been to that Monet and Venice exhibit because we covered it on this show and I saw it in-person. I agree, it is a very, very cool thing to see. Vicky is right, that that vacation that Monet took to Venice unlocked his whole era that we consider now to be very famous. Definitely recommend that as well. Museums are a great opportunity this time of year.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Terry, who's calling from Manhattan. Hi, Terry. Thanks for calling, All Of It.

Terry: Hi, how're you doing? I'm going to give you four things. Rapid fire.

Alison Stewart: Okay, let's do it.

Terry: One. Okay, go see the Neapolitan Crèche at the Met Museum. If you've never done that. Go up to the ground to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, see the light show, which is lovely. Go up to the New York Botanical Garden and see the train show, which is not really about the trains, but which is about wonderful models of about 200 buildings in New York. The last one, take a walk around Gramercy Park and go back to the 19th century, and many of the brownstones are decorated. There is a tree in Gramercy Park. It's very lovely.

Alison Stewart: That's a good idea. Then go have a drink at. Is it Pete's Tavernright over there?

Luke Green: Yes. You Know it. That's a good idea. I love the holiday train show at the botanical Garden. So fun. He's right. It's more about-- The trains are really cool, but also the models of the whole city itself is also very inspiring and neat.

Alison Stewart: I have a question for you, and I don't know if you're expecting this or not. When I go on staycation, I have to keep myself from doing things that I'm supposed to be doing at my home. Cleaning this closet, changing out my clothing from winter to summer. How do I stop myself from doing that?

Luke Green: I go back and forth on that. Because one, having the time on a staycation to actually do those things could actually make your life easier in the future and actually feel good that you just give yourself like a cleaning day, you throw on some music and you actually get all the things done.

Alison Stewart: Because I do have one day I have to be home because handyman's coming.

Luke Green: Right. So maybe you could treat that day as like, okay, everything. This day I'm just going to get everything done. I'm going to do all my cleaning, I'm going to do all my organizing, all my fashion shifting, all that kinds of stuff. Maybe that would be something to think about. Then also you want to treat it like it's a vacation. You want to treat it like it's something new. I don't know, I would say maybe just wake up one day or pick one day, just you're going to do the cleaning that day and otherwise don't even think about it. Like, tell yourself, even if you get that inkling to like I got to do something, I got to do this. Just put it to the side, let it go and just deal with it. Because think about this, you're also going to have some time off for Christmas and New Year's.

Alison Stewart: Yes.

Luke Green: I guess you don't want to be doing that work then either. But things might be slowing down a bit more. There might be less plans after work that can be the time to do that kind of stuff.

Alison Stewart: The voice you are hearing is All Of It. Producer Luke Green, he took a few days off last week for his own staycation. He's giving me his recommendations. We want you to give me recommendations as to what should I do in the city to enjoy this holiday season. Do you have any good ideas? Places I should go, neighborhoods I should check out? The number is 212-433-9692 212-433 WNYC. Should I go to-- I should go to Marilyn. Let's go to Marilyn. Hi, Marilyn, thanks for calling All Of It.

Marilyn: My great pleasure, Alison. I believe I have the perfect activity during the cozy night for after your day of cleaning. It's going to going to a bar Lunatico in bed style. Have you ever been there by any chance?

Alison Stewart: I haven't.

Luke Green: She's writing it down.

Marilyn: It's a fabulous little spot with live music, different kinds of live music every single night from different parts of the world. It's cozy, it's perfect for winter. It has two shows per evening, 9:00 and 11:00. My MO there is get there before 7:00 so you can sit down and have dinner with your friend, catch up, order the wonderful food they serve mostly from green markets, and then enjoy the nine o'clock show and shake a leg because that's what almost always happens at Bardonasico's concert.

Luke Green: Marilyn knows how to have fun.

Alison Stewart: That sounds like a good time. Thank you, Marilyn. This says, "Alison, for your staycation, I'm recommending an app called Friend in Store that will guide you to all the best independent shops around the cities and their events. There are tons of holiday crafting workshops and, of course, just plain amazing holiday shopping. Enjoy and relax. Thank you very much. This says head to Roosevelt Island on the tram. Walk south for Four Freedoms Park, then walk back and catch the free red bus that goes around the island. Yes, there's a Starbucks there."

This says, "The Bronx Botanical Garden. A goal I have Bronx and Brooklyn over two or three days. Garden hikes. It's a wonderful time in the winter when you can see "naked" beauty of the trees and birds nests. Thanks once again." Okay, Luke, you're recommending a movie night?

Luke Green: Yes, yes. This was something that was particularly important to my girlfriend and me, I think-

Alison Stewart: To my girlfriend.

Alison Stewart: Well, like a Christmas.

Luke Green: Christmas movie. We wanted to watch a Christmas movie, which I think is nice for this time of year. She had one in mind specifically that I had not seen in many years, and I'm going to age myself here, but we watched the Chronicles of Narnia came out in 2005, which was right in our wheelhouse of growing up. She said it was a Christmas movie. I was like, "I don't remember Christmas being in that movie at all, other than that it was snow and it was British." For some reason, that combination makes it feel like a Christmas movie. It turns out Santa Claus is in that movie for about one scene, for about three minutes. It qualifies as a Christmas movie. It was very fun.

We're talking about being cozy during a staycation. You want to be comfortable. It gets dark out, it's really cold right now. It could snow into Sunday. What better way to kick off your staycation than on a Sunday night getting cozy, throwing on some jammies, getting the Christmas movie going, any kind of option. Elf, Polar Express, Miracle on 34th Street, and making yourself like a warm beverage and just getting in the spirit and watching the Christmas movie, because I think that is a great way to kick off the staycation. Enjoy the season in a way that, as we talked about, still encourages some relaxation, some needed R and R.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Andrew, who's calling in from Westchester. Hi, Andrew. Thanks for taking the time to call All Of It.

Andrew: Hi, Alison. Good to speak with you. This maybe is not so directly Christmassy, but my suggestion is have lunch at Azara Kitchenup in Harlem, just north of Sylvia's. Have the chicken soup. It's delicious. Then an afternoon at the Studio Museum in Harlem. The collection is amazing, and the new building is just stunning.

Alison Stewart: Actually, I got my tickets for Sunday to go to the studio museum. So I'll go.

Luke Green: You're going?

Alison Stewart: Yes. I'll go to the place you mentioned. What was it called again, Andrew? Oops, we lost him. Oh, we lost him. Okay, somebody write that down. Somebody go back and listen to this segment. Oh, by the way, there'll be transcripts for this segment. I'll be able to [crosstalk]-

Luke Green: Yes, all of this information will be on transcripts on our website.

Alison Stewart: It was a Zara Kitchen. Thanks for the tip. We are taking your recommendations for my staycation. All Of It producer Luke Green is here to help. We'll talk about gift shopping and hobbies and take more of your calls after a quick break. This is All Of It.

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You're listening to All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart and guess what? I'm taking next week off and I'm for a staycation and I want your ideas about what I should do. All Of It producer Luke Green, who took a few days off last week for his own New York staycation, is in studio with me giving me ideas, but I want to hear yours as well. What should I do in the city to enjoy the holiday season? 212 433-9692., 212-433. WNYC. I like to get things done. You know that about me and holiday shopping. It's a fun way, a fun thing you could do, but you do get things done. How do I embrace my staycationness and also getting the shopping done?

Luke Green: Yes, well, I'm someone who gets very stressed about holiday shopping because especially last minute holiday shopping, I get the ick thinking about that of just like having to rush around to the stores not knowing what to get people. As soon as thanksgiving ends, I will usually make a notes app of all my family members and friends potentially who I want to get a gift for. And I'll just write ideas down. I will spend the next few weeks trying to think of good ideas. But I find in working on the show on a daily basis, trying to maintain social life, just all the normal things, it's really easy to just let gifts go to the back of your head and all of a sudden it's December 23rd, Christmas Eve, and you're like, "Oh, my God, I don't have a present for my mom."

I think that during a staycation, you actually have the time to think about gift ideas for people more thoughtfully. You also have the time to just go out in the city and just walk along the streets and see if you run into any good shops. We've been doing this all month with the locavore, thinking about small businesses that you can support, not only does it feel good for you, but then it also makes you feel like you're going out and supporting and thinking of actually unique gift ideas that a friend or a family member will like. Having that time, I find allows for more space to just actually think of good ideas instead of just running into a store and just trying to pull something off the shelf.

Alison Stewart: It's so funny that I do want to go to this one store. I want to go to Printemps downin Lower Manhattan. It's a French store, and they have like a skating rink inside. That's my fully bougie of me. I know.

Luke Green: Well, hey, there you go.

Alison Stewart: But I really want to go.

Luke Green: [crosstalk] Think about this for a staycation. You are not paying for air travel or any other kinds of travel. You're not paying for if you're traveling someplace like a hotel or airbnb. Maybe you can put yourself in the mindset that because I'm taking this staycation, I'm not paying for travel, I can actually spend a little more and treat myself on this staycation because I'm saving in other ways by not jetting off somewhere. I think you should go and do it and take pictures, and put it on Instagram, and we'll see it at some point.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Randy and Hastings on Hudson. Hi, Randy, thanks for calling All Of It.

Randy: Hello, thank you for taking my call.

Alison Stewart: Where should I go?

Randy: Well, look, in this time when immigration is not just in the news but seems to be in our faces every day, I think you should take an afternoon and go out to Ellis Island in December. It's probably going to be pretty empty of tourists and I would like really bundle up for the boat ride out there.

Luke Green: Oh, yes.

Randy: The rangers who are there are fantastic and they will tell you stories that will just break your heart about the people who came and made this city, the city that we love right now.

Alison Stewart: Thank you, Randy. It's so important what you're talking about. I walked-- Oh. At Emma Lazarus house. I walk by there regularly and it makes me think of Ellis Island and all that immigration brings to our country.

Luke Green: Absolutely. That's a great idea.

Alison Stewart: Thank you, Randy. Also, Martin calling in from the Bronx. Hi, Martin, thanks for calling All Of It.

Martin: Oh, happy holidays to all of you. Alison, I haven't spoken to you for a while. I thought, what can I do for Alison to make her feel like she's getting away even though she's not getting away? I'm sending you to JFK Airport to have a cocktail on a 1950s plane, run by TWA or the lounge, the Paris Cafe, which is a sunken lounge run by Jean-Georges. That could be an exciting afternoon.

Alison Stewart: Ooh, that is a fun one. That's one I've been meaning to do as well.

Luke Green: You gotta get out there.

Alison Stewart: Love that suggestion. Thanks, Martin. Also, Jeff is calling in from Astoria. Hi, Jeff.

Jeff: Hi. Good afternoon to both of you. I would say that there have been a lot of wonderful ideas, but I'm going to be a bit of a contrarian. Say that usually when you go away whether it's to the beach or someplace like Paris or London, you want to get up and go and do and you don't want to miss out. The beauty of a staycation is that while there are all of these wonderful places and things to do and see in New York City, most if not all of them will also be here tomorrow. This is a very long winded way of saying you should take one day and you should sleep in for as long as you possibly can, and just do nothing and lounge and not feel bad about lounging and not getting out of bed till 10 or 11 o'clock.

Then, as was suggested, you combine that with like a movie night. If you spend the whole day, literally or figuratively, in bed or in your pajamas, that's what you should do. You should recharge, relax and not worry about missing out on anything because you haven't missed on anything. You've just been. You've just chilled and relaxed. I think that to me, that's the beauty of a staycation. My partner and I, we're going to go away around New Year's to the same place, same area that we've been going to for years. We know it like the back of our hand. One of the reasons why we go there is because we know it like the back of our hand. We've been there, done that, and what we do is we just chill and relax.

Luke Green: Ah, Jeff, you're speaking my language.

Alison Stewart: Thank you, Jeff. This says, "The Bronx Documentary center currently has an oral history exhibit on the diversity of Texas in the 21st century." Another texter said, "South Street Seaport. I know, but charming cobblestones, a beautiful tree, a few fun shops, and then the tin building is super festive for a glass of bubbles and oysters. Person knows me well. You like to bake?

Luke Green: Yes, yes, I do like to bake. In fact, I was-

Alison Stewart: Go ahead, say it. Go ahead, go ahead.

Luke Green: Everyone in the building knows that I was the WNYC 9th Floor Cookie Contest champion last year, the inaugural contest. How that happened, I don't know, but now I have this baking reputation. Yes.

Alison Stewart: All right, so how much cooking and baking did you do on your vacation?

Luke Green: I wanted to do more than I actually did. I think because it was a staycation, we tried to maybe go out a little more than we usually did.

Alison Stewart: Did you go to any new restaurants, anything you like?

Luke Green: Yes, we went to a few, actually. We went to a few. I can give you a few recommendations of what I did. There's this current restaurant that just opened on the East Village, Lower east side, Kabawa. We went to the adjacent bar because Kabawa's it's kind of fancy, very expensive, hard to get into, but they have a bar next door that has good music, good vibes, good drinks, and it was really fun. That's what I recommend there. There's also a place in Fort Greene if you like, a burrito. Because I have seen these lines going like around the corner for weeks. I'm like, "What is this place?" It's all for burritos. It's called Los Burritos Juarez. We went on a Friday at like 1:00, no line.

Alison Stewart: Perfect.

Luke Green: They were extremely good.

Alison Stewart: That's the good part about a staycation.

Luke Green: You can make the reservation or you can go to that place that you've always wanted to go to, but you can go in like a Thursday at noon or a Friday at like 3:00 PM when no one's there and you just walk right in.

Alison Stewart: You can avoid the big dumb line, they say.

Luke Green: Right, right. Avoid the big dumb line. But still enjoy all the spoils that one can get while waiting in the big dumb line.

Alison Stewart: This says, "Highly recommend the news later. Nonsense NYC, which has lots of fun, offbeat, arty things going on in the city." This says, "Tuba Christmas is this Sunday at the Rockefeller Tree. Great day with over 150 tubas playing Christmas carols under the tree." That sounds good. Let's talk to Sonya in Forest Hills. Hi, Sonya, thank you so much for making it time. Hi.

Sonya: Hi, I would like you to consider Astoria and Queens for a day. In Astoria, of course, there's Socrates Park, Noguchi Magazine Museum, and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Center, and Rockaway Beach. See you there. Take care.

Alison Stewart: Thanks so much for calling. Let's talk to-- I think it's Braha on the Upper West Side.

Braha: Hi, it's Braha. Yes, I highly recommend the Smithsonian's Museum of American Indian at Battery Park. It is free. There is a new exhibit that just opened after two years of the space being closed. It's marvelous creations in glass from Native American nations. The gift shop is lovely. While I was on hold, I also recommend at YIVO, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is having a klezmer festival and Yiddish festival. On Sunday, December 21st at three o'clock, Frank, marvelous klezmer trumpeter, is playing with his band. Light the lights and be well, everyone. Safe peace in the world.

Alison Stewart: Peace in the world to you as well. Thank you so much for calling. Nina from Manhattan. Nina. Hey, what's going on?

Nina: Hi. Happy holidays. How about you get on the ferry from the east side and head over to Green Point, Brooklyn? There's a gorgeous street with old, old homes that get decorated really beautifully. It's called Milton Street between Franklin Avenue and Manhattan Avenue. On Franklin, they have a bunch of cute little stores you can shop at. Then go for some traditional Eastern European food like pickle soup and borscht and pierogies, and all that stuff at Karczma, K-A-R-C-Z-M-A. Then there's a beautiful church called Saint Alphonsus and some gorgeous Polish stores that sell a lot of wonderful Christmas toys and decorations.

Alison Stewart: Awesome. Let's take one more call. Eddie from Astoria. Hi, Eddie.

Eddie: Hi, thank you for taking my call. I would like to recommend to go to the Buena Vista Social Club Broadway show, which I'm part of. I'm the trombonist show. If you go on Sunday, then you don't have enough Cuban music. You could also go to Radegast Hall in Williamsburg, which I'm also playing with my band. I also play the violin and sing there. You could plan it around that.

Alison Stewart: All right. We're planning a day around, Eddie.

Luke Green: Absolutely, Eddie.

Alison Stewart: Eddie, thanks for calling in by the way. We really like that. One last thing on your list I have to ask about. It says Stew Leonard's. Stew Leonard's.

Luke Green: Shout out all my tri state area folks. On Sunday, I was at my girlfriend's house or parents' house in Westchester, and they needed a Christmas tree. They said, "We're going to Stu Leonard's." I was like, "What's that?" Outing myself had never been to Stu Leonard's, and we went to the Yonkers Stu Leonard's and we went up this hill, and I felt like I was going to the North Pole. You get there and there's like a million workers with all these trees. There's ice cream, there's like free samples, everything. It was so fun.

I know everyone already knows what Stew Leonard's is, but I'm saying if you live near one, you're in the tri-state area, and you want a good time or you want to get some Christmas trees, or whatever. You want to have just like Christmas fun and just go crazy with all the food and free samples. I guarantee you that you will have a fun staycation day by just walking around Stu Leonard's and having the best time ever, and getting some ice cream. That's exactly what I did, and it was great. So can't recommend it enough.

Alison Stewart: All Of It producer, Luke Green. Luke, thank you for all the recommendations.

Luke Green: Thank you. Happy staycation. One more segment and then you're. You got the week.

Alison Stewart: And also thanks to all of our callers who called in. I really appreciate it.