You may find better prices in December than during Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl weekend. http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/mardi-gras-2013.html
There's always lots going on in New Orleans but January and February are going to be very busy.

Where do you live (as a weather comparison)
I lived in New Orleans for two years; December weather thnds to be mild although on rare occasions it can actually drop below freezing but even if it does it won't be for very long.

The parades for Mardi gras 2013 don't begin until mid-January (there used to be about 80 total in various places leading up to the big ones on the weekend before and to the holiday itself).

Tomfuller's answer is incomplete. When in December are you trying to go? If it is at or near the time for the Sugar Bowl, the city will be mobbed. Similarly, NO fills up for New Year's too.

Weather doesn't usually go below 40 at night, will usually be warmer. Can go 60-70 during the day.

There's plenty of info available on what to do in NO and December isn't a limiting factor - go Googling.

Just returned Sunday night from my first trip to NO and am sorry I waited so long to go, what a great city! One of the first, and best, things I did was take a couple of walking tours by Free Tours on Foot,

http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/neworleans/

We went for 5 days in late October and had a terrific time. We posted a trip report on the forum which might give you some ideas of things to do and restaurant suggestions.

AnnMarie - glad to see you had a terrific trip. New Orleans was great fun, already missing my morning walk for beignets.

I went to New Orleans for the first time in August and we stayed for about 3 days. There is so much to to do in New Orleans. We of course visited Jackson Square, Harrah's Casino and ate a lot. The food is remarkable. The St. Charles Streetcar was out at the time we visited. Not too sure if it is still out but it is something that locals recommended.

Favorite restaurants that we tried:
Eats Restaurant
Crescent City Brewery - Great Food

The website that we visited and got a ton of information from is New Orleans Online, http://www.neworleansonline.com/

You will have a great time!

You could spend about a week-and-a-half or so in NOLA if you wanted to see everything. There's lots to do. See my trip report on food:

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/new-orleans-foof-experience.cfm

and what I saw and did, found towards the end of this itinerary thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/new-orleans-itinerary-184065-2.cfm

Note well that NOLA is one of the top food destinations in the US, and I think this should be instrumental in planning a trip there.

The primary thing to do as a side trip from NOLA is to see the river plantations to the west of the city, but if you're only there for a couple of days, I'd stick to the city.

Should be nice weather cooler but not freezing. If windy can be rather chilly but otherwise seems good time to visit.

Have fun!

I've stayed in a few different vacation rentals in New Orleans over the years, all found on VRBO and one on Craigslist. My advice (beyond all the normal advice about vacation rentals) is to ask someone who knows N.O. about the location. Neighborhoods and safety can change from block to block, so location is really important.

If I was super wealthy I would stay in this luxury penthouse on top of Jax Brewery! So cool! http://www.vrbo.com/241312
If you are spry enough to go up and down a spiral staircase, Down on Dauphine (vrbo # 135448 ) is a jewel box of a property in a great French Quarter location with really nice owners. We've also enjoyed staying uptown, in the CBD, and in the Marigny over the years.

We really love having a kitchen when we head to New Orleans so that we can keep Abita beers cold, store some extra muffelattas for snacking, and dine in at breakfast time with some delicious Cool Brew coffee (a New Orleans product that I wish was sold in my state- concentrated coffee you can mix hot or cold http://coolbrew.com/).

I would recommend at least 4 days, a week if you can swing it! That way you can fit in more delicious meals!

Thanks all for the responses.

This gives me a good feel of the place. We have 9 days that we could spend in NO, but would have preferred going to NO for 4-5 days and doing a side road trip may be from/to NO and spend the rest of the days somewhere else. Any suggestions on any place 2-4 hrs drive away, that is worth visiting?

We'll be traveling from NJ, so would have preferred warm weather for December, but we have not been to NO and have been to Florida way too many times, so we are ok as far as it does not snow in December in N

Also, we were thinking either the week of 12/9 or the week of 12/16.

@BlueSwimmer - If you have more VRBO or vacation rental suggestions, that would be great

Here is a lovely house if you want to stay uptown: http://www.vrbo.com/314058 It is gorgeous and within walking distance of Whole Foods, Audubon Park, and Magazine St (shopping and dining street).

I will say that if it is your first time, you may not want to be uptown (although I love the neighborhood)because most people's view of New Orleans in their imaginations is the look of the French Quarter with the iron lace balconies. You are also closer to all the French Quarter dining, shopping, music clubs, etc. (the Marigny is within walking distance of the quarter for music too).

When we stayed uptown, it was a very different trip. We drove more, walked in Audubon Park every day, and only went to the French Quarter twice- once for late night beignets and once for mufflettas for lunch. Staying uptown was very nice but my husband lived in New Orleans for years so driving the pot-hole filled streets and knowing where it was safe to drive wasn't a problem for us.

If it was my first time, I would want to stay in the French Quarter, or in the Marigny for a funkier, bohemian experience.

There are tons more rentals on VRBO now than when we last went to New Orleans, so there are lots of options and there are also lots of hotels to choose from.

Have a good trip!

Many of the restaurants in the Quarter do a "Reveillion" menu in December. It can be a great way to get a taste of any different dishes for a lower price!

Thanks Blue Swimmer!, As this is our first trip, I'll try to find a vacation rental in French Quarter.

Is a car needed if we do decide to stay in French Quarter, but dont want to be in French Quarter every day of the trip and see other surroundings as well? Are the street cars/trains good enough to travel to nearby attractions from FQ?

You do not need a car to sightsee in NOLA if you're staying in the French Quarter. Streetcars, buses, your own two feet, and the occasional cab are sufficient. I know because I did just that.

Streetcars, for example, will take you to the Garden District, Audubon Park, the art museum, and the major outlying cemeteries (St. Louis #3, Cypress Grove, Greenwood, Metarie), as well as a pleasant walk away from historic residences like Longue Vue and Pitot House from the FQ at its Canal Street end.

You'd only need a car to see the river plantations to the west (or head significantly further afield) -- unless you want to stick just to the Laura and Oak Alley plantations, since you're pretty much guaranteed to find a tour that reliably goes to these two places. That's unfortunately not so true of the other plantations -- note that many companies offering tours have minimums before they'll go out, and some tours on the books with some companies (such as an advertized one that covers Destrehan, San Francisco, and Houmas House which I had hoped to go on) haven't actually happened in years.

When we visited a number of years ago, we drove up to Natchez, MS and stayed a couple of nights, very nice especially if you can get into one of the few restaurants in Natchez Under Hill. We also stayed one night in Baton Rouge.

Thanks everyone for all your inputs. We finally booked our tickets. We reach NOLA on 12/1 and we'll be there till 12/9. We are planning to spend first few days in cajun country - Breux Bridge and then come and spend the rest of the days in French Quarter/Marigny.

I'll look at the trip reports to pick what restaurants/live music events/bars we can go to..

If there are any specific events happening around 12/4-12/9 please do let me know.

We spent four days in New Orleans at the beginning of November. We are not foodies so our trip wasn't about the food it was about the music. We spent three nights in Frenchmen Street, much more jazz music there now than in Bourbon St, which in our view was a good place to miss. We did walk down it at night but very loud, noisy, and crowded.

We also went to Preservation Hall and loved the music there. Had the beignets at Cafe Du Monde, had a muffaletta which I didn't enjoy very much ( too many olives). We also did the Free Tours by Foot walking tour of the Garden District which we thoroughly enjoyed. We stayed about five minutes away from the French Quarter, a bit cheaper than the hotels in the French Quarter itself.

We went several years ago in December and it was fantastic. the Christmas decorations were amazing. Attending a Marsalis performance at the city church was an memorable experience as well. One of the most interesting things we did was to drive out to check out the White Castle (mansion) among others. We spent the night there and had a lovely dinner on the grounds. It is steeped in history. It is staying in a museum. I will never forget those huge windows out front that lifted up from the threshold so you could walk out on the balcony to see the lawns and river bank. I wish we would have been there for the bonfires along the levy. That would have been a interesting thing to see. We stayed in the older hotels in the city for the most part and loved them all. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Thank you for the all the responses and help. We just returned yesterday from New Orleans.

We spent 3 nights in Breaux Bridge and 5 nights in New Orleans. We absolutely loved the food and music the cities had to offer. Not to forget the lovely swamp tour and the Nottoway plantation home that we visited.

So glad we finally saw New Orleans for the first time!