New York City: Christmas Time
Tue, Apr 9, 2019
Christmas time is the most popular season to visit New York, and for good reason! I don’t know if there is anywhere in the world more festive than NYC between Thanksgiving and New Years. Every year it feels like Christmas has taken over the city and I LOVE it. There are countless holiday activities to do, so I’ll list my favorites below and put an * next to the ones I feel you absolutely cannot miss! There are also a lot of restaurants and bars that decorate for Christmas, making it feel oh-so festive. I’ll list the best places to eat and drink that have decked themselves out Elf-style.
What To Do
- Bryant Park Winter Village
- Ice skate at the Wollman Rink in Central Park*
- Carriage ride through Central Park
- New York Public Library, outside and inside
- Ride the Holiday Nostalgia subway train
- The Nutcracker Ballet at Lincoln Center*
- The MET Christmas tree
- Take one of the fun Holiday Cruises
- Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall
- Visit the famous FAO Schwarz
- Grab a drink at The Plaza Hotel
- See Macy’s Christmas craziness
- Christmas Spectacular (Rockettes) Show at Radio City Music Hall
- Rockefeller Christmas tree and light show at Saks Fifth Avenue*
- Window displays on 5th Ave
- Bergdorf Goodman’s Christmas decor inside and outside
- Lotte New York Palace hotel Christmas tree*
- Dyker Heights neighborhood Christmas lights
- Columbus Circle Holiday Market
- See a classic Christmas movie screening at Nitehawk, IFC Center, etc.
- Google Christmas events happening the week you are in town, there’s different ones every year!
Eats & Treats
Brunch: Buvette*, Augustine, SERRA by Birreria, Rosemary’s
Dinner: Balthazar*, Cafe Cluny, Rolf’s, Tavern On The Green, Carmine’s
Drink: The Library Room at the Nomad*, Sunday In Brooklyn, Refinery Rooftop, Lillie’s Victorian Establishment
Sweets: Cafe Lalo (hot cocoa)*, Cafe Grumpy (maple spice latte), Maman (lavendar hot cocoa), Joe Coffee (pumpkin spice latte), Magnolia Bakery (hot apple cider)
Tips & Tricks
- Visit the city anytime after Thanksgiving (or during because the parade is so fun!) and a couple days after New Years to see all the holiday fun! The best times in my opinion are any of the 3 weekends leading up to Christmas in December.
- Bring lots of layers. Sometimes it’s 55 and sunny in December and sometimes it’s 20 degrees and windy. Plan on wearing a proper winter coat, warm boots, gloves, the whole get up! You will be walking outside a good part of the day and you’ll be miserable if you’re not prepared for the cold.
- A lot of the Christmas activities draw large crowds that can feel hectic so plan on going to the more popular sights in the morning, or if you can, on a weekday.
- Leave 15 minutes earlier than you think for everything, the city comes to a crawl during this busy time of year.
- Make reservations at any and all places that will take them. Most of the places I listed will fill up for reservations the first day they are made available (which is usually 30 days out).
- Get tickets to any show or viewing as early as you can, everything sells out fast!
