Christmas in New York: Season Dates, Ice Rinks and What Shuts on the Day

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The main events run on these 2026 to 2027 dates

Each date below is the 2026 to 2027 run published by the organiser or listed in NYC Tourism + Conventions' winter guide, as checked in early October 2026. Shows sell by seat. The rinks at Rockefeller Center and Bryant Park and the Bronx Zoo's light trail all ask you to book a time ahead, so plan them before you fly.

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Urbanspace, which curates the Bryant Park kiosks, also runs holiday markets at Union Square, at Columbus Circle and on Broadway between 32nd and 36th Streets, beside Macy's Herald Square. All three say they are back in 2026, but none had posted dates yet. The Union Square market alone hosts nearly 200 vendors.

Hanukkah has its own landmarks. Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn and Grand Army Plaza in Midtown Manhattan both claim the world's largest Hanukkah menorah. Each is a steel menorah about 32 feet (10 metres) tall. Lightings take place at different times through the week at each one.

Rockefeller Center puts the tree, a rink and Radio City within a few blocks

If you want the single most Christmassy spot in the city, start at Rockefeller Center. The complex fills the blocks between West 48th and West 51st Streets, from Fifth Avenue to Sixth Avenue. The Channel Gardens lead in from Fifth Avenue and carry angel statues in winter. The tree and the rink sit at the centre, and Radio City Music Hall stands on the Sixth Avenue side.

Construction workers put up the first tree here in 1931, and the first official tree followed in 1933. The lighting ceremony is traditionally held on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is Thursday 26 November in 2026, which points to 2 December, and the tourism board says to check exact dates as the season approaches. Thousands of people attend and NBC broadcasts it, so for a calmer look at the tree, go on a later evening.

The tree is normally a Norway spruce, picked each year from submissions. The Swarovski star on top, redesigned by the architect Daniel Libeskind in 2018, carries 3 million crystals and 70 glass spikes. After the season, the tree becomes lumber for Habitat for Humanity.

Fifth Avenue is the other half of the picture. Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman dress their windows for the holidays, and so does Macy's at Herald Square. NYC Tourism + Conventions says the Fifth Avenue windows at Saks, Tiffany & Co. and Cartier usually run from mid-November to the end of the year, and each store sets its own dates.

Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park and Wollman rinks differ on price and setting

Rockefeller Center has the famous rink, but it is not the only choice. Bryant Park calls its rink the largest free-admission ice rink in New York City, and Wollman Rink puts you inside Central Park.

At Bryant Park, the rink covers 17,000 square feet, about 1,580 square metres. You can skate free in your own skates, but you still reserve an entry time on the Bryant Park Winter Village site. Allow about 70 minutes in all, because your ice time starts 20 minutes after your ticket time.

The rink is open every day, holidays included, from 08:00 to 22:00, and until midnight from 19 November to 3 January. For smaller crowds, the park suggests weekdays, mornings, and dates before Thanksgiving or after New Year. Skate aids for beginners are free before 10:30, while they last.

Planning to propose on the ice? Bryant Park does not allow impromptu proposals, for the safety of other skaters, but its rink team offers proposal packages if you email first.

Around the rink, the Holiday Shops open at noon on Wednesday 28 October 2026. Urbanspace curates this European-inspired open-air market of jewel-box kiosks, with artisans from New York City and around the world. In January and February, some shops move onto the rink deck and the Fountain Terrace.

The big seasonal shows run on fixed dates and sell by seat

The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes has played Radio City Music Hall since 1933. The 2026 run opens on 4 November with 230 performances, the most the show has ever staged, and closes on 4 January 2027.

At Lincoln Center, New York City Ballet dances George Balanchine's The Nutcracker at the David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center Plaza, from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. In the same complex, the Metropolitan Opera stages a family-friendly, English-language version of Mozart's The Magic Flute from 11 December to 2 January.

A day in the Bronx covers the train show and the zoo's lantern trail

The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden runs from 14 November 2026 to 10 January 2027. Model trains run past nearly 200 landmark replicas made from plant parts such as palm fronds, pinecones and cinnamon sticks, inside the glass Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. New this season is a replica of One Vanderbilt, the tower that houses the SUMMIT One Vanderbilt observatory.

The garden opens 10:00 to 18:00, Tuesday to Sunday, plus Monday federal holidays. On 15 selected evenings, including 26 to 30 December, the conservatory stays open until 20:00 with last entry at 19:00, so you can see the replicas lit after dark.

Getting there from Midtown is simple. Metro-North's Harlem local line runs from Grand Central Terminal to Botanical Garden station in about 20 minutes, and the station is across the street from the garden's Mosholu Entrance. While the MTA renovates the station through 2026, its footbridge is closed, so allow 10 to 15 extra minutes to reach the southbound platform for the ride back.

In the evening, the Bronx Zoo's Holiday Lights fills the zoo with hundreds of animal lanterns from 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Tickets must be reserved in advance, and the event goes ahead rain or shine.

December in New York averages 7°C by day and 1°C at night

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Central Park put an average December day at 6.8°C and an average December night at 1.0°C. Rain is more likely than snow. About 7 December days bring at least 2.5 mm of rain or melted snow, and only about 1 brings 2.5 cm or more of fresh snow.

The cold matters more than the snow. Central Park drops to freezing or below on about 14 December nights, and the lights look best after dark. If the Empire State Building is on your list, its open-air 86th-floor deck has outdoor heaters in winter, and the 102nd-floor deck is fully enclosed.

Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday, and some sights close

Christmas Day is a US federal holiday, as is Thanksgiving on 26 November. Big museums set their own holiday hours, so check each one's visit page before you plan the day around it. This is what each operator says about 25 December.

If Ellis Island is on your list, go on another day. The National Park Service's Ellis Island page says to board a Statue City Cruises ferry before 13:00 to see both Liberty and Ellis Islands with time to spare.

New York is five hours behind the UK from 1 November

UK clocks go back on 25 October 2026, according to GOV.UK's clock-change dates. US clocks go back on 1 November, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. For that one week, New York is four hours behind. From 1 November until March, the gap is five hours.

On Christmas Day, a 15:00 video call with family at home is 10:00 in Manhattan. To join a 13:00 UK Christmas lunch on screen, you need to be up for 08:00 New York time.

Mobile data is easiest to sort out before you leave the UK

HelloRoam's New York plans connect to Verizon and AT&T. You can install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi, because its days only start counting once it connects to a network in the US. The steps are in our guide on how to set up an eSIM before you fly.

These are data plans, so your UK number stays live on your main SIM, and calls home can go over WhatsApp or FaceTime. Before you buy anything, check your phone supports eSIM.

Maps, ride apps and Christmas Day video calls add up over a week, so estimate how much data your trip needs before you pick a plan size. Check your UK plan too. Vodafone's Global Roam plans, for example, include the USA, and if yours already covers the US you may not need an extra eSIM at all. If yours charges extra there, compare UK roaming with an eSIM before you decide.

Free Wi-Fi helps on the street. LinkNYC kiosks, which are replacing the city's payphones, offer free Wi-Fi once you register with an email address. They also make free calls to anywhere in the US and have two USB charging ports.

If New York is one stop on a longer trip, look at mobile data plans for the whole USA instead of a city plan.

Four full days covers New York's Christmas highlights

Four full days fits the tree, a rink, a show, the Bronx and a market without rushing. One way to split it:

• Day one, Midtown: the tree and the rink at Rockefeller Center, the Fifth Avenue windows, then the Rockettes at Radio City in the evening.
• Day two, the Bronx: the Holiday Train Show by day, then the zoo's Holiday Lights after dark.
• Day three: an early skate at Bryant Park, when the park says it is quietest, the Holiday Shops, then the Nutcracker or The Magic Flute at Lincoln Center.
• Day four, Brooklyn: the house lights of Dyker Heights and, between 4 and 11 December, the menorah at Grand Army Plaza. The house displays are on private homes, so treat any dates you find online as a guide. If you would rather stay in Manhattan, go up the Empire State Building on a clear evening instead.

For year-round sights, costs and ESTA, our New York guide with a three-day plan covers the rest of the city. If a Christmas market is the main reason for the trip, the Christmas markets in Europe are a much shorter flight.