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Best Christmas Tree Lightings in NYC with Fun Activities for Kids, Plus Menorah Lightings, Too

Celebrate the start of the holiday season at Calypso, Carols, and Cocoa: The Dumbo Holiday Lighting. Photo by Hassan Mokaddam
Celebrate the start of the holiday season at Calypso, Carols, and Cocoa: The Dumbo Holiday Lighting. Photo by Hassan Mokaddam
11/26/24 - By Drew Kristofik

Good news for the crowd-averse: You don't have to brave the commotion of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting to witness a fabulous Christmas tree lighting in New York City. We've rounded up a collection of local NYC Christmas tree lightings that are much less crowded and every bit as lovely, from Brooklyn and Queens to the Bronx and everywhere in between, including the biggest living tree, a tree made of traffic cones, and a ceremony with fireworks!

This year, Hanukkah begins on Wednesday, December 25, and upcoming menorah lightings include the two biggies, in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

We've got more fun things to do this holiday season in our NYC Kids' Guide to the Christmas and the Holidays, including our list of 12 must-do holiday activities and our favorite holiday lights displays across the five boroughs.

Click through to our listings for all the details, including addresses, times, recommended ages, and rain (or snow!) dates.

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Kick off the season with ice skating and the Christmas tree lighting at Bryant Park. Photo by Ryan Muir
Kick off the season with ice skating and the Christmas tree lighting at Bryant Park. Photo by Ryan Muir

New York City Christmas Tree Lightings in 2024

DTBK Gets Lit: Holiday Lighting Ceremony at Albee Square

Downtown Brooklyn – FREE
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Highlight for families: Live music, entertainment, and FREE snacks
Celebrate the holiday season Brooklyn style. The Downtown Brooklyn Gets Lit: Holiday Lighting Party at Albee Square features live musical guests, Kinto Zonó Unplugged and DJ Mike, along with LED poi and hula twirlers and Bond Street Theatre stilters. Empanada Loca provides hot chocolate and you can snag BANG Cookies while supplies last. READ MORE

Tree Lighting Skate-tacular at Bryant Park

Midtown West – FREE
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Highlight for families: Expect pyrotechnics!
Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park hosts its annual tree lighting, with a stellar lineup of live skate performances, and fireworks!  READ MORE

28th Annual Central Park Holiday Lighting

Central Park–FREE
Thursday, December 5, 2024
Highlight for families: Visits with Santa, plus hot cocoa and cookies
See the flotilla of trees on the Harlem Meer get lit for the season at this annual Christmas tree lighting. Visitors can meet Santa and friends, watch a live ice-carving demonstration, sing carols on the plaza, and warm up with hot cocoa and cookies. READ MORE

Hendrick I. Lott House Tree Lighting

Marine Park, Brooklyn – FREE
Friday, December 6, 2024
Highlight for families: Horses from the NYC Mount Auxiliary Unit
Along with the lighting of the tree, the historic Dutch-American farmhouse welcomes families to meet Sinterklaas. Children can sit with the Dutch version of Santa Claus to share their holiday wishes and pose for photos. READ MORE

Parade on Rockaway

Jamaica, Queens – FREE
Friday, December 6-Sunday, December 8, 2024
Highlight for families: A celebration that spans three nights and includes a parade and gift giveaway!
Queens' annual Parade on Rockaway provides three days packed with holiday cheer, from the biggest tree lighting in Queens to a gift giveaway (featuring Santa) and a lovely parade of lights on Rockaway Boulevard. READ MORE

23rd Annual St. Nicholas Day Celebration at Wyckoff Farmhouse

Flatbush, Brooklyn – FREE
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Highlight for families: Santa arrives on horseback and reads a story
Families are invited to NYC's oldest house for an outdoor celebration packed with craft activities, a tree lighting, and a special visit from St. Nick (who arrives on horseback around 2:45pm). Kids can sip hot cider, try some colonial games, create a holiday pomander, decorate a Dutch clog for Sinterklaas, and dress the tree.   READ MORE

Friends of Morningside Park Winter Celebration and Tree Lighting

Upper West Side – FREE
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Highlight for families: Sweet treats and temporary tattoos
Friends of Morningside Park lights up the tallest living holiday tree in a New York City park—a magnificent 50-foot evergreen standing tall across the 121st Street Oval in Morningside Park. READ MORE

Empire Outlets Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony

St. George, Staten Island – FREE
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Highlight for families: The Grinch makes an appearance
Empire Outlets' 40-foot crystal tree lights up, and families can hang with Santa and the Grinch, watch a performance by Vinnie Medugno, and more. S'mores and hot chocolate are available for purchase. READ MORE

Bronx Little Italy’s Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony

Belmont, the Bronx – FREE
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Highlight for families: Toy giveaway
The beloved annual tree-lighting ceremony is back at Ciccarone Park. Attendees can get into the holiday spirit by meeting Santa and an elf, singing along with holiday carols, and enjoying Italian cookies and hot chocolate from local businesses. READ MORE

Annual Park Avenue Tree Lighting

Upper East Side – FREE
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Highlight for families: Carols, candy canes, cocoa, and an entire avenue of trees lighting up at once
Park Avenue's illuminated trees—dotting on the Park Avenue Malls between 54th and 97th Streets—switch on for the season.  READ MORE

Washington Square Christmas Tree Lighting

Greenwich Village – FREE
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Highlight for families: Live caroling and stilt walkers
Join the Rob Susman Brass Quartet as children and grown-ups alike sing holiday songs, and the sparkling lights on the resplendent tree are turned on to mark the beginning of festive winter evenings. Santa Claus leads kids in the illumination countdown. It's the 100 year anniversary of this beloved tradition. READ MORE

Calypso, Carols, and Cocoa: The Dumbo Holiday Lighting

Dumbo, Brooklyn – FREE
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Highlight for families: A tree made of traffic cones
The Dumbo Improvement District hosts its annual Dumbo Holiday Lighting ceremony, with all the trimmings. Enjoy live music, carols, hot cocoa, and an appearance from Santa himself. READ MORE
Celebrate Hanukkah with the lighting of the world's largest menorahs, at Grand Army Plaza in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. Photo by Julienne Schaer / NYC Tourism + Conventions
Celebrate Hanukkah with the lighting of the world's largest menorahs, at Grand Army Plaza in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. Photo by Julienne Schaer / NYC Tourism + Conventions

Menorah Lightings in NYC in 2024

The World's Largest Hanukkah Menorah: Manhattan

Midtown East – FREE
Wednesday, December 25, 2024-Thursday, January 2, 2025
Gather around the 32-foot-high, gold-colored, 4,000-pound steel holiday icon at Grand Army Plaza (Fifth Avenue and West 59th Street, across the street from The Plaza hotel) to kick off the annual Jewish Festival of Lights. READ MORE

The Largest Menorah Lighting: Brooklyn

Prospect Heights, Brooklyn – FREE
Wednesday, December 25, 2024-Thursday, January 2, 2025
Chabad of Park Slope hosts the 32-foot "Largest Menorah" in Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza. There's a kick off concert on Wednesday, December 25, and each subsequent night of Hanukkah is celebrated with music, latkes, and gifts.  READ MORE

Menorah Lighting at Hudson Yards

Midtown West – FREE
Wednesday, December 25, 2024-Thursday, January 2, 2025
Visit the Public Square and Gardens in Hudson Yards for a menorah lighting, then snag eight days of special offers from participating shops.    READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

About the Author

Drew Kristofik
Drew Kristofik’s career took a twist from editing teen magazines to a seven-year stint at MacNeil/Lehrer, followed by a long run at Nickelodeon/Viacom as Director of Content for Nick Online and Editor-in-Chief of ParentsConnect.com. A founding member of the Webby Award-winning GoCityKids, she’s written for Family Fun, Vanity Fair, and New York. Her middle school novel, The Time Boat, is available on Amazon Kindle. Drew keeps the MommyPoppins New York Events calendar spot-on and can be reached at events@mommypoppins.com.
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