Hi friends, welcome back! It’s not Christmas in New York without a stop to see the Rockefeller Christmas tree. This year’s tree is a Norway Spruce from Vestal, New York. It reaches 80 feet tall, 43 feet wide, weighs twelve tons, and is believed to be eighty to eighty-five years old. I was always curious how the tree is chosen, and I recently learned that people apply to donate their tree. In order to be selected, the tree must be an older Norway Spruce around seventy-five feet tall and forty-five feet wide. The tree arrives in mid-November and a crew works to outfit it with over 50,000 multi-colored LED lights. The finishing touch is a Swarovski star that is over seven hundred pounds and has 70 spikes and three million crystals.
Every year there is a big celebration to light the tree, we attended in 2021, but we thought it was a one and done event because a lot is pre-taped. This years tree lighting ceremony was hosted by Kelly Clarkson on November 29th. The show featured other performances by celebrities such as Cher, the Rockettes, and Barry Manilow.
I love seeing this tree, but this year especially the crowds are so off putting. You can hardly move at night, even during the week, so we just try to get in and out as fast as possible. If I could, I’d wake up super early to see the tree turn on in the morning.
This tourist climbed into the middle of the fountain to get his picture…
Once the tree is lit, you can see it “From 5am-midnight until January 13th at 10:00pm. From December 15th through Christmas Eve, The Tree will be lit from 5am-1am. On Christmas Day, the Tree is lit for 24 hours and on New Year’s Eve it is lit from 5am to 9pm.” After January 13th, the tree is donated to Habitat for Humanity.
Located seven blocks south of Rockefeller, Bryant Park is the second most popular spot in NYC around the holidays. Starting in late October, this popular park gets transformed into a Winter Village complete with an ice rink, curling, holiday shops, and a bar area called The Lodge. The Winter Village. sponsored by Bank of America, opened October 27th and will be up through March 3, 2024. The holiday shops are open Mon-Fri 11am-8 pm and Sat & Sun 10am-8pm until January 2, but The Lodge and ice rink will be open until March 3rd.
Skating is free with a reservation, but skates are not included. You can also rent bumper cars starting in January.
The past few years I shared that I’ve been disappointed the tree didn’t have any ornaments like it did pre-Covid. Well perhaps somebody read my blog because this year the ornaments returned to the tree! It looks so much better than it did the past two years. I love that they used traditional and festive ornaments too. This years tree is a 48 foot tall Norway Spruce from Hornell, NY and there was a tree lighting ceremony on November 28th. The lighting ceremony is more lowkey than Rockefeller and most of the performers are famous figure skaters.
My mom and sisters came to see the holiday cheer this year.
Some of our favorite spots to eat at Bryant Park are Sweet Tooth, Casa Toscana, Koukli Saucy Greek, and El Pambazo Shop. You can find a directory here of all the shops and eateries.
As you can see, both Rockefeller and Bryant Park are must-see spots around the holidays. I always try to go as early in the season as possible to avoid the crowds and have a better experience. Stay tuned for my last two NYC Christmas posts.
Magic!!!
I agree!!
Although the tree at Rockefeller Center is magnificent and stately, I think I might prefer the one at Bryant Park with its festive decorations and ability to get up close. Do they really let bumper cars on the ice rink? I’d have to see that.
You used to be able to get pretty close to Rockeller, but in 2021 they really started fencing it off. Maybe they are being extra cautious after someone burned the Fox News tree down. I do agree I like the festive ornaments are Bryant Park. They are like innertube looking bumper cars, but they block off an area of the ice rink for that after Christmas.
Wow! The innertube bumper cars must be a blast.
Oh what fun. So nice to see the huge lit tree in Rockefeller Center. Great portrait selfies of you and Jon. Also nice that your family came to visit during the season. Thanks for sharing Lyssy. Allan
Thank you! I just wish that Rockefeller was like in the movies when they can just walk right up and not have to fight through. My mom and sisters came in for about 36 hours, but they managed to see everything.
Loved the photo of Jon in his Santa hat and you in yours with the big pompom. Fabulous photos of the decorations and all that delicious calorie-free (not) food.
Thank you! You will never go hungry at Bryant Park, that’s for sure 🙂
Clearly
Festive and fabulous. Italian donuts look very tempting!
Those donuts are so good, especially on a cold day!
I meant to start with comments on the Rockefeller tree but I can almost taste those bombolones – oh my. Interesting history on the tree of trees! A Norway Spruce from New York suggests it was at some point an immigrant – legal or illegal? 🙂 And it’s a wonder it can hold a 700-lb tree-topper, unless there’s a hidden support structure. Our own tree supports a featherlight angel and sometimes I think she’s about to take a swan dive. Finally, I wonder what the heck Habitat does with such a massive tree… firewood?
Bombolones are so good on a cold day! Perhaps a seed came over on the Mayflower so they could have their traditional Christmas trees in a few years 🙂 I am guessing there’s some kind of support because that topper must be very expensive. Haha my star is usually pretty crooked, it’s tough to get on there. I guessed they made big planks from the wood, I am planking on the name of what that is called.
It all looks so lovely but the crowds would be a real turnoff for me too.
This year seemed especially busy!
Gorgeous, it’s not surprising the crowds are so big. I adore your festive bobble hat too Lyssy.
Thank you – I have it in 3 colors but wear the red most around the holidays. It seems like more people are traveling to see Christmas markets and displays around the world this year.
These decorated Christmas trees invariably summon up memories of childhood, and it’s great to see such beautiful decorations to revive those fond memories.
You are very right! These trees remind us of the magic of Christmastime.
A gorgeous (and massive) Christmas tree: I can’t believe the star alone weighs over 700 pounds! Very pretty, but a nightmare to be in the crowds! Bryant Park has a lot of wonderful eats, and it looks like a winter wonderland! Wishing you a great holiday season!
That is a big tree topper! I’d be nervous if I had the job of putting it up. I avoid the area on the weekends and the videos I see of the crowds are insane! Hard to pick what to eat at Bryant Park, it’s all so good. Hope you have a great holiday season too!
The Rockefeller Christmas tree looks spectacular and is dazzling. Bryant Park seems like a fun spot to explore too, and I would definitely want to skate there!!!
Bryant Park is a nice place to skate because they only charge for rentals and not ice time. I haven’t skated in years, I’d probably embarrass myself!
Aww beautiful, and I love the story of the tree and people asking to donate. 75 years old is one heck of a tree! I’m shocked no-one tried to steal the star each year given its value!
Such a stunning tree. That is one impressive tree topper too. I had no idea the star was so heavy!
What a lovely tradition year after year… I’ve only seen it from afar in news reports (having grown up in Kansas and now living in Colorado), but would love to experience it in-person at some point in my life. And as a figure skater I always drool over images of the ice rink! What an experience it would be to skate under that beautiful tree.