“They’re hee-ere!” cried the little girl in “Poltergeist.” And, yes, so they are: all the relatives and friends you (foolishly) invited to New York for the holidays. They want to be entertained and you want to help, but where do you take them once they’ve seen the tree, the Rockettes, “The Nutcracker” and the windows?
Happily, this city is full of options. Knowing that not everyone marches to the same little drummer, here are some customized suggestions tailored to the holiday-fun seekers on your list.
Family outings
Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” turned 80 this year, and no one’s more excited than Saks Fifth Avenue: Not only are its holiday windows inspired by the film, but its Café SFA is holding special “Snow White” breakfasts. From “Wishing Well” yogurt parfaits to “Heigh-Ho” cupcakes, these 8:30 a.m. affairs feature visits from Dopey, the Snow Prince and Snow White herself. Tickets are $100 per person, which is still cheaper than a flight to Orlando. Dates and tickets at Saks.com/Disney
Feeling tapped out? Wednesdays to Sundays through Jan. 7, the Paley Center is screening family-friendly TV classics starring Charlie Brown, Mr. Magoo and Rudolph — for free. They’ll even treat you to a cup of cocoa. PaleyCenter.org
The artistically inclined
Angels from on high may well have inspired the man behind the Met’s heavenly “Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman & Designer.” Here, on loan from public and private collections, are 133 of his drawings, three marble sculptures and a small-scale re-creation of his Sistine Chapel ceiling. Supersize your visit with a stop at the Met’s Neapolitan crèche, where Christmas music plays softly and cherubs bedeck the 20-foot-tall tree. Don’t miss the Met’s visiting menorah, an elaborately engraved, late-19th-century silver lamp. And, yes, there’s more: Friday at 7 p.m., sing along with David Lang’s “Little Match Girl Passion, Observed,” a holiday tradition. MetMuseum.org
Classic movie buffs
Treat the TCM obsessives in your life to a big-screen presentation of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The Sunday 3:30 p.m. screening at uptown’s United Palace caps a daylong holiday open house, including a theater tour and a reading by Donna Reed’s daughter, Mary Owen, of letters sent to her mother from soldiers just returned from World War II: Bring tissues. $15 at the door, $10 online. 4140 Broadway at 175th Street; UnitedPalace.org
Train-iacs
Every holiday season, two mighty train shows go head to head. The one at the New York Botanical Garden is a (literal) indoor garden of delight: In the cozy confines of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the trains weave through 150 metro-area landmarks, all of them — Grand Central Terminal, Yankee Stadium, a Rockefeller mansion — made entirely of bark, leaves and seeds. NYBG.org/event/holiday-train-show
True to its name, the New-York Historical Society gives us a peek into the past, with hundreds of vintage toy trains roaring through the museum’s first floor, past figurines and models. NYHistory.org
Dickens devotees
It’s a bumper year for “A Christmas Carol,” which Charles Dickens himself read to New York audiences 150 years ago. There are several productions right now, but the favorite for the last five years has been the one in the period-perfect Merchant’s House Museum at 29 E. Fourth St. It’s there, in that 1832 building’s parlor, that actor John Kevin Jones performs “Carol” as Dickens did, reading all the parts himself. Seating’s limited to 40, so reserve your tickets ($25 to $75) asap. SmartTix.com
Thirsty for more? Take the grown-ups to Chelsea’s McKittrick Hotel (530 W. 27th St.) and its rooftop hideaway, the Lodge at Gallow Green, for a Smoking Bishop: a Dickensian concoction featuring port, wine, honey liqueur and allspice ($17). McKittrickHotel.com
R-rated cheer seekers
Bitchy, brash and blasphemous: All that and more has been said about “Oy Vey in a Manger,” a raunchy parody of a holiday show that could make even Scrooge smile (if Scrooge had a modicum of gay sensibility). As created and performed by the Kinsey Sicks, it tackles Jewish-gentile tensions with glee and four-part harmony. Thursdays through Sundays through Dec. 24; tickets $32 and $42. SohoPlayhouse.com