Christmas in New York 2012
Celebrate the holidays in festive style with things to do in New York this Christmas, including ice-skating, Christmas shows and shopping.
Fri Dec 14 2012
It's the most wonderful time of the year—and by "it" we mean Christmas in New York. Even the most tourist-averse New Yorkers have to admit that NYC at Christmas is a pretty spectacular sight, with Christmas trees, department-store window displays and other holiday attractions popping up around the city. Plan your holiday season with our guide to Christmas in NYC: You'll find information on the best holiday events (including the Radio City Christmas Spectacular), the most festive things to do, and the best holiday shopping in New York City.
Check out the ten essential holiday events in NYC this season:
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Photograph: Paul Kolnik
The top 10 essential holiday events
Radio City Christmas Spectacular
This year’s production celebrates the Rockettes’ 85th anniversary of performing in NYC, with a new piece from director and choreographer Linda Haberman that honors the show’s costumes over the decades. A revamped version of last year’s 3-D spectacle follows a mother and daughter as they search for the perfect Christmas present, which—as anyone who’s braved December shopping knows—is a harder task than it looks. Thankfully, the famous dance company is on hand to overcome every obstacle with precise, synchronized kicking. Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Sixth Ave at 50th St (radiocitychristmas.com). Dates and times vary; $46–$250. Through Dec 30.
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Photograph: Ivo M. Vermeulen
The top 10 essential holiday events
Holiday Train Show
In the New York Botanical Garden’s wildly popular seasonal exhibition, more than a dozen model railway trains traverse an incredibly detailed New York City scene made of natural materials such as leaves, twigs, bark and berries. Icons like the Empire State Building dot the landscape, and this year the garden has added a few new items: Look for a miniature of Macy’s Herald Square, along with a working replica of the Roosevelt Island Tram. Bronx River Pkwy at Fordham Rd, Bronx (718-817-8700, nybg.org). Tue–Fri 10am–6pm; Sat, Sun 10am–7pm. Mon 17–Jan 1: daily 10am–7pm. Prices vary. Through Jan 13.
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Photograph: Paul Kolnik
The top 10 essential holiday events
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker
New York City Ballet’s production of Balanchine’s iconic piece remains faithful to the 1954 original but never gets old. The stagecraft is magical: Along with a one-ton Christmas tree that grows from 12 to 40 feet high, there’s an onstage snowstorm of blizzardlike proportions and a nine-foot-wide Mother Ginger (her skirt, that is). David H. Koch Theater (at Lincoln Center), 20 Lincoln Center Plaza at 63rd St (212-496-0600, nycballet.com). Dates and times vary; $29–$250. Through Dec 30.
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Photograph: Courtesy of Will Cotton
The top 10 essential holiday events
Peter and the Wolf at the Guggenheim
Works & Process at the Guggenheim’s high-art version of this beloved children’s piece by Prokofiev features fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi as narrator, an installation by Will Cotton (who was the artistic director of Katy Perry’s colorful “California Gurls” video) and the Juilliard Ensemble under George Manahan. Peter B. Lewis Theater of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Ave at 89th St, entrance on Fifth Ave at 88th St (212-423-3587, guggenheim.org). Fri 14–Sun 16 at 2:30, 4pm; $35.
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Photograph: Caroline Voagen Nelson
The top 10 essential holiday events
Origami Holiday Tree
More than 500 handmade ornaments adorn the holiday season’s craftiest Christmas tree at the American Museum of Natural History. This year’s theme is “Museum’s Collections,” with baubles representing exhibits and creatures from the AMNH’s trove, including lemurs, spiders, monkeys and a murder of crows. Central Park West at 79th St (212-769-5100, amnh.org). Daily 10am–5:45pm; suggested donation $19, seniors and students $14.50, children 2–12 $10.50, children under 2 free. Through Jan 6.
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Photograph: Dominic Perri
The top 10 essential holiday events
Holiday lights in Dyker Heights
In excess of 100,000 visitors flock to this south Brooklyn nabe every December to see larger-than-life Christmas displays, which in past years have included massive nutcrackers and silicone Santas. For the optimum twinkly experience, sign up for A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours’ Christmas Lights and Cannoli tour. The three-and-a-half-hour jaunt takes you past the ’hood’s best spectacles and ends with cannoli and hot cocoa (included in the ticket price). Meet in Manhattan at Fourth Ave between 13th and 14th Sts (212-209-3370, asliceofbrooklyn.com). $55, children under 12 $45. Through Dec 31.
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The top 10 essential holiday events
Ice-skating at Citi Pond at Bryant Park
This 17,000-square-foot outdoor rink in midtown is free and open late. Don’t get too excited—the admission may be gratis, but you’ll have to shell out $14 to rent skates (or BYO). Still, it’s a veritable winter wonderland: After skating, warm up at spacious rinkside restaurant Celsius, or browse the Holiday Shops at Bryant Park (through Jan 6). If you want to practice your lutzes and axels with ample spinning room, try visiting during off-peak hours. Enter at Sixth Ave and 40th St (212-661-6640, citipondatbryantpark.com). Mon–Thu, Sun 8am–10pm; Fri, Sat 8am–midnight. Skate rental $14. Through Mar 3.
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Photograph: Courtesy the Morgan Library and Museum
The top 10 essential holiday events
“Holiday Americana” at the Morgan Library & Museum
It doesn’t get more Christmassy than the Morgan’s collection of yuletide artifacts, including an original manuscript of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, a letter written by George Washington on Christmas Day, 1777, and the first printed appearance of “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” You can also see original sheet music of legendary holiday songs such as Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” 225 Madison Ave at 36th St (212-685-0008, themorgan.org). Tue–Thu 10:30am–5pm, Fri 10:30am–9pm, Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–6pm. $15; seniors, students and children 12–16 $10; children under 12 free. Fri 7–9pm free. Through Jan 13.
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Photograph: Rhonda Dorsett
The top 10 essential holiday events
Paul Winter: 33rd Annual Winter Solstice Celebration
Musician Paul Winter has hosted this celebration of the change in seasons for more than three decades. This year, West African singer and guitarist Abdoulaye Diabaté, the 25 dancers and drummers of the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, vocalist Theresa Thomason and the reunited Paul Winter Sextet will put on a spectacular program. The concert also boasts the world’s largest gong (the massive instrument measures 80 inches in diameter), which will ascend 12 stories to the vault of the cathedral and be struck at the end of the concert’s first and second halves.Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave at 112th St (stjohndivine.org). Thu 13, Fri 14 at 8pm; Sat 15 at 2, 7:30pm. $35–$80.
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Photograph: Eric Demby/Brooklyn Flea
The top 10 essential holiday events
Brooklyn Flea’s Gifted holiday market
The hip retail establishment’s holiday bazaar fills the magnificent, cavernous lobby of Skylight One Hanson with items by local crafters, as well as artisanal eats, antiques and vintage threads. Look for City Owl hand-stamped letter necklaces ($20), She Hit Pause Studios Polaroid-transfer watercolor prints ($65–$85) and Loyalty & Blood skull-print sweatshirts ($48). Skylight One Hanson, 1 Hanson Pl at Ashland St, Fort Greene, Brooklyn (brooklynflea.com). Sat, Sun 10am–6pm; through Sun 23.
The season's best things to do
Christmas shows in NYC
Radio City Christmas Spectacular
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Celebrate the iconic show's 85th anniversary this year.
- Radio City Music Hall 1260 Sixth Ave, at 50th St
- Until Sun Dec 30
A Christmas Story, The Musical
- Rated as: 3/5
- Price band: 3/4
The 1983 film A Christmas Story is beloved (and endlessly broadcast) because it fills a cultural niche. Other classics have milked the yuletide for moral uplift (It’s a Wonderful Life), magical
- Lunt-Fontanne Theatre 205 W 46th St, between Broadway and Eighth Ave
- Sat Dec 29 - Sun Dec 30
New York City Ballet: George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
This production is a magical occasion: Along with a one-ton Christmas tree that grows from 12 to 40 feet, there's a snowstorm of blizzard proportions.
- David H. Koch Theater (at Lincoln Center) 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, at 63rd St
- Sat Dec 29 - Sun Dec 30
American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
American Ballet Theatre returns to BAM with Alexei Ratmansky's inventive version of The Nutcracker, in which Clara and the Nutcracker Prince grow up before our eyes—braving an ominous snowstorm—and a
- BAM Howard Gilman Opera House 30 Lafayette Ave, between Ashland Pl and St. Felix St
- Sat Dec 15 - Sun Dec 16
Ice skating in NYC
Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers
- Price band: 1/4
There’s no need to wait until winter to glide across the two NHL-size rinks at this megacomplex—they’re open year-round.
- 61 Chelsea Piers (Hudson River), 23rd St at the Hudson River, 10011
Christmas trees in NYC
Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony
- Critics choice
- Free
For this massive Christmas tree, 30,000 energy-efficient LEDs covering the massive evergreen are switched on to mass oohs and aahs. If you’d rather gouge out your eyeballs with the tree’s
- Rockefeller Plaza Fifth and Sixth Aves, between 48th and 49th Sts
- Until Wed Nov 28
Madison Square Park Tree Lighting
- Critics choice
- Free
In 1912, this park lit the first community Christmas tree in America.
- Madison Square Park E 23rd St to E 26th St, between Fifth and Madison Aves
- Until Tue Dec 4
Park Avenue Memorial Trees
- Critics choice
- Free
The 104 balsam firs that line Park Avenue are more than just festive holiday adornments: The topiaries were first lit in 1945 in remembrance of those who lost their lives during World War II. The
- Location TBA
- Sun Jan 20
Origami Holiday Tree
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
More than 500 handmade origami ornaments adorn the holiday season's craftiest Christmas tree. This year's theme is "Museum’s Collections," so keep your eyes peeled for baubles representing exhibits
- American Museum of Natural History Central Park West, at 79th St
- Sun Jan 6
Christmas dinner in New York
Ai Fiori
- Rated as: 3/5
- Price band: 4/4
Indulge in a French-Italian repast at superstar chef Michael White’s swank midtown beacon.
- 400 Fifth Ave , (between 36th and 37th Sts), 10018
Hospoda
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
The Christmas Day bill of fare features signature Central European dishes, bone-warming holiday specials and decadent desserts.
- 321 E 73rd St, (between First and Second Aves), 10021
The John Dory Oyster Bar
- Rated as: 4/5
- Price band: 2/4
- Critics choice
Chef de cuisine Josh Even will put a British spin on the Italian feast of seven fishes. Expect delicacies like a rich and creamy salt cod brandade and a seafood stew.
- 1196 Broadway, (at 29th St)
Nom Wah Tea Parlor
- Price band: 1/4
- Critics choice
For a Jewish-style Christmas or just a respite from too much eggnog and goose, hit up Chinatown’s oldest dim sum parlor: Nom Wah, a Doyers Street institution since 1920.
- 13 Doyers St, (between Bowery and Pell St), 10013
Christmas lights and decorations in New York
Holiday lights in Dyker Heights
- Critics choice
This south Brooklyn neighborhood is festooned with hundreds of twinkly lights every holiday season.
Holiday Under the Stars
- Critics choice
- Free
Take a break from Christmas shopping and check out Time Warner Center’s state-of-the-art holiday light display. The spectacle features a dozen 14-foot LED stars that do a colorful “dance,” flashing
- Time Warner Center 10 Columbus Circle, at Broadway and 59th St
- Thu Jan 3
New York Transit Museum's Holiday Train Show
- Critics choice
- Free
You’ll feel positively giant while wandering around the 34-foot-long display, festooned with miniature versions of city landmarks.
- New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex Grand Central Terminal, E 42nd St, between Lexington and Vanderbilt Aves
- Sun Feb 10
Holiday Train Show
- Critics choice
More than a dozen model railway trains traverse an incredibly detailed New York City scene made of natural materials such as leaves, twigs, bark and berries.
- New York Botanical Garden Bronx River Pkwy, at Fordham Rd
- Sat Jan 12 - Sun Jan 13
Christmas shopping and holiday window displays in New York
Columbus Circle Holiday Market
- Price band: 2/4
Featuring 100 artisans and food vendors, the uptown counterpart of the Union Square Holiday Market has returned for its seventh year, providing shoppers with a feast for the eyes and the stomach.
- Central Park South, (at Central Park West)
Grand Central Terminal Holiday Fair
- Price band: 2/4
Started in 1993, this annual holiday market is an essential seasonal stop, combining the allure of historic Vanderbilt Hall with the quality offerings of 77 carefully selected vendors. Head to the
- 89 E 42nd St, (at Park Ave)
Union Square Holiday Market
- Price band: 2/4
Now in its 18th season, this European-style winter market boasts 125 local and national vendors hawking an impressive selection of handcrafted gifts, ranging from jewelry and accessories to leather
- 14th St to 17th St, (between Broadway and Park Ave South)
Macy's holiday windows
- Critics choice
- Free
Macy's is sticking with the classics this year: The venerable department store's window displays will pay homage to Yuletide traditions through history in "The Magic of Christmas."
Related Christmas in New York coverage
Holiday gift guide (2011)
- Price band: 1/4
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