How to spend Christmas in NYC with kids

The Rockefeller Christmas Tree (NYC’s pride and joy) is a beaming and brilliant symbol of the holiday season. Tourists and native New Yorkers alike sure do love this towering tree.

The tree will be lit daily from 5am to midnight daily after a special light-up night ceremony on Wednesday, December 4. On Christmas Day, the tree is lit for 24 hours and on New Year’s Eve it is lit from 5am to 9pm.

More than 50,000 multi-colored LED lights wrap around the branches. It’s topped with a three-dimensional Swarovski star that weighs 900 pounds and sparkles in 3 million crystals. Architect Daniel Libeskind designed the stunning star in 2018.

The Brooklyn neighborhood is home to the most over-the-top Christmas light decorations with life-sized Santas, sleighs, snowmen and some houses even bump Christmas carols from loudspeakers. Crowds of all ages flock to the Kings County neighborhood to wander down the multiple blocks and avenues. Most houses are decorated starting the weekend after Halloween through early January. You can walk through on your own, but a tour might be a little easier. Bus tours are back from A Slice of Brooklyn, Dyker Heights Christmas Lights and many more. There’s even a Spanish language tour—vamos!

Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s gorgeous, after-dark illuminated spectacular is back through January 5, 2025. Lightscape, an illuminated trail of art from local and international artists, features the iconic Winter Cathedral and a larger Fire Garden—all set to over a million lights, color and music. As always, a curated playlist of music brings the light art to life, and there will be food concessions along the trail that will still offer seasonal treats like hot cocoa, hot cider, as well as light bites, cookies and sweets.

The New York Botanical Garden’s much anticipated holiday train show features model trains that travel through ethereal landscapes that replicate iconic New York City landmarks, albeit in floral form. This year’s holiday train show will take place from November 16 through January 20, 2025, starting at 10am until 6pm, at the Bronx destination. The production usually consists of nearly 200 scaled NYC buildings and structures like the Empire State Building, Statute of Liberty and Grand Central Station, re-created using barks, leaves, branches and other materials you might spot during a regular stroll through the botanical garden. As if a miniature plant-based New York City wasn’t cool enough, 25 tiny trains will snake along the entire space, including some on overhead towering bridges. Don’t expect them to look like your standard subway car, either: the tiny modes of transportation include replicas of American steam engines and streetcars from the 1800s, so there’s something for fans of every commute era. 

The Winter Village at Bryant Park is back in all its holiday glory. On the grounds you can peruse more than 180 shopping and food kiosks—all at one of the best NYC parks. Expect loads of handmade, unique and New York City-specific gifts for your family and friends. Work up an appetite at the 17,000-square-foot ice-skating rink and then fill up at the rinkside pop-up restaurant called The Lodge for festive cocktails and hearty food. Don’t miss the Small Business Spotlight booth, which features local minority-owned businesses.

An institution housing a colossal blue whale, massive dinosaur skeletons and thousands of glittering gemstones couldn’t display just any ordinary holiday decor, of course. Instead, the American Museum of Natural History proudly presents a spectacular origami holiday tree each year. About 2,000 colorful origami animals decorate the 13-foot-tall tree, a tradition dating back more than 50 years. Volunteers from around the world carefully fold the intricate ornaments, focusing on a theme that relates to the museum.

It’s time to lace up your skates—the best ice skating rinks in NYC are waiting for you. As one of the most beloved cities to spend the holidays in, NYC has plenty of indoor and outdoor rinks where you can glide and practice your toe jumps. To help narrow down your options, we’ve ranked the top places to go, from the renowned Rink at Rockefeller Center to the iconic Wollman Rink in Central Park.