Christmas is the best time to visit New York City. The Big Apple is obviously one of the most popular holiday spots, from the time Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade marches down Sixth Avenue until the ball is lowered at the top of One Times Square.
Between the beautifully adorned storefronts along Fifth Avenue and the huge Norwegian spruce in Rockefeller Center, New York City is brimming with lots of Christmas spots.
But while everyone’s talking about the most popular things to see during the holiday season, such as the Dyker Heights Christmas Lights, the Rockefeller Christmas Tree we just mentioned, or Central Park and its Wollman ice-skating rink, there are many other wonderful Christmas spots in New York City that tend to be overlooked.
We want to make them more visible, so get ready to discover new cool things that happen in New York City during the holiday season!
1. The Whimsical Gingerbread Lane
The delicious display of the edible village entirely made of gingerbread truly fascinates everyone, no matter their age. The name behind this lovely Christmas spot is Jon Lovitch, also known as “The Gingerbread Man”, who initially started doing this as a hobby. His work eventually landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The largest gingerbread village can be found in the Lower East Side’s Essex Market in New York City. Lovitch’s two other artworks are located in Salt Lake City and Kansas City.
Displaying more than 100 residential buildings and 22 commercial buildings, signs, and trees built from 1000 pounds of gingerbread decorated with jelly bean roof tiles, ounces of frosting, and candy canes will make you gape in awe.
The best part of this delicious Christmas spot? Visitors can take home pieces of this edible village on the last three days of the exhibition.
2. Winter Wonderland Staten Island
We’re very aware of why the 17,000-square-foot Bryant Park is so famous in New York City. Its holiday markets and skating rinks are packed with visitors most of the time, but there’s another Christmas spot that has at least the same potential, if not more, as its famous cousin: Winter Wonderland Staten Park.
It features a holiday market and ice skating rinks like Bryant Park but also offers some fun things like a light show, elf mini golf, a snow tube, an igloo cocktail bar, and, to top it off, fewer tourists to overcrowd the place.
Bonus activities like free live music, a nightly light show, the Reindeer run, and the Candy Cane Activity Zone (which costs around $10) are among many other perks you’ll find here.
3. The Amaze Light Festival
Millions of dazzling lights decked out with Chrismassy elements, 3D light decorations, and Christmas music are some of the many things you can enjoy at the Amaze Light festival. It claims to be America’s largest light festival, and it includes a small forest decorated with frost-covered trees and hundreds of lanterns.
This Christmas spot is about festive food, a light show, and a 30-minute animation of trees dancing to Christmassy music; all of this creates an impressive ambiance that will leave you dazzled.
Be it boarding the Arctic Express Train Ride, writing a letter to Santa, or hiking Icy Thrill Hill, the memories made here will last a lifetime.
This wonderful festival is hosted in two cities: New York and Chicago. More than 400,000 people are expected to attend this event, making it one of the biggest and best displays in New York.
4. Holiday Markets
Is there a better way to immerse yourself in the holiday spirit than strolling through lovely Christmas markets with a hot cup of cocoa or mulled wine in your hand? Booths with savory treats, hot specialty drinks, and local crafts are the best Christmas spots to have a merry time and wrap presents.
Whether it’s Urbanspace’s Union Square Holiday Market, Columbus Circle Holiday Market, or the Bryant Park Winter Village (there are many other options available), the best holiday markets are right here in New York City.
Whether indoor or outdoor, New York houses four major holiday markets and many other smaller winter bazaars. You just have to choose something you know you’ll truly enjoy.
Keep reading to discover more underrated Christmas spots in NYC!
5. A Christmas Holiday Cruise
Spending some time on a 1920s-style yacht may sound more exciting during Christmas, right? One of the cruises, the Carols Holiday Cruise and the New York City Cocoa, is wrapped in festivity.
Departing from Pier 62 (Chelsea Piers), the boat sails through New York Harbor, passing past spectacular views of Lower Manhattan, the NYC skyline, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Governors Island.
This kind of cruise isn’t exactly a Christmas spot, but it definitely enhances the holiday vibe. The duration is almost 1.5 hours, and you can entertain yourself with cocoa cookies, carols, jazz bands, and unparalleled views.
Tickets are around $130 per person and can be booked online.
6. Experience Holiday Treats From Different Cultures
Christmas isn’t the same without holiday treats. Yes, mugs of eggnog, candy canes, and gingerbread cookies are traditional Christmas items. But for a Christmassy vibe with a twist, we recommend you try holiday treats from different countries.
Try szarlotka (spiced apple cake) at Syrena in Greenpoint or any Polish bakeries, as well as sugar-dusted chrusciki (deep-fried crispy pastry), or makowiec (poppy-seed cake).
At Italian bakeries (we recommend Arthur Avenue, located in the Bronx), you can grab struffoli (fried dough balls) or rainbow cookies; Café Sabarsky sells a delicious Stollen, a German-origin fruitcake sprinkled with dried fruits, spices, and nuts; at Balthazar, you can try Pavlova, a New Zealand-based dessert with a crispy crust loaded with Chantilly cream.
… sorry, sweet-toothed folks, but you really need to try these Christmas spots!
7. Join Santathon This Christmas
A wonderful alternative to Santacon is Santathon. Both Christmas spots have dozens of people dressed as Santa Claus in their festive costumes, filling up the streets, which are packed with pub crawling, musical performances, and a lot of joy. It’s a nonpolitical Santa convention that happens once a year, focuses on spontaneity, and also supports charity.
For about $10, you’ll get a wristband that grants you special drinks and deals. The event’s proceeds from the sale of these wristbands are used to purchase warm clothing and toys for kids as part of a charity.
Both events serve the same purpose, although Santathon is less chaotic than Santacon.
8. Join the Glow-in-the-Dark Chanukah Dinner
Chanukah or Hanukkah is a Jewish wintertime festival that’s celebrated with fried food, prayers, and lights. Visitors can enjoy this Christmas spot at the World’s Largest Menorah, Grand Plaza, from December 18th to December 26th. The Menorah is a 33-foot-tall candelabrum, a sight to behold, and the whole place is filled with live music.
Head over to this Christmas spot to try mouth-watering Latkes (potato pancakes) and enjoy an evening of glow sticks, food, and prayers. This festival of light sticks is suitable for all ages. Kids, especially those aged seven and under, will have a lot of fun playing luminous games after munching a delicious Chanukah dinner.
9. Experience the Christmas Light Tour
Sorry, Rockefeller Center fans, but the Christmas Light Tour of Dyker Heights beats the famous Christmas spot we’ve just mentioned. This wonderful light display in the Brooklyn area is top-notch and exudes the holiday vibe to its core. The tour lasts around 3.5 hours and includes numerous activities.
You’ll visit several Christmas spots, including Lucy Spata’s house, the longtime doyenne of this famous event; enjoy the Christmas display in Dyker Heights as well as Bensonhurst and Bay Bridge; and feel the holiday vibe while hearing some stories on the bus from the tour guide. The tour will also include songs by Andy Williams and Frank Sinatra and will conclude with the recipients receiving Christmas souvenirs and candy canes.
10. Celebrate Christmas Like A Wizard
If you’re willing to try something more dynamic, this Christmas spot may be exactly what you’re looking for. And if you’re a Harry Potter fan who’s ready to head to a Yule Ball, then you definitely should go to the Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The vintage details and the warm atmosphere create a perfect yet underrated spot to celebrate the holidays.
Gowanus may seem like an odd choice for a night on the town, but it’s actually on its way to becoming the next hip Brooklyn hood, thanks, in part, to the Bell House. This new concert venue and bar brings indie acts to the spruced-up 1920s warehouse space, complete with lots of dark wood trimmings, chandeliers, and an old-style stage with red velvet curtains.
You may also want to read 9 Awesome Things To Do in Chicago This Winter.
