The Holiday Almanac · Christmas

Christmas in New York 2026: Dates, Lights & What's Open

Christmas in New York 2026, with the dates that matter: the Rockefeller tree lighting on December 2, the NYBG train show, the Bronx Zoo and Brooklyn light trails, a rebuilt Macy's Santaland, Midnight Mass and what's open on Christmas Day.

Checked on the organizers’ own pages, October 18, 2026

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The season starts early this year. The Rockefeller Center tree arrives on Saturday, November 7, the NYBG Holiday Train Show opens November 14, Hudson Yards lights up on the 16th, and the light trails at the Bronx Zoo and Brooklyn Botanic Garden open the following weekend. The tree is lit on Wednesday, December 2, and Christmas falls on a Friday.

This guide covers the season's big dated events. For the holiday markets, the Fifth Avenue windows, Dyker Heights and the ice rinks, see the Almanac's other guides. Every date and price below was checked on the organizer's own page on October 18, 2026; anything not yet announced shows last year's pattern, labeled 2025.

Midtown, ManhattanConfirmed for 2026

The Rockefeller Center tree lighting

The 2026 tree arrives at the plaza on Saturday, November 7, and is lit at the annual ceremony on December 2, broadcast live on NBC. After the season the tree is donated to Habitat for Humanity and milled into lumber.

When: Wed Dec 2, 2026
Hours: 2026 broadcast time not yet posted. In 2025 the show began at 8pm and the tree was lit just before 10pm.
Cost: Free to watch from the public viewing areas
Where: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, West 49th to 50th Streets
Subway: B/D/F/M to 47–50 Sts–Rockefeller Ctr

Honestly, watch it on TV. In 2025 police closed Fifth and Sixth Avenues from 46th to 52nd Streets, and the first people in line arrived before 2pm. See the tree in person the next morning instead.

Source: Official site ↗

2026TBA

Midtown, Manhattan2026 not yet announced

Seeing the Rockefeller tree

The 2026 tree arrives on Saturday, November 7 (Rockefeller Center's "Meet the Tree Day") and is lit at the ceremony on Wednesday, December 2. Once it's lit, the tree is free to see from the plaza above the rink, with the Channel Gardens angels leading up to it from Fifth Avenue. Rockefeller Center will post its 2026 viewing hours later in the season.

When: From Thu Dec 3, 2026; 2026 end date not yet posted
Hours: 2026 hours not yet posted. In 2025 it was lit 5am to midnight daily, all night on Christmas Eve, and came down January 10.
Cost: Free from the plaza
Where: 30 Rockefeller Plaza
Subway: B/D/F/M to 47–50 Sts–Rockefeller Ctr

Go early on a weekday morning, before 8am, when the plaza is nearly empty and the lights are still on.

Source: Official site ↗

BronxConfirmed for 2026

NYBG Holiday Train Show

Model trains run past nearly 200 New York landmarks built from bark, pinecones and other plant parts, inside the Victorian glasshouse. New this year is a botanical model of One Vanderbilt.

When: Nov 14, 2026 – Jan 10, 2027
Hours: Tue–Sun 10am–6pm; open until 8pm on select evenings (Nov 27–29; Dec 5, 11, 12, 18–20, 26–30; Jan 2). Closed Dec 25
Cost: Timed tickets from $39 adults, $35 seniors and students, $27 children 2–12 (prices vary by date)
Where: Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx
Subway: Metro-North Harlem Line to Botanical Garden, about 20 minutes from Grand Central; or B/D/4 to Bedford Park Blvd, then the Bx26 bus

Book one of the evening dates to see it after dark, and allow an extra 10 to 15 minutes from the train: the station's pedestrian overpass is closed.

Source: Official site ↗

BronxConfirmed for 2026

Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights

Six lantern-safari trails, tunnels of light and a musical light show at Astor Court fill the zoo on select nights. New this year, the Children's Zoo farmyard, World of Darkness and World of Reptiles stay open for the event.

When: Select nights, Nov 21, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027
Hours: Entry 1–8pm, lights on at 4:30pm, closes 9pm
Cost: Any-night tickets $42.95 adults, $27.95 children 3–12, $37.95 seniors; advance only, rain or shine
Where: Bronx Zoo, 2300 Southern Blvd, Bronx (Gate B, Bronx River entrance)
Subway: 2 to Pelham Pkwy, then walk west to Gate B; or 2/5 to West Farms Sq–E Tremont Av

Arrive at 1pm on the same ticket to see the animals in daylight, then stay for the lights. The nights run Nov 21–22 and 27–29, Dec 3–6, 10–13, 17–23 and 26–31, and Jan 2–3.

Source: Official site ↗

Prospect Heights, BrooklynConfirmed for 2026

Lightscape at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The garden's after-dark light trail returns with large-scale light installations set to a soundtrack along a wheelchair-accessible route. There are 21-and-over nights on Thursdays, December 10 and 17.

When: Nov 20, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027
Hours: Evenings, timed entry
Cost: Adults $29 on Value nights, $39 Off-Peak, $44 Peak; children 3–11 $15–$28; under 3 free
Where: Brooklyn Botanic Garden; the trail starts at the Visitor Center, 990 Washington Ave
Subway: 2/3 to Eastern Pkwy–Brooklyn Museum; 4/5 to Franklin Av

Value nights cost $15 less per adult than Peak nights; book early-season weeknights.

Source: Official site ↗ · On LovelyNYC →

Hudson Yards, ManhattanConfirmed for 2026

Shine Bright at Hudson Yards

More than two million lights, 725 evergreens and a 32-foot hot-air-balloon centerpiece in the Great Room, with the Vessel lit for the season from a ceremony on Monday, November 16. Free photos with Santa run on weekday evenings, 5–8pm, from November 27 to December 23.

When: Nov 16, 2026 – Jan 7, 2027
Hours: Lights on throughout the season; shops Mon–Sat 10am–9pm, Sun 11am–7pm
Cost: Free; free photos with Santa
Where: The Shops at Hudson Yards and the Vessel, West 33rd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues
Subway: 7 to 34 St–Hudson Yards

Walk the High Line south at dusk afterwards; it starts right outside.

Source: Official site ↗

Herald Square, ManhattanConfirmed for 2026

Macy's Santaland, rebuilt for 2026

Macy's has rebuilt Santaland from scratch this year, with a new walk-through journey to Santa and a virtual queue: you check in at your reserved time and browse the store instead of standing in line. Its Holiday Square market of 20-plus vendors on the lower level opens October 30.

When: Opens Fri Nov 27, 2026; free reservations open Fri Nov 20
Hours: During store hours: Mon–Thu 10am–9pm, Fri–Sat 10am–10pm, Sun 11am–9pm
Cost: Free with a reservation; photo packages from $44.99; VIP visits $250 for up to eight people
Where: Macy's Herald Square, 151 W 34th St, 8th floor
Subway: B/D/F/M/N/Q/R/W to 34 St–Herald Sq

Free reservations open on November 20 and are released seven days ahead; set a reminder. Macy's says it will try to fit in walk-ups but can't promise.

Source: Official site ↗

Midtown, ManhattanConfirmed for 2026

Midnight Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral

Seats for Midnight Mass go by lottery, which ran from mid-June to early October this year, and the cathedral says it gets thousands of requests. The Mass is streamed live on the cathedral's website.

When: Christmas Eve, Thu Dec 24, 2026, at midnight
Cost: Free, by ticket only; the 2026 lottery has closed
Where: St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets
Subway: E/M to 5 Av/53 St; B/D/F/M to 47–50 Sts–Rockefeller Ctr

Watch the live stream, or visit the cathedral on a quieter December weekday to see it dressed for Christmas. Next year's lottery opens in mid-June.

Source: Official site ↗

CitywideConfirmed for 2026

Christmas Day: what's open and what's closed

The big museums and both Bronx gardens close on Christmas Day, so plan them for the 24th or 26th. The Met is also closed on Wednesdays, which this year means it's shut on both December 23 and 25. The city's own Christmas tradition still holds: a movie and Chinese food.

When: Fri Dec 25, 2026
Hours: Closed on December 25: the Met, MoMA, the American Museum of Natural History, the Bronx Zoo and NYBG
Cost: —
Where: Citywide
Subway: In 2025 the subway ran a Sunday schedule on Christmas Day and a regular weekday schedule on Christmas Eve

Walk Fifth Avenue's windows on Christmas morning, when the sidewalks are emptier than at any other time of the season.

Source: Official site ↗

2026TBA

Lower East Side to the Upper East Side2026 not yet announced

The vintage holiday subway train

The New York Transit Museum runs 1930s subway cars, with rattan seats, ceiling fans and vintage ads, in regular service on December Sundays for the price of an ordinary fare.

When: Sundays in December; 2026 dates not yet posted
Hours: In 2025: every Sunday in December, about 10am to 5pm, departing roughly every two hours
Cost: In 2025, a regular subway fare
Where: In 2025, between 2 Av on the F and 96 St on the Q
Subway: F to 2 Av; Q to 96 St

Rides are weather-permitting and routes can change; check the Transit Museum's page before you go.

Source: Organizer ↗

Notes on the dates

Rockefeller Center hasn't posted the 2026 tree hours, its take-down date or the broadcast time yet; the times shown are 2025's.
Garden and zoo tickets are timed and priced by date; prices shown are the published starting prices.
The Met, MoMA, the Natural History Museum, the Bronx Zoo and NYBG all close on December 25.
Macy's Santaland reservations open November 20; VIP tickets go on sale October 22.

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