The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the kickoff to a season of festivities throughout New York City’s five boroughs. From annual favorites like New York City Ballet’s The Nutcracker and the animated windows at Macy’s and other major stores, to smaller, treasured celebrations like viewing Christmas lights in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, and the New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train show in the Bronx, New York City is a wonderland to explore during the holidays.
And let’s not forget what’s beyond the boroughs: the Jones Beach Holiday Spectacular is back, Old Bethpage Village Restoration is offering its Candlelight Tours plus a crafts fair and train show, all in a vintage setting of storytelling and dancing; Historic Hudson Valley is offering “A Christmas Carol” by its master storyteller, just to list a few.
Opening the joyous holiday season are the more than 10,000 participants in the 88th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade is followed by the much-anticipated Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting on December 3. There’s something to offer everyone this winter, including the Queens Historical Society’s Annual Historic Holiday House Tour, New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show in the Bronx, the menorah lighting outside Borough Hall in Brooklyn, and Historic Richmond Town’s Candlelight Tours in Staten Island.
The holiday season in New York City culminates on New Year’s Eve with one of the world’s most spectacular celebrations in Times Square, the Crossroads of the World. The annual ball drop attracts an estimated million people each year, with over a billion additional viewers watching from around the globe. For more information, visit timessquarenyc.org.
Highlights of holiday events taking place in the five boroughs include:
Holiday Happenings in Manhattan
Every year, holiday markets pop up across the City, selling homemade goods, holiday treats and gifts. Annual favorites typically include the Union Square Holiday Market, the Columbus Circle Holiday Market, the Holiday Shops at Bryant Park and the Grand Central Holiday Fair.
In December, the iconic Empire State Building will come to life with a holiday LED light show series, set to class holiday tunes. Those visiting the open-air 86th floor Observatory during the holiday season will be treated to live performances of holiday music in both the festively decorated lobby and on the 80th floor, and will have views of some of the City’s most beautiful holiday-inspired windows (esbnyc.com).
The beloved Radio City Christmas Spectacular is underway through December 31. In addition to the show, Radio City Music Hall offers visitors a chance to make the experience more memorable by upgrading to an exclusive show package that includes dancing with the Rockettes (radiocitychristmas.com).
THE RIDE’s Holiday Edition offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy New York City’s holiday festivities and cheer, from the comfort of a multi-million dollar motor coach. The experience is hosted by two on-board New York City experts, and will feature live street performers, seen through floor-to-ceiling windows. Holiday tours preview on November 10, with 70 additional tours taking place November 17, 2014–January 4, 2015 (experiencetheride.com).
This holiday season, On Location Tours will highlight sites made famous by movies such as Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone 2, Elf and more, in a seasonal Holiday Lights & Movie Sites tour. November 28, 2014–January 1, 2015 (onlocationtours.com).
New York City Ballet will present one of the season’s favorite annual productions, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, complete with marching toy soldiers, a one-ton Christmas tree that grows before the audience’s eyes and crystalline snowflakes. The show will run November 28–January 3 (nycballet.com).
This holiday season, Carnegie Hall will come alive with Musica Sacra’s rendition of Handel’s Messiah on December 23 (carnegiehall.org).
The American Museum of Natural History’s famous Origami Holiday Tree marks the start of the holiday season at the museum and is on display November 24–January 4. On December 27, the museum will host a Kwanzaa Celebration that commemorates the seven principles of Kwanzaa (amnh.org).
A hidden gem on the Upper East Side, the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden will conduct candlelight tours on December 5 and 6, offering insight into 19th-century New York City. Candlelight tours of the 200+ year-old house will take place at 6:00, 7:00 and 8:00pm on those nights (mvhm.org).
The Flatiron District celebrates the holidays with 23 Days of Flatiron Cheer. For 23 days starting on December 1, there will be festive activities, including events, promotions, giveaways and more (discoverflatiron.org).
The 28th annual Miracle on Madison Avenue will take place on December 6. A philanthropic holiday shopping tradition, the event includes retailers and businesses located on Madison Avenue between 57th and 86th streets, all of which donate 20 percent of sales that day. For the third year, proceeds will go to The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (madisonavenuebid.org)
New York’s own Big Apple Circus is underway at Lincoln Center through January 11. This year’s show, Metamorphosis, is a brand-new spectacle with a flying trapeze, a musical clown and contortionists (bigapplecircus.org).
Visitors can also view the stunning holiday-inspired window decorations of the City’s famed stores and hotels through WindowsWear, which operates daily tours. The tour begins at Macy’s in Herald Square and journeys up Fifth Avenue, passing the Empire State Building, Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and more. In previous years, holiday tours have taken place between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve (windowswear.com).
Returning for the tenth year, the Native Art Market at New York City’s National Museum of the American Indian features both contemporary and traditional works by Native American artists. Numerous types of art will be for sale including jewelry, ceramics, paintings, and sculptures. The two day event will be held from 10am to 5pm on December 5-6. There will also be a preview party held on Friday, December 5, featuring a cocktail reception and exclusive tour of museum exhibition (nmai.si.edu).
Located steps from Central Park, The Pierre, A Taj Hotel, New York is unveiling two holiday packages this November, including a Magnificent Holiday Shopping Package complete with Bergdorf Goodman vouchers, a complimentary gift wrapping service, a visit to the Guggenheim Museum and a night at the Two E Bar/Lounge for the hotel’s ‘Spiked’ Hotel Chocolate Bar. For family travelers, The Pierre has a Let It Snow Family Package, which includes babysitting service, snow globes, classic holiday books and access to the hotel’s Holiday Movie Library. Additional holiday offerings for guests include a Christmas Eve “Feast of the Seven Fishes” prix fixe dinner, a Tree Lighting party on December 2, and a dinner and party on New Year’s Eve (tajhotels.com).
Le Parker Meridien will host its annual Gingerbread Extravaganza this holiday season. Throughout the month of December and into January, local bakeries and restaurants will create gingerbread masterpieces, and visitors can vote for their favorite by purchasing tickets at the hotel’s concierge. Proceeds will benefit City Harvest (parkermeridien.com).
Holiday Happenings in The Bronx
The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show is an ideal family outing, featuring model trains that zip through replicas of New York City landmarks made of natural materials. The show runs through January 19 (nybg.org).
The Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum Annual Holiday Family Day in Pelham Bay Park is on December 6. Families will love the festively decorated 19th-century mansion and can participate in various kids’ activities, including photos with Santa Claus (bpmm.org).
Throughout the month of December, Wave Hill will host holiday-themed events for families, including a Holiday Workshop Weekend on December 6–7, weekend Family Art Projects, and a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite by pianists Soyeon Kate Lee and Ran Dank on December 14 (wavehill.org).
Holiday Happenings in Brooklyn
In its eighth year, A Slice of Brooklyn’s Christmas Lights & Cannoli Tour offers visitors the opportunity to see the famed Dyker Heights Christmas lights, most recently seen on TLC’s Crazy Christmas Lights. Every year the neighborhood is ablaze with illuminating exhibitions complete with 30-foot toy soldiers and nativity scenes. The bus also offers festive holiday music and old-time Christmas television variety specials, topped off with a taste of Brooklyn’s best cannoli and hot chocolate. Tours run December 1–31 (asliceofbrooklyn.com).
Brooklyn lights up with holiday spirit each year with a menorah lighting celebration taking place outside Borough Hall at Columbus Park on December 3 at 5pm.
Holiday Happenings in Queens
The Queens Historical Society will present the Annual Historic Holiday House Tour on December 7. The guided trolley tour includes stops at seven festively decorated museums and historical sites in Queens: the Kingsland Homestead, the Flushing Quaker Meeting House, Flushing Town Hall, the Voelker Orth Museum, Lewis H. Latimer House, Louis Armstrong House Museum and the Bowne House. Tickets will cost $20 for adult admission, and $10 for children ages 12 and under (queenshistoricalsociety.org).
The Louis Armstrong House Museum will also host its annual holiday tours throughout the month of December, featuring Louis Armstrong’s voice recording of “Twas the Night Before Christmas (A Visit from St. Nicholas)” and other seasonal favorites. The 40-minute guided tours of the house, a National Historic and New York City landmark, offer a look into the life of a jazz legend (louisarmstronghouse.org).
Take a tour of the decorated Queens County Farm Museum during the Holiday Open House in the Adriance Farmhouse in Floral Park, December 26–28. Children can partake in crafts while all visitors can enjoy a cup of their fresh mulled cider (queensfarm.org).
For its 21st season, Gingerbread Lane will be taking place at the New York Hall of Science in Corona from November 14th through January 11th. Named the Largest Continuous Gingerbread Village, the display has also received a Guinness World Record title. The display features a 1.5 ton, 450-square-foot village made entirely of edible gingerbread, royal icing, and candy. There will be gingerbread workshops as well as a Gingerbread Lane House Giveaway throughout the holiday season (www.nysci.org).
Holiday Happenings in Staten Island
Historic Richmond Town will hold its annual holiday favorite, Candlelight Tours. The candles, oil lamps and flickering fireplaces will light up the town, and visitors can expect a “wassail bowl” reception in the Courthouse. The tour will take place on December 13. Prepaid reservations are required; call 718-351-1611, ext. 281, for tour times and reservations (historicrichmondtown.org).
For more information, visit nycgo.com.
Candlelight Evenings at Old Bethpage Village Restoration
One of the most enchanting places for candlelight tours anywhere is right in our own backyard: Old Bethpage Village Restoration.
This year, Candlelight Evenings will be held Saturday and Sunday December 20-21 and Friday-Tuesday December 26-30 5 pm-930 pm (last ticket sold promptly at 8pm).
Other marvelous holiday events in the village is a craft show in the Fairgrounds Exhibition Building (Dec. 20-21) and a train show Dec. 20-21 and 27-28.
You can see historic craft demonstrations- broom making, candle making, spinning, plus there is story telling, fiddle music, Contra Dancing accompanied by the fiddle and dulcimer, pump organ, singing, carolers, brass band concerts, music by local performers, and performances of A Christmas Carol.
Old Bethpage Village Restoration, 1303 Round Swamp Road (Exit 48 of the Long Island Expressway), 516-572-8400; Adults/$10, children 5-12/$7 (under 5 are free); and $7 for seniors and volunteer firefighters.
Holiday Lights Spectacular Returns to Jones Beach State Park
The drive-through Holiday Lights Spectacular presented by the NYCB Family of Banks has returned to the West End of Jones Beach, bringing back a Long Island holiday tradition last held in the park in 2007. Partnering with entertainment giant Live Nation, the Holiday Lights Spectacular is a 2.5-mile drive offering visitors the opportunity to view more than 150 animated and synchronized light displays that will create a colorful and marvelous holiday experience.
The Holiday Lights Spectacular runs through Sunday, January 4. Visitors can enjoy the display each day from dusk until 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
This year the Holiday Lights Spectacular features the inaugural Holiday Village. The Holiday Village will feature pictures with Santa, holiday refreshments, holiday music, local school choir performances, and a Hay Maze that will provide a magical journey through the sparkling lights in the Holiday Village.
Admission for the Holiday Lights Spectacular is $20 per vehicle and $25 on weekends. Every Tuesday, “2 for Tuesdays” will offer visitors the opportunity to drive through the Holiday Lights Spectacular a second time for free.
Purchase tickets at www.ticketmaster.com.
‘A Christmas Carol’ in Sleepy Hollow
Following up on 39 sold-out performances during Historic Hudson Valley’s Irving’s ‘Legend’ event in October, master storyteller Jonathan Kruk returns to Sleepy Hollow in December for Dickens’s ‘Christmas Carol.’
The historic, candlelit interior of the circa-1685 Old Dutch Church is the setting, this time for a dramatic performance of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ complete with musical accompaniment. Kruk brings to life the classic Charles Dickens story of Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Performances take place on Saturday and Sunday Dec. 6-7, 13-14, and 20-21, at 3:30, 4:45, and 6 pm.
Tickets for Dickens’s ‘Christmas Carol’ include complimentary admission to A Holiday Open House, an event which takes across the street from the church at Philipsburg Manor. This 18th-century historic site — owned and operated by Historic Hudson Valley — will be lit by candle lanterns and bonfires. Visitors can take part in hands-on, winter-themed crafts, listen to live fiddle music, and toast the evening with complimentary sweets and hot beverages, all while browsing for holiday gifts at the Philipsburg Manor Museum Shop, which is packed with special Hudson Valley merchandise that can’t be found at traditional retailers.
In addition to being part of the Dickens experience, tickets for A Holiday Open House are also available separately. Parking for both events is at Philipsburg Manor, 381 North Broadway (Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow.
Capacity is very limited for Dickens’s ‘Christmas Carol’ and tickets should be purchased in advance at www.hudsonvalley.org or by calling 914-366-6900. Ticket prices are $24 for adults and $20 for children under 18. Historic Hudson Valley recommends the event for ages 10 and up.
Separate tickets for A Holiday Open House, which do not include admission to Dickens’s ‘Christmas Carol’ are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors, $8 for children 3-17, and free for children under 3 and Historic Hudson Valley members.
For information and tickets to both events: 914-366-6900, www.hudsonvalley.org.
Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem Holiday Festival at Steelstacks
Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, the popular holiday marketplace that takes place at PNC Plaza at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, returns for its 22nd year, with 100 artisans and vendors, a special 50th anniversary celebration by Käthe Wohlfahrt. The event takes place Thursday to Sunday, through Dec. 21.
New this year is the Christkindlmarkt/Bethlehem: The Christmas City Movie combo ticket, which includes admission to the “Bethlehem: The Christmas City” film, highlighting Bethlehem’s rich history from its founding by the Moravians in 1741 through the present day.
Recognized as one of the best holiday markets in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure, Christkindlmarkt is a delightful family event that features aisles of exquisite, handmade works by the nation’s finest artisans, the heartwarming sounds of live Christmas music, delicious German and Austrian food, and more.
Each weekend, dozens of vendors and artisans come to the marketplace from as far away as North Carolina, Georgia, Indiana and Illinois. Approximately 135 different vendors will attend the market over its five-week run, with nearly 20 percent of them appearing at the event for the first time.
Among the thousands of holiday gift ideas guest will discover are beautiful glass art, handmade jewelry, wheel-thrown pottery, gourmet foods and hand-crafted candles.
One of the highlights of Christkindlmarkt 2014 is the return of Käthe Wohlfahrt, which is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. In honor of the special occasion, the renowned German ornament and nutcracker maker is featuring a handful of special 50th Anniversary collectibles and ornaments, all available only in very limited quantities.
Other new attractions include the first limited-edition Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem collectible from Rich Connolly, the popular local artist known for his hand-painted chalkware figurines created with century-old antique candy molds; as well as the opportunity for guests to work with the glass artists at the Glassblowing Tent powered by Think Energy to create their own Stamped Glass Bethlehem Star, the perfect souvenir of their visit to the Christmas City.
Families attending Christkindlmarkt will also enjoy the ice sculpting demonstrations, giant playhouses created by area architects, and visits with the market’s authentic German St. Nicholas. Plus, the popular “Breakfast with St. Nick” is back Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 and 13 at 9 a.m. During the events, which sell out each year, children and their families enjoy a delicious hot breakfast, goodie bag and arts & crafts, as well as a photos with the jolly, old man himself.
Christkindlmarkt hours are Thurs., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving), Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sun., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Advance tickets are $8 for ages 13 and older, $4 for ages 6-12, and admission is free for ages 5 and under. Advance season passes are $16 for ages 13 and older, and $8 for ages 6-12;
Tickets for Breakfast with St. Nick are $14.95 for ages 11 and older; $11.95 for ages 2-10, and $6.95 for ages under 2.
For complete Christkindlmarkt information, as well as tickets and season passes, visit http://www.christmascity.org or call 610-332-3378.
41st Cape May Christmas Candlelight House Tour
Cape May, NJ displays America’s largest collection of historic Victorian structures dressed in holiday finery. This year marks the 41st Cape May Christmas Candlelight House Tour, a self-guided tour that features at least a dozen homes, inns, hotels and churches each evening, all decorated with Yuletide flair. Carolers and strolling musicians, Victorian festooned trees and garlands, and welcoming hospitality centers with warm beverages and home-baked goodies enhance the merriment and good cheer.
Ticket prices include admission to the historic Emlen Physick Estate, Cape May’s only Victorian house museum, and “An Old-fashioned Christmas: Holiday Traditions through the Years” exhibit at Carriage House Gallery. There is also continuous shuttle service on heated trolleys.
The event takes place Saturdays. Dec. 6, 13 & 27, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., $25 adults, $20 children (ages 3-12). The tours are limited and advance reservations are necessary. Call 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278 or visit www.capemaymac.org/candlelighthousetours.html.
Strawbery Banke Museum Celebrates 35th Annual Candlelight Stroll “The Winter Visitor”
We’ve discovered what a charming place Portsmouth, NH is when we stayed at the historic, grand hotel, Wentworth-by-the-Sea. The city has a fabulous historic district with Strawbery Banke at its center.
Strawbery Banke Museum celebrates “The Winter Guest” during the 35th annual Candlelight Stroll, December 6-7, 13-14 and 20-21, 2014. The event takes place from 5 to 9 pm on Saturdays and 4 to 8 pm on Sundays.
The Candlelight Stroll carries visitors into holiday lives from the past as the 10-acre outdoor history museum and its 40 historic buildings recreate December through 350 years in the waterfront Portsmouth neighborhood of Puddle Dock.
Thousands of decorations, hand-crafted from natural materials grown in the museum’s gardens, flickering wood-and-glass candle lanterns, carolers around the bonfire and costumed role-players set the scene for “The Winter Visitor.” Mrs. Shapiro prepares a Hanukah celebration her 1919 Russian Jewish kitchen. Mrs. Goodwin, her family and servants prepare a Victorian Christmas. The night watchman makes his rounds along the dirt lanes; and the Abbotts await news of their soldier fighting in Europe in the Second World War.
Carolers, chestnuts and holiday crafts bring all the sounds, scents and moments for family ‘stopfulness’ to this event that is a cherished New Hampshire tradition. Tickets are $23 for adults, $11.50 for children 5-17. Tickets are available online at www.strawberybanke.org.
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