Christmas in New York, 2026: Every Date on One Calendar

The whole season on one calendar

Solid bars are published dates. A dashed end means the closing date isn't published or is only given roughly. Dots are single days. Grey rows have already finished, and the pink line is today.

The markets

Four big ones, and only one of them is indoors. If it's bitter out, that's the one to do.

• Bryant Park Holiday Shops. October 28 to January 3, Monday to Friday 11am to 8pm, weekends 10am to 8pm, and many stay later at peak times. It's the only one with a published date past Christmas. bryantpark.org
• Union Square Holiday Market. November 12 to December 24, per NYC Tourism's listing; its market roundup says November 13, so check before opening day. NYC Tourism
• Grand Central Holiday Fair. November 9 to December 24, indoors in Vanderbilt Hall. It's the warm one, and the one next to a train if your feet give up. NYC Tourism
• Columbus Circle Holiday Market. NYC Tourism lists it for December, with no exact days when we checked. Don't build a day around it until they post them.

Trees and lights

Rockefeller Center. A 76-foot Norway spruce from West Edmeston, New York, arrives November 7 and is lit on December 2. Last year people lined up for hours for the lighting, so the easy night is any night after that. We wrote a whole guide to the tree.

Saks Fifth Avenue. The windows and the light show on the front of the building at 611 Fifth Avenue return on Monday, November 23. It's free, and it's across the avenue from Rockefeller Center, so do the two together. Showtimes and a closing date hadn't been announced when we checked.

Bryant Park. The park's own tree lighting is Tuesday, December 1, at 5:30pm. Santa's Corner, with free photos, runs Monday to Friday, December 14 to 18. Details.

Dyker Heights. People will tell you about the house lights in Brooklyn. Those are private homes with no official schedule, so we left them off the calendar. It's a long subway ride from Midtown, so check recent reports before you go.

Skating

Bryant Park's rink runs through February 28, weather permitting, daily 8am to 10pm, and until midnight from November 19 to January 3. Admission is free with your own skates, but you still need to reserve a time. Rentals started at $18.72 and ran up to $64.48 when we checked, depending on when you go. Reserve here. The Rink at Rockefeller Center is the famous one, under the tree, and it's ticketed. NYC Tourism has the details.

The shows you need a ticket for

The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall return on November 4 with 230 performances, the most they've ever scheduled, and NYC Tourism says the run goes through early January. Tickets and dates.

The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx runs November 14 to January 10: model trains running past nearly 200 New York landmarks built from plant parts like palm fronds, pinecones and cinnamon sticks. On certain nights it stays open until 8pm with live music. Tickets. Book that one ahead.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

This is where trips go wrong. In 2026, December 25 is a Friday. Union Square and Grand Central both end on the 24th. The Intrepid Museum closes on Christmas. Bryant Park's shops say holiday hours may vary; last year they ran noon to 5pm on Christmas Day. Reports say the Rockefeller tree stays lit all day on Christmas, though the center hadn't posted its hours for the season when we checked. We'd plan on a walk, the tree and the rink, and call anywhere you want to eat.

Walk times from our side of town

If you're staying in Hell's Kitchen, most of Midtown's Christmas is about 20 minutes east along West 48th Street. Below 42nd Street, take the train.

• Rockefeller CenterStraight along W 48th St to the complexabout 21 min
• Radio City Music Hallabout 20 min
• Columbus Circleabout 22 min
• Saks, 611 Fifth Aveabout 23 min
• Bryant Parkabout 24 min
• Grand Central, Vanderbilt Hallabout 30 min
• Union SquareLong enough that you should take the subwayabout 51 min

From 605 W 48th St, door to door at an easy pace, without waiting at lights. Street closures add time.

A Mexican Christmas, on a roof

New York's Christmas is mostly Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center. Ours is a little different. In Mexico, the nine nights before Christmas are posada season, with songs asking for shelter, food, and a piñata at the end. We hold ours on seven Sundays.

Christmas Posadas on our roof

A Mexican buffet with tamales, mole and champurrado, plus Christmas carols, traditional posada songs and a DJ. All ages, and families are welcome.

Sundays: November 8, November 15, November 22, November 29, December 6, December 13, December 20. Doors 5:30pm, posada 6pm to 9pm, piñata at 8pm. Adults $38 + Ticketón fees, kids 10 and under $20 + fees, paid in advance. The buffet, prices and tickets.

Any other night, we're a regular Mexican rooftop with a live DJ. The glass roof closes when it's cold or raining and the room is heated, so December works fine. It's loud, and it isn't what you'd call a quiet dinner. In a normal week: Tuesday to Thursday 5pm to 11pm (last reservation 10pm), Friday 5pm to 3am, Saturday 12pm to 3am and Sunday 12pm to 9:30pm. Closed Mondays. Online booking covers 2 to 8 people. For 9 or more, send a group request and we'll email you within one business day.

The rest of the season

For the details: the Macy's parade on November 26, SantaCon on December 12 if you want to join it or avoid it, and the ball drop on December 31.