Today our guest is Wendy Perrin, the award-winning Consumer News Editor and blogger at Condé Nast Traveler magazine. As a mom of two boys, she also knows a thing or two about finding kid-friendly fun in her hometown. Here are five of her favorite free activities in the Big Apple:

Boat Pond in Central Park: Kids love watching all the remote-controlled miniature sailboats criss-cross the Boat Pond, one of Central Park’s most charming spots (its official name is Conservatory Water, but nobody calls it that). School-age kids can climb the landmark Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Anderson statues.  You can exercise preschoolers and  toddlers more safely about a ten-minute walk south in my family’s favorite corner of the Park, Billy Johnson Playground (at 67th St. off 5th Ave). It’s so beautifully landscaped that it feels like a rustic garden, with equipment made of white cedar, a spiral granite slide, a stone bridge, and a fountain in summertime.

Battery Park City: Rockefeller Park at the north end of Battery Park City contains a huge, state-of-the-art playground, a sweeping lawn complete with giant outdoor bouncy toys to occupy the kids while the grownups enjoy the majestic river views, a sculpture park filled with whimsical bronze creatures, a parkhouse that loans board games and sports equipment (balls, jump ropes, ping pong paddles); and a yacht marina just a three-minute walk south.

Staten Island Ferry: My kids love the boat ride across New York Harbor and back, with views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the skyscrapers and bridges of lower Manhattan.

F.A.O. Schwartz: Yes, it’s a temple to consumerism, but you can still have a lot of fun there for free. (Of course, you must warn your child before entering that you won’t be buying anything.)  Kids can dance on the giant piano keyboard that lights up in different colors  (the keyboard Tom Hanks famously jumped on in the movie “Big”), watch all sorts of cool toy demonstrations, and cuddle with a menagerie of giant stuffed animals.

Grand Central Terminal: This historic train station is especially festive and kid-friendly during the holiday season. There’s a musical laser light show that lights up the main concourse’s vast starry ceiling, and just off the concourse the New York Transit Museum stages a holiday train show: model trains run through a winter wonderland cityscape complete with a miniature Grand Central and other city landmarks.