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Photo courtesy NYC Winter Lantern Festival
The twinkle and glow of holiday lights in New York City create a magical feeling that is hard to replicate in any other place at any other time of year. In addition to iconic holiday destinations like the flashy light show at Saks Fifth Avenue, the nearby department store windows, and the giant Rockefeller Center Tree, there are spots all over the city where you can find quirky and creative expressions of holiday cheer. Here are 10 places in New York City where you can find holiday decor to get you in the spirit:
If there is one place in New York City that goes all out with Christmas decorations, it’s Rolf’s German Restaurant in Gramercy Park at 22nd Street and 3rd Avenue. Every inch of Rolf’s ceiling is covered with decorations like giant metallic ornaments in varying shapes from balls to icicles, yards of garland, strings of Christmas lights, and miniature figurines of reindeer and angels. During the holiday season Rolf’s gets packed pretty quickly, but if you can’t get a reservation or never make it to the front of the line to eat your schnitzel under the festive decor, don’t worry, the holiday decorations are kept up until the end of May!
Meagan Meehan, Toy Cycle, Canvas, paint, metal, plastic, assorted toys, glitter. Photograph Courtesy of NYC Parks
This year marks the 36th Annual Wreath Interpretations Exhibition at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park presented by the NYC Parks’ Public Art Program. This decades long tradition puts an unexpected spin on a treasured holiday symbol. The show features nearly forty unique wreaths crafted by fine artists, designers, and creative individuals with unconventional materials ranging from piano keys, pasta and plastic bottles, to found tools, foam ears, and food. While the wreaths are often quirky and fun, some address serious issues like environmental pollution. A variety of the wreaths are up for sale and the proceeds will benefit the parks program.
You can visit the gallery now until January 3rd, 2019. It is free and open to the public.
Deep in the Ramble of Central Park there is a very special tree dedicated to the memory of pets who have passed on. The tree is decorated with handmade ornaments, many with pictures of beloved animals, some made of pet toys. More and more decorations pop-up on the tree as the holidays draw near and more bereaved pet parents add their mementos. The secluded tree offers a quiet place to remember a long lost furry friend.
Miracle on 12th Street
The Miracle Pop-Up Christmas bar has taken over multiple locations in New York City and the world. In 2014, bar owner Greg Boehm halted construction on his East Village cocktail bar, Mace, and turned the unfinished space into a pop-up holiday bar. Miracle on 9th Street was such a hit that Boehm continued the tradition year after year and the idea spread to other countries like Greece, Montreal and Paris. This year, bars in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Long Island were converted into Miracle pop-ups. The decorations inside of Santa hat covered chairs, fake fireplaces, and wrapped presents hanging from the ceiling are kitschy and over-the-top, creating a fun and casual atmosphere where you can enjoy creative cocktails like a Christmas Carol Barrel, a Christmopolitan, or a Bad Santa in whimsical Christmas-shaped mugs and reindeer-emblazoned glasses.
Photo courtesy NYC Winter Lantern Festival
Seven acres of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden on Staten Island will be covered in illuminated sculptures for the first ever NYC Winter Lantern Festival! The display includes different themed areas such as a light tunnel, a flower wonderland, an animal kingdom, a sea world, a Chinese section, and a holiday zone. The LED powered lanterns take on various shapes and sizes, from zoo animals to giant dragons. Some of figures reach thirty feet tall!
The NYC Winter Lantern Festival is produced here thanks to the China National Tourist Office New York, produced by New York Events & Entertainment (NEWYORKEE) and Haitian Culture, and co-sponsored by Empire Outlets and Snug Harbor. You can purchase tickets online here. The festival will run until January 6th, 2019.
Brooklyn Bridge, with World Trade Center in the distance with Battery Maritime Building, ferries, Statue of Liberty. Photo courtesy New York Botanical Garden
Watch model trains zip around a miniature, plant-based New York City at the annual New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show, a classic New York tradition. This year’s display features new replicas of One World Trade Center, the historic Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan (the ferry terminal that takes you to Governors Island), the Woolworth Building, the World Trade Center Oculus, the Battery Park Control House, and the Terminal Warehouse among the over 175 New York City landmarks created from barks, leaves, and other plant-based materials. The impressive display is all showcased in the stunning Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. The Holiday Train Show will run through January 21st, 2019.
Every year homeowners in Dyker Heights make the streets glow with their festive lawn displays. The lights, inflatables, projections, and animatronic figures dazzle over 150,000 spectators who visit the Brooklyn neighborhood each year. All twenty-two blocks in the neighborhood participate, but 83rd through 86th Streets (between 11th and 13th Avenues) are considered to be the “showstoppers.” The tradition of residents excessively decorating their homes started in 1986 when Lucy Spata’s extravagant display, put up in honor of her mother’s love for the Christmas holiday, inspired her neighbors to also pull out all the stops. The lights stay on until midnight on weekdays!
To get up close to a massive tree without having to fight through the crowds of Rockefeller Center, head down to Broad Street where you will find the New York Stock Exchange Christmas Tree and Menorah. This is the 95th tree to be lit on Broad Street since the tradition began in 1923. The date coincided with the first national tree lighting and the completion of a fully developed electrical grid in Manhattan for the first time. The stock exchange building itself is also decked out in bows, wreaths and rows of garland. While you’re there, you can also visit the Fearless Girl statue at her new location right across from the NYSE.
Photo by @ShaneDrummondPhoto, courtesy of ArtsBrookfield
Luminaries is an annual light installation stretched above the Winter Garden in Brookfield Place. The glowing canopy, designed by LAB at Rockwell Group, is made up of 650 lights that constantly change in color and intensity. Not only is the installation pretty just to look at, you can interact with it too. By placing your hand on one of the touch-sensitive Wishing Stations, you can send a ‘wish’ to the lanterns above which will pulse with color! For every wish made, Arts Brookfield has partnered with the GRAMMY Museum to donate $1, up to $25,000, to music education programs.
Check out more festive art installations this month here!
Photograph Courtesy of The Central Park Conservancy
One of the most interesting alternatives to the big tree at Rockefeller Center is the trio of trees floating on the Harlem Meer in Central Park. The first iteration of the floating decoration was a single tree attached to a floating platform in 2011. The idea behind bringing the tree outside of the nearby Charles A. Dana Discovery Center and into the meer (which is Dutch for lake) was to bring more focus to the water.
One of our Untapped Cities Insiders spotted a Christmas tree standing on the bow of the Wavertree, an 1885 cargo ship and Flagship of the Museum Fleet docked at the South Street Seaport. Both the Wavertree and Ambrose are donned with their own trees while another massive tree sits in Seaport Square.
Learn more about the Wavertree and New York City’s nautical past on our brand new Tour of NYC’s Maritime History.
Tour of NYC’s Maritime History
Next, check out 9 Stunning Department Store Holiday Windows to Check Out in NYC 2018 and New York Transit Museum’s Holiday Nostalgia Subway Trains Return for 2018 Season
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