Bah Humbug! How to Avoid Christmas in NYC

"New York is peculiarly constructed to absorb almost anything that comes along...without inflicting the event on its inhabitants; so that every event is, in a sense, optional..."

-E.B White

Don't want to experience Christmas? You don't have to. A lesser city may saddle its residents with Chinese food and a movie—here, you are entitled to go about your day more or less untouched by even a hint of holiday cheer, if you so desire.

Here is our suggested itinerary for a great Tuesday off.

Coffee and eggs at Daisy's Diner: This Park Slope mainstay is open 24-hours a day, 365 days a year, meaning you can order a Spanish omelet with a side of orange juice on Christmas, Halloween, Mardi Gras, Leif Erikson Day, Yom Kippur and/or Chinese New Year, and it will taste exactly the same as it did the day before, and the day before that. Comforting, isn't it. Daisy's is located at 452 5th Ave.

Visit the Prospect Park Zoo: Animals can't talk, and therefore have no way of reminding you that it's Christmas and not just normal Tuesday. Escape the world by crawling into the human-sized tunnels in the prairie dog compound, and hide there until zoo staff escort you out at closing time. The Prospect Park Zoo is open from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Click here for ticket information.

Have What She's Having: The world-famous Katz's Deli will be slinging their jaw-dropping pastrami sandwiches into the eager mouths of God's chosen people and gentiles alike. Katz's Deli is located at 205 E. Houston St. and will be open from 8 a.m. until 10:45 p.m.

Exercise Your Mind...: The brand new Museum of Mathematics opened its doors earlier this month, and those same doors will be open on Christmas. Treat your brain to a rigorous intellectual workout while others steep theirs in Christmas Story reruns and inane pseudo-political battles with family members. The Museum of Mathematics is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Click here for ticket information.

...But Not Too Much: With Toto on the jukebox and $4 pours of Jameson, every day is Christmas at Alibi. Drink, shoot pool and be merry with likeminded folks in this no-frills Fort Greene watering hole. Alibi is located at 242 DeKalb Ave.