Spend the holidays in New York. Come home to a quiet street in Newark.

New York in November and December is the version of the city people picture: the parade, the tree, the windows on Fifth Avenue, skating, the ball dropping in Times Square. It is also when Manhattan is at its most crowded and its most expensive, and when a small hotel room fills up with shopping bags and coats by the second night.

We host guests in Newark who come for exactly that. They spend the day in the city and come back to a warm place overlooking the memorial park, with the New York skyline in the background: a whole floor of a house, with two bedrooms, a full kitchen, free parking outside, and a street quiet enough to sleep. This is why it works, and how to do it.

One bus to Times Square

The 107 bus leaves from the park, about a five-minute walk from our door, makes a few quick stops, then runs express to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown. That's one seat, no changes and no stairs with a suitcase. You step out a few blocks from Times Square in 25 minutes or less. Here's our step-by-step guide to the 107.

Heading downtown instead, to the Brooklyn Bridge, the World Trade Center or the Statue of Liberty ferries at the Battery? Take the local bus to Newark Penn Station and the PATH train to World Trade Center, for about five dollars each way. From Newark Penn, NJ Transit trains also reach New York Penn Station in roughly twenty minutes. Our getting-around guide walks you through every step, including the four-minute walk to the first bus.

What to see while you're here

• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday 26 November. Go early: the good spots along the route fill before sunrise.
• The Rockefeller Center tree and rink, lit from early December through the new year.
• The holiday windows on Fifth Avenue, best after dark and on a weeknight.
• The holiday markets, including the winter village and skating in Bryant Park.
• A holiday show at Radio City. Book ahead, because December fills up.
• New Year's Eve in Times Square, or watch it on TV with a warm kitchen and no crowds. We won't judge either choice.

Event dates and times change from year to year, so check the official sites before you plan a day around one.

Why stay in Newark instead of Manhattan

Room for everyone. The apartment is the entire top floor of our house: two bedrooms and three beds, a private bathroom, and a full kitchen. A family visiting for Thanksgiving or friends on a December trip get real space instead of a room with a view of the next room.

A kitchen for the holidays. Cook a proper meal, keep leftovers, make breakfast before the parade. Eating every meal out in Manhattan in December adds up fast.

Driving in? Park for free. There's free street parking on our quiet cul-de-sac. Leave the car and take the bus, because driving and parking in Manhattan in December is nobody's idea of a holiday.

Flying in? The airport is a jump and a skip away, about five minutes to the terminal at Newark Airport. That makes early departures and late arrivals easy, which matters more than usual when holiday flights get moved around.

Hosts on site. We live on the property. If something isn't right, call or text and a person answers, at 11pm on Christmas Eve if need be.

Guests like it here. We're rated 4.74 stars on Airbnb, and most reviews mention the same things: clean, quiet, and an easy trip into the city.

One honest note before you book: it's a third-floor walk-up, with no elevator. Pack accordingly, and tell us if the stairs will be a problem for anyone in your group.

Starting a winter assignment?

Not everyone comes for the parade. If you're a travel nurse or on a work contract starting in November, December or January, the same apartment is available by the month: fully furnished at $2,400 a month with lights, gas and internet included, one month minimum and then month to month. That also fits a 13-week contract. You move in with a suitcase, with owners downstairs who answer the same day.

See the monthly rental details, and read what to check before you sign a 13-week contract. It's the list we'd use ourselves, even if you end up staying somewhere else.

Written by the team at H1 Enterprises, who host guests and furnished monthly stays in Newark, New Jersey.