Skip the Black Friday frenzy in stores and online, and do something else besides shopping. These FREE things to do on Black Friday don’t involve shopping, and therefore don’t involve crowds or long check-out lines.
Besides, Black Friday is over-rated since there have been daily holiday deals all month, and there will be more deals next week and through Christmas.
Go to a museum
Several top museums in NYC are FREE on Friday, including MOMA. Get the complete list here.
The National Museum of the American Indian is FREE every day, not just on Friday. The current main exhibit is a knockout show of contemporary art by Native American artists.
The New York Transit Museum’s 16th Annual Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal is up and running. This year’s exhibition features a cityscape backdrop designed by Brooklyn-based artist Josh Cochran. The display showcases vintage model subway cars along with trains by Lionel Metro-North and the Polar Express. Open 6am to 8pm every day, and FREE every day, and who doesn’t love miniature trains.
Central Park’s Arsenal Building is one of those lesser-known gems, with interesting FREE exhibits year-round, focusing on NYC and Central Park history. The current the exhibit “Over Here” commemorates the 100-year anniversary of the United States entering World War I by looking at New York’s monuments to that event. Through vintage and contemporary photographs along with a few original renderings, the collection seeks to convey how communities were affected and how art was used as a response.
Take a hike
Enjoy the crisp autumn weather and the solitude on one of the marked walking trails in 30,000 acres of NYC parks, for FREE. Check these recommendations, one in each NYC borough, from the Urban Park Rangers
Enjoy a FREE scenic hike through Central Park led by the Urban Park Rangers. It starts at the southern end of the park, near Doris C. Freedman Plaza, and ends near the Harlem Meer, 11am to 2pm, although you can drop out at any time. Wear comfortable shoes and bring water.
Clean out your closets
Make room for the new stuff you’ll be buying on sale for yourself or getting as gifts. Donate your gently worn coat to the needy in NYC through the annual New York Cares holiday coat drive.
Grow your family tree
Shake the branches and see what nuts fall out. Ancestry.com has FREE access to some historical databases. I used the site recently to find my maternal grandparents and the name of the ship they came to America on — appropriately, it was the Manhattan.
If you must go shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday , save money with these smart shopping strategies and FREE comparison shopping apps, on sister website ecoXplorer.
What do you think about this? We welcome your comments.