hi
i'm here in NY and there is a lot for an eight year old to do if you don't mind very cold weather and christmas crowds. Even I stay away and i usually love the city. If you are into museums and shows (broadway, ballet, opera, etc) it is a great place. A nice thing might be to come to NYC then fly to Florida for a few days (a cheap flight usuallY)- do disney world in Orlando instead of Disney Land. Florida is tropical and would be warm that time of year even.
I was never very impressed with L.A.(bland, ugly city), definitely avoid driving to San Diego along the cost from L.A.- big mistake, we learned the hard way. San Diego was nice but more for the weather than anything.
But driving up the coast north of LA is very pretty. I'm not sure about the weather that time of year, but you might want to consider a Northern California trip- i feel it surpasses southern Cal. in natural beauty and you could do Redwood national park.
good luck, have fun
irene
