New York City lights up for the holidays like nowhere else on earth.
Here’s your calendar and guide to the best NYC holiday tree and Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremonies, vintage subway rides, Kwanzaa celebrations and more, including FREE Selfies with Santa.
Enjoy NYC on the cheap with these FREE and family-friendly 2023 holiday events.
If you want to spend a lot of money to celebrate the holidays in the greatest city on the planet, you’ll have to find those things on another website.
Keep checking back, since we are adding more events as we receive them.
See Also
NYC Calendar of FREE December Events
Ride a Vintage NYC Subway Train
The popular New York Transit Museum’s Holiday Nostalgia Rides returns again to ride another season.
Every Sunday between Thanksgiving and Christmas, anybody with the price of a subway ride ($2.90, even less if you have a discount such as a weekly pass) can take a trip on on old-school NYC subway trains used in the 1930s.
Again this year, the MTA Nostalgia Rides features the subway system’s old R1/9 train cars, which were in service on the Eighth Avenue line (today’s A/C/E line) until 1977, with rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, roll signs, and period advertisements.
In 2024, the vintage trains are operating between 2nd Avenue – Houston Street on the uptown F line and 96th Street – 2nd Avenue on the Q line.
Catch the vintage train between 10am and 5pm on Sunday, December 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th.
Don’t miss your chance to travel through time – for just the cost of a MetroCard swipe or OMNY tap!
Schedule
The Holiday Nostalgia Train departs from the 2nd Avenue – Houston Street on the uptown F line in lower Manhattan at:
- 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm
The Holiday Nostalgia Train departs from the 96th Street – 2nd Avenue on the Q line at:
- 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm
Route
The Holiday Nostalgia Train will operate between 2nd Avenue – Houston Street on the uptown F line platform and 96th Street – 2nd Avenue on the Q line. Passengers can board the train at any of the stations below.
Uptown Stops:
- 2nd Avenue – Houston Street (F)
- Broadway – Lafayette Street (D, 6)
- West 4th Street – Washington Square (A/C/E, D/F)
- 34th Street – Herald Square (D/F, N/Q/R)
- 42nd Street – Bryant Park (A/C/E, D/F, N/Q/R, S, 7)
- 47th – 50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (D/F)
- 57th Street – 6th Avenue (F)
- Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street (F, Q)
- 72nd Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)
- 86th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)
- 96th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)
Downtown Stops:
- 96th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)
- 86th Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)
- 72nd Street – 2nd Avenue (Q)
- Lexington Avenue – 63rd Street (F, Q)
- 57th Street – 6th Avenue (F)
- 47th – 50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (D/F)
- 42nd Street – Bryant Park (A/C/E, D/F, N/Q/R, S, 7)
- 34th Street – Herald Square (D/F, N/Q/R)
- West 4th Street – Washington Square (A/C/E, D/F)
- Broadway – Lafayette Street (D, 6)
- 2nd Avenue – Houston Street (F)
See the Original Dickens Christmas Carol Manuscript
“Come in, come in! and know me better, man!” A Christmas Carol is back on view at the Morgan Library and Museum.
Every holiday season, the Morgan displays Charles Dickens’s original manuscript of A Christmas Carol in J. Pierpont Morgan’s Library.
Dickens wrote his iconic tale in a six-week flurry of activity beginning in October 1843 and ending in time for Christmas publication. He had the manuscript bound in red goatskin leather as a gift for his solicitor, Thomas Mitton. The manuscript then passed through several owners before Pierpont Morgan acquired it in the 1890s.
Beginning a few years ago, the Morgan started advancing the Christmas Carol manuscript by one page each season.
This year’s passage finds Scrooge alone, having sent away the charity canvassers and reluctantly giving Bob Cratchit Christmas day off. While Bob dashes off for parlor games at home in Camden Town, Scrooge leaves the office “with a growl” and “took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern.” To characterize Scrooge’s own residence, described as “a gloomy suite of rooms in a lowering pile of building up a yard where it had so little business to be,” Dickens uses a surprising metaphor of play: “one could scarcely help fancying it must have run there, when it was a young house, playing at hide and seek with other houses; and have forgotten the way out again.” The darkness and fog enveloping Scrooge’s home instill a foreboding mood in the scene, as does the narrator’s assurance to the reader that “there was nothing at all particular about the knocker on the door.” Marley’s arrival is imminent.
- Free with museum admission
- The Christmas Carol manuscript is on view in the West Room
- Through January 5th
NYC Transit Museum Holiday Train Show
The museum’s popular FREE holiday train show is back at Grand Central Terminal
It’s a city within a city, with the display of a miniature electric railroad running over, through, and beneath some of New York’s most magnificent landmarks.
Celebrating its 20th year of operation, this beloved holiday exhibit features Lionel model trains traveling along a 34’ long, two-level, “O” gauge model train layout.
Departing from a miniature replica of Grand Central Terminal, the Transit Museum’s collection of model trains including Metro-North, Polar Express, and vintage subway train sets will dazzle both children and adults alike as they make their way past New York landmarks and on to the North Pole.
- Daily, through February 2025
- FREE, but reservations are recommended to manage the space.
Photo: moongarden
moonGARDEN Lantern Display at the Seaport
The internationally acclaimed art installation moonGARDEN, is set to make its debut at the Seaport – the first time the larger than life lantern display has been installed in New York City.
The hypnotic animations invite reflection on belonging and inclusivity as you wander through a mesmerizing light show blended with art, mathematics, and memory.
- FREE, open daily through early January.
Photo: Hudson Yards
Shine On at Hudson Yards
Two million twinkling white lights adorn Hudson Yards for the shopping center’s fifth annual holiday display.
This year’s seasonal illumination includes 115 miles of string lights, 725 evergreen trees dressed to create a gleaming forest, 16-foot tall illuminated hot air balloon decorations and a massive 32-foot hot air balloon centerpiece suspended in The Great Room of The Shops & Restaurants.
There also are plenty of free photo opportunities, chances to visit Santa and stores to shop for everyone on your list.
- FREE, through January 5, 2025.
The Shops at Columbus Circle
Dozens of huge faceted stars suspended from the atrium change their colors every few moments in a mesmerizing light show display.
- FREE, through January 5, 2025
FREE Notre Dame de Paris Exhibit
Can’t get to Paris to visit the newly re-opened Notre Dame Cathedral? No worries. Experience an extraordinary union of history and technology at Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
It is a FREE and on a vivid journey through 850 years of Notre-Dame’s remarkable history, brought to life through cutting-edge augmented reality.
Guided by illuminated photo panels and 3-D models of Notre-Dame—including a full-size chimera—visitors use a HistoPad™, an interactive touch-screen tablet developed by Histovery, to step back in time to medieval Paris where they will meet stonemasons, craftsmen, and builders.
From there they move forward through time where they will see the construction of the Gothic Choir in 1180, the arrival of the Holy Crown carried by Saint Louis in 1241, the coronation of Emperor Napoleon I in 1804, and the addition of the iconic Viollet-le-Duc spire in 1859, and witness Notre-Dame’s miraculous survival and restoration from the 2019 fire that shocked the world as the exhibit shows history unfold in real-time.
Throughout the exhibition visitors can scroll through a timeline of Notre-Dame’s construction history and select options on each screen for more detail. Current restoration is a major focus of the exhibition and using the HistoPad visitors will see modern-day experts and master craftspeople in action to rebuild and restore Notre-Dame.
- Timed reservations are required. Register here.
- Cathedral of St. John the Divine s at 112th St. and Amsterdam Ave, on the Upper West Side.
- FREE, Through Jan. 31, 2025
Holiday Trees and Lighting Ceremonies
Origami Holiday Tree at AMNH
Opens Monday, Nov. 25 – With a nod to turning the calendar page on the 2024 leap year, this holiday season’s 13-foot tree, Jumping for Joy, celebrates the many animals with a particular prowess that sets them apart—hopping, pouncing, leaping!
Among the more than 1,000 origami pieces decorating the tree will be intricately designed models of rabbits, kangaroos, grasshoppers, frogs, squirrels, porpoises, whales, the newly discovered leaping leech, and cicadas, two broods of which emerged together this year for the first time since 1803.
Also on display will be models depicting iconic Museum exhibits like the Blue Whale and Tyrannosaurus rex.
Produced in partnership with OrigamiUSA, the Origami Holiday Tree is delightfully decorated with hand-folded paper models created by local, national, and international origami artists.
- FREE with museum admission.
- In the Ellen V. Futter Gallery on the first floor gallery adjacent to the 77th St. entrance.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Opens Tuesday, Nov. 26th – The magnificently lit, 20-foot blue spruce looms over a vivid 18th-century Neapolitan Nativity scene, surrounded by an array of lifelike figures with silk-robed angels hovering above.
Find it in front of the 18th-century Spanish choir screen from the Cathedral of Valladolid in the Museum’s Medieval Sculpture Hall.
- FREE with museum admission
FREE Central Park Wreath Display
December 5, 2024 – January 2, 2025 – An annual tradition since 1982, Wreath Interpretations returns for its 42nd year with over 30 novel wreaths by local artists. Wreaths are selected for their unconventional interpretations of the classic holiday symbol and often use unusual materials.
They include wreaths made of materials such as aluminum, brass, copper, aqua resin, and acrylic as well as other items like alarm clocks, faux fireworks, confetti, pens and paint brushes, money, and much more. The wreaths explore a wide range of themes, including the pharmaceutical industry, cultural heritage, post-modernism, NYC Parks’ lifeguard recruitment campaign, and one that is an ode to the famous blue-and-whiteNYC coffee cup, aka the Anthora cup, is an iconic image introduced in the 1960s during a wave of Greek immigrants in the diner and coffee shop businesses.
For more information, visit nyc.gov/parks/art. Groups of five or more people can call 212-360-8114 or email artandantiquities@parks.nyc.gov to pre-register.
- FREE at the Central Park Arsenal Gallery, Fifth Ave. & 64th Street, 3rd floor.
2024 Dyker Heights Holiday Lights
This Brooklyn community is famous for its blocks and blocks of brightly decorated homes on the blocks from 11th to 13th Avenues (also known as Dyker Heights Blvd) from 83rd to 86th St.
The lights are turned on around Thanksgiving and stay on until a New Year’s Eve.
You can get there by NYC subway and walk around on your own.
- Take the D Train to 79th St and New Utrecht Ave, Brooklyn. Then, it’s a 15-minute walk to the houses, so wear comfortable shoes.
- This is a residential neighborhood, so there are no public bathrooms, and because of the crowds, driving and parking is not recommended. .
If you decide to take one of the organized bus and walking tours, be sure to book with Dyker Heights Christmas Lights,
This is a a tourism company created by residents of Dyker Heights with local guides, which supports the community instead of a for-profit tour business. You get picked up at Bryant Park and chaperoned by a knowledgeable local.
Now That The Trees are Lit,
Here’s Where to Find Them
There’s a long list of FREE tree lighting ceremonies, in all five boroughs. We are listing them in calendar order, by borough. Manhattan first. Dress warmly.
All-American Christmas Tree Lighting
Friday, Nov. 22 at 5pm – FOX News Media presents its fifth annual “All-American Christmas Tree Lighting” during a special edition of The Five.
Co-hosts Harold Ford Jr., Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Judge Jeanine Pirro, Jessica Tarlov and Jesse Watters will light the tree outside the network’s New York City headquarters along with a live performance from American singer songwriter Gavin DeGraw. Standing at 50 feet tall, it is decorated with 18,000 ornaments and 340,000 warm white, true white and red lights.
- FOX Square, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York
The Seaport Holiday Tree Lighting
Tuesday, Dec. 3, 3pm to 7pm – This year’s Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony is a celebration of community, music, and holiday cheer. The festivities begin at 3 pm with Maum Market, where you can shop a pop-up of holiday finds while a live DJ spins festive tunes. From 6-7 pm, enjoy lively performances and surprise appearances.
The evening builds to a countdown to light the tree at 7 pm, illuminating Seaport Square for the holiday season.
- Seaport Square, Between Pier 16 & 17, Downtown Manhattan
Bryant Park Christmas Tree
Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 6pm. That’s all the information Bryant Park has released so far. As soon as we get more info, we’ll update this.
In previous years, the Bryant Park Tree Lighting ceremony included an ice skating show and other entertainment, and that’s what we are expecting this year, too.
You can check the Bryant Park website, too.
- Note – My photo is the 2024 tree fully decorated and ready for the lighting ceremony.
Madison Park Christmas Tree
Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 4:30pm – Did you know that Madison Square Park hosted the first public tree lighting in NYC – and likely the country – on Christmas Eve in 1912? New York Edison provided 3,500 electric lights to fully illuminate the 63-foot “Tree of Light,” which was donated by the Adirondack Mountain Club.
According to the New York Times, 450 chimes peeled from the Metropolitan Tower for ten minutes at 4:50pm, followed by church bells ringing throughout the city. The celebration, attended by over 20,000 people, lasted until midnight, and even inspired a poem. Today, the “Star of Hope” atop a flagpole at the southern end of the park commemorates the park’s contribution to holiday history.
122 years later, this year’s concolor fir tops out at 55 feet – nearly twice as tall as our trees in recent years.
Festivities start at 4:30, including free hot cocoa from Shake Shack and cookies from the Ritz-Carlton’s bakery, while supplies last, plus other giveaways, a raffle, and performances by The New York Life Singers, Tin Pan Alley Project and TheARTI$T.
- Free lighting is around 5pm, at the Northern Section of the park.
Broadway Mall Annual Holiday Lighting
Tuesday, December 3 at 5 pm – This year’s light show stretches over five miles from the Upper West Side to Washington Heights and is being sponsored by Zabar’s in honor of its 90th anniversary, marked with special orange and white lights on the malls between 78th and 82nd streets.
The Lincoln Square BID’s Magical Lights kicks off with live music and family fun at Dante Park and continues all holiday season. This special programming includes Lincoln Square’s WinteRamble—an illuminated neighborhood procession led by Processional Arts Workshop’s Frost Giants on Wednesday, 12/18. Make a mini-lantern, carry a lantern, or just walk with them on the sidewalks and be a part of a neighborhood’s magical holiday tradition.
- FREE, Verdi Square, 73rd St. and Broadway
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Wednesday, Dec, 4 – It’s the biggest and the best lighting ceremony in NYC, maybe the world.
The star-studded lineup for 2024, including the Backstreet Boys, Dan + Shay, Megan Hilty, Jennifer Hudson, Coco Jones, Little Big Town, RAYE, and Thalia. Plus, expect to see the Radio City Rockettes perform, too.
The 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a Norway Spruce from West Stockbridge in the Southern Berkshires of Massachusetts, the first tree to hail from the state since 1959. It arrived at Rockefeller Center on Nov. 9.
The gigantic Norway Spruce weighs 11 tons, reaches 74 feet tall and stretches 43 feet wide. More than 50,000 multi-colored LED lights are wrapped around the towering tree. It’s topped with a three-dimensional Swarovski star that weighs 900 pounds and sparkles with 3 million crystals. Architect Daniel Libeskind designed the stunning star in 2018.
The annual Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, December 4th, 2024 during the live broadcast “Christmas at Rockefeller Center”. The ceremony is FREE, but extremely crowded.ber. In this case, it’s Saturday, December 14, from 10am-8pm.
Rockefeller Tree History
The Rockefeller Center tree tradition dates back almost a century. It began in 1931, when construction workers building Rockefeller Center put up a small Christmas tree, and the tradition began. Two years later in 1933, the first formal Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony was held; that tree sported 700 lights.
Here’s more about the fascinating history of the Rockefeller Center tree.
New York Stock Exchange Tree Lighting
Thursday, Dec. 5, 3pm to 7pm – This festive evening features the iconic NYSE Christmas Tree, live music performances, and various activations.
- New York Stock Exchange, 11 Wall Street, Financial District
28th Annual Central Park Holiday Lighting
Thursday, Dec. 5 at 5:30pm – Celebrate the season with the 28th Annual Holiday Lighting in Central Park! Meet Santa and friends, sing carols on the plaza, and warm up with hot cocoa while enjoying a variety of seasonal activities.
The event concludes with the lighting of a flotilla of trees on the Harlem Meer. Please note: This event will take place rain, snow, or shine.
- Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, Central Park N., East Harlem
Holiday on the Hudson
Saturday, December 7, 4:30pm to 6pm – Celebrate the season with a holiday tree lighting, live music, decoration making, and hot chocolate (while supplies last).
- Tree lighting at 5:30pm, rain date Sunday, December 8.
- West 125th St. & Marginal Street, at the Hudson River
Winter Celebration and Tree Lighting
Saturday, Dec. 7, 4pm to 6pm – Join Friends of Morningside Park, The Holiday Band, and the incredible neighborhood for an evening of jazz and merriment as they light up the tallest living tree in a NYC park.
The Tree will be lit promptly at 6 pm. Seasonal treats and temporary tattoos for the whole family.
- Morningside Park, Morningside Dr., Morningside Heights
100th Annual Washington Square Tree Lighting
Wednesday, Dec. 11, 6pm to 7pm – The Rob Susman Brass Quartet, vocalist Linseigh Green, and children and grown-ups alike will sing holiday songs and the sparkling lights on the resplendent tree will be turned on to mark the beginning of festive winter evenings.
Santa Claus himself has promised to appear, candy canes in hand, and lead the children in the illumination countdown. Given that this is the 100th year, expect a little extra something special.
- Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village
Bronx
7th Annual Tree Light Event
Friday, Nov. 22 at 5pm – Fun-filled event with enchanted holiday princesses, multi-talented elves, a stilt-walking toy soldier, The XFactor Drumline, and a parade with Santa! Enjoy music, dancing and giveaways for children with DJ Omar.
- The Mall at Bay Plaza, 200 Baychester Ave., Baychester
It’s a Winter Wonderland
Friday, Dec. 6, 4:30pm to 6:30pm – Enjoy an evening of family games, winter crafts, tree lighting, a visit from Santa, and more.
- Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center, 3225 Reservoir Oval East, Norwood
Bronx Little Italy Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
Saturday, Dec. 7, 4pm to 6pm – Meet Santa, sing Christmas carols, enjoy Italian cookies and hot chocolate from local small businesses. In partnership with the Children’s Cancer Society of America, there will be a Toy Giveaway.
- Ciccarone Park, East 188th St. and Arthur Ave., Belmont
Brooklyn
Atlantic Avenue Annual Tree Lighting
Tuesday, Nov. 26, 6pm – Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, and Council Member Lincoln Restler will officiate the ceremony. The Girl Scouts Troops 2133 and 2518 will count down to the official lighting of the holiday tree and the Brooklyn High School of the Arts choir will sing holiday classics.
- St. Cyril of Turov Belarusian Church, 401 Atlantic Ave., Boerum Hill
Tree Lighting Ceremony
Saturday,, Nov. 30, 5pm to 6:30pm – Enjoy a special visit by Santa along with a DJ, strolling entertainment, free giveaways & dance performances and the lighting of the tree. Cookies and Hot Chocolate will be available, one per person and on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last.
- The Shops at Atlas Park, 8000 Cooper Ave., Glendale
Queens Grand Christmas Tree Lighting
Sunday, Dec. 1 at 7pm – Kick off the holiday season with the lighting of Queen’s largest Christmas Tree.
- Grand Christmas Tree Lighting, 142-82 Rockaway Blvd., Jamaica
Winter Wonder at the Queens Botanical Garden
Saturday, Dec. 7, Noon to 5pm – Celebrate the best of December with live musical performances, tree lighting, holiday crafts, selfies with Santa, and sales at the QBG Shop and outdoor Holiday Market.
- FREE with museum admission
- $6; $4 for seniors, students with ID, and individuals with disabilities; $2 for children ages 4-12; free for members and children under 3.
- Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main St., Flushing
Staten Island
Annadale Tree Lighting
Sunday, December 1, 5pm to 7pm – The island’s biggest tree-lighting event features a train ride for the kids, bouncy houses, a DJ, a live performance by Miss Caroline’s Dance Elite, and of course photos with Santa!
- Annadale Park, Annadale Road
Holiday Tree Lighting at Empire Outlets
Saturday, Dec. 7, 6:30pm – Hang out with Santa Claus and the GRINCH! Mr. Grinch Smiley. Enjoy a performance by the IS51 dance team & theater and a featured performance by Vinnie Medugno
- Empire Outlets, 55 Richmond Terrace, New Dorp
Grand Illumination
Sunday, Dec. 8, 4:30pm – Join in the historic ceremonial lighting of the Conference House
- Conference House Park, 298 Satterlee St., Tottenville
Celebrating Hanukkah in NYC
World’s Largest Menorahs
Witness the lighting of the world’s largest Hanukkah menorahs at sundown during the Jewish festival of lights, Dec. 25 to Jan. 1.
Both Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn and Grand Army Plaza in Midtown compete for that title with their 32-foot-high, 4,000-pound steel menorahs. In both locations, FREE lightings take place at different times throughout the week, so check the websites. Lightings are accompanied by live music, hot latkes and gifts for children.
There also are other Menorah Lighting ceremonies and other events throughout NYC – including Hudson Yards and Bryant Park
See our full listing of where to celebrate Hanukkah.
Other NYC Holiday Events
2024 Dyker Heights Holiday Lights
This Brooklyn community is famous for its blocks and blocks of brightly decorated homes on the blocks from 11th to 13th Avenues (also known as Dyker Heights Blvd) from 83rd to 86th St.
The lights are turned on around Thanksgiving and stay on until a New Year’s Eve.
You can get there by NYC subway and walk around on your own.
- Take the D Train to 79th St and New Utrecht Ave, Brooklyn. Then, it’s a 15-minute walk to the houses, so wear comfortable shoes.
- This is a residential neighborhood, so there are no public bathrooms, and because of the crowds, driving and parking is not recommended. .
If you decide to take one of the organized bus and walking tours, book with Dyker Heights Christmas Lights, a tourism company created by residents of Dyker Heights with local guides, which supports the community instead of a for-profit tour business. You get picked up at Bryant Park and chaperoned by a knowledgeable local.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and author of guidebooks and smartphone apps – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter currently serves as President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA), a former Board Member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and a current member of the North American Travel Journalists Assn. (NATJA) and the North American Snowsports Journalists Assn. (NASJA).
Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.
Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter
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