New York City Christmas tree lights are starting to twinkle in neighborhoods all across the city! While the iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in Midtown is a spectacular sight to behold, there are plenty of other trees in museums, historic houses, public parks, and more places throughout the city that are also worth a visit.
From origami animals to 18th-century cherubs, these towering trees are decked out in all manner of ornaments and lights. While some may be almost as famous as the Rockefeller Center Tree, like the one in Bryant Park, weâve included a few that are a bit more off the beaten path. Find out where you can soak up some holiday cheer while (hopefully!) avoiding the crowds.
See some of these trees on our upcoming Holiday Decoration Stroll, where you can admire and learn about NYC's holiday decor traditions from the warmth of your own home!
New York City Holiday Decoration Stroll
Uncover the history of Manhattan's most iconic holiday decorations and traditions!
1. American Museum of Natural History Origami Tree
Photos by Alvaro Keding & Daniel Kim Š AMNH
The theme of this year's American Museum of Natural History Origami tree is New Beginnings, a nod to the current exhibition Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs.The 13-foot-tall displayâtopped by a flaming asteroidâis covered in folded paper versions of new animal species and insects that were able to flourish after the dinosaursâ mass extinction. Extinct dinosaurs and reptiles are represented too, including pterosaurs who filled the skies, mosasaurs and plesiosaurs who ruled the seas, and Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex, who walked the Earth. And of course, no AMNH tree would be complete without a representation of the beloved Blue Whale!
Each of the 1,000 ornaments is hand-folded by local, national, and international origami artists, in partnership with OrigamiUSA. This year's tree was designed by Ros Joyce and Talo Kawasaki.
2. The Lobster Trap Tree
The tree at Brooklynâs Red Hook Lobster Pound restaurant is quite unconventional. First erected in 2017, the tree is made up of stacks of lobster traps lined with garlands of red buoys. Every year, the Red Hook restaurant hosts an annual tree lighting with complimentary drinks, snacks, and lots of cheer.
3. DUMBO's Construction Cone Tree
DUMBO once put up one of Brooklynâs funniest alternative New York City Christmas trees. Usually, a typical evergreen tree stands at the Pearl Street Triangle with a mailbox for Santa. But over the past couple of years, while construction has been going on for the capital street improvement project, the Dumbod BID has put up a Construction Cone Christmas tree! Stationed in the Dumbo Archway, the tree makes its final appearance this year!
4. Floating Christmas Trees in Central Park
Photograph Courtesy of Central Park Conservancy
Central Parkâs Harlem Meer is aglow with holiday lights from a flotilla of trees. Floating on the lake in front of the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center at 110th Street on the East Side of the park, the flotilla is made up of multiple lighted trees, the tallest of which is topped with a glittering star.
Of Central Parkâs 18,000 trees, almost 1,000 are evergreens. In the winter, you can find lovely wintry scenes of snow-covered spruces, hemlocks, pines, hollies, and cedars in various areas of the park, including Arthur Ross Pinetum and Cedar Hill.
5. The Met Museum Tree
Like the American Museum of Natural Historyâs Tree, the tree at the Met Museum takes inspiration from the institutionâs collections. Standing twenty feet tall in front of the eighteenth-century Spanish choir screen from the Cathedral of Valladolid in the Museumâs Medieval Sculpture Hall, the tree is adorned with cherubs and angels from the 18th century.
The Metâs tree tradition started in 1957 when museum patron Loretta Hines Howard started to decorate a tree at the museum with Nativity figures she had been collecting since 1925. Now, the Met holds more than 250 such objects from Howardâs collection. At the base of the tree is an eighteenth-century Neapolitan Nativity scene, surrounded by an array of over seventy figures.
The tree will be on view through January 6, 2026, along with a historic menorah. The Menorah, on view in The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Galleries was created for the Great Synagogue in Lviv (present-day Ukraine) and dates to 1866. It is one of the largest silver Hanukkah lamps known.
6. Tompkins Square Park Tree
Photo and entry copy contributed by reader Robin McMillan
The tree at Tompkins Square Park is a permanent specimen, a spruce that grows in the park year-round. Itâs 50-something feet tall, Jack Spratt-scrawny, and more than a little crooked. It was planted in 1992, only eight feet tall at the time, but originally not to mark the holidays.
A local resident named Albert Favozzi and fellow members of the local Community Board planted it as a memorial to Favozziâs partner Glenn Barnett, a victim of AIDS. Soon it became a memorial to all in the neighborhood who had died of AIDS, as well as a symbol of the neighborhoodâs revitalization. The annual tree lighting is accompanied by Carolers of Olde New York from the Theater for the New City dressed in period clothes.
7. Madison Square Park Tree
The very first public holiday tree lighting in the United States took place not at Rockefeller Center, but in Madison Square Park on Christmas Eve 1912. The tree was called the âTree of Light.â The idea of a public holiday tree lighting was conceived by social activist Emilie D. Lee Hereshoff. Hereshoff wanted to provide those who couldnât afford their own tree with a special celebration.
The first public New York City Christmas tree, which was sixty feet high and twenty feet wide, was donated by The Adirondack Club. At least 20,000 New Yorkers came out to see that first lighting ceremony.
â When you visit the tree today, you can also stop by the Star of Hope. This star-topped pole marks the spot where the first tree was placed.
8. Washington Square Park Tree
Nestled within the opening of the Washington Square Arch, youâll find another historic New York City Christmas tree. A tree-lighting ceremony has taken place at Washington Square Park since 1924. The tree under the Arch is lit for the season between the hours of 4 pm and 1 am.
Along with the traditional lighting of the tree, this festive site is also a gathering place for caroling on Christmas Eve. Every year, the public is invited to belt out âPeace on Earth, Good Will to Menâ and other songs of the season. You can download the Washington Square Arch caroling songbook on the Washington Square Arch Associationâs website.
9. Wall Street Tree
Situated in front of the New York Stock Exchange, the Wall Street tree is covered in multi-colored lights and topped with a big, bright star. The tree is accompanied by festive lighting on the columns of the New York Stock Exchange facade and a menorah. Every year, the tree lighting is met with festive fanfare. Musical guests help ring in the holiday season at the ceremony, and Santa is usually on hand too!
10. Bryant Park Tree
Perhaps the next most popular tree after Rockefeller Center, the tree at Bryant Park is surrounded by the Bryant Park Winter Village which includes shops and an ice skating rink. More than 180 new and returning merchants have set up shop at the winter village this year. The ice skating rink is the largest free-admission rink in the city.
11. The South Street Seaport Tree
Image Courtesy of the Howard Hughes Corporation
Standing near the Titanic Memorial Lighthouse and the South Street Seaport Museum, youâll find the glowing South Street Seaport tree. The tree stands tall on the historic cobblestone streets of the seaport district, which boasts historic ships, stunning views, and landmark buildings that date as far back as the late 1700s.
Throughout the holiday season, businesses surrounding the tree and the Seaport Museum will be hosting various festive activities. You can also visit the nautical Menorah and a display of imaginative gingerbread structures created by NYC architects.
12. Lotte New York Palace Hotel Tree
The Lotte New York Hotel Christmas tree stands at the center of the hotelâs courtyard, which is full of red and gold presents and shining lights. This space is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday. Stepping inside the lobby, you can see another surprising Christmas tree, a gingerbread model of the hotel made out of more than 100 pounds of cookie dough and icing!
13. Arthur Avenue
Courtesy of Nicholas and Lence Communications
In Ciccarone Park, a colorful Christmas tree will shine throughout the holiday season. The tree lights up a section of Arthur Avenue in the Bronxâs Little Italy. The Christmas tree is one of many festive holiday displays in the area. While in the Bronx, you can also check out the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden, as well as Holiday Lights at the Bronx Zoo. You can spot the tree at the intersection of East 188th Street and Arthur Avenue.
14. The Hendrick I. Lott House
Courtesy of the Hendrick I. Lott House
At one of the oldest buildings in Brooklyn, youâll find a charming New York City Christmas tree. The historic Hendrick I. Lott House in Marine Park hosts its annual tree lighting with Sinterklaus (Dutch Santa) in attendance. The Lott House was built in 1720, with an expansion in 1800, making parts of it over 300 years old!
Lott House After Dark: Paranormal Investigation Tour
January 17th at 6 pm - 8 pm ET: For the first time ever, the doors of the Lott House are open for you to conduct a paranormal investigation! Explore centuries of history and search for traces that still linger on a guided tour of this haunted farmhouse, currently closed to the publicâŚ
â¤ď¸ Tickets benefit Friends of the Lott House restoration efforts!
The sunken plaza on 6th Avenue in front of 1221 Avenue of the Americas has a towering Christmas Tree this year that you can walk through. At the bottom of the tree, there is a section that is cut out and covered with lights for a perfect photo op.
16. The New York Public Library Tree
The New York Public Library's snow-kissed, 22-foot tree stands majestically in the marble-clad Astor Hall. Also on display in the hall is an illuminated copy of the Qurâan believed to have been produced in Safavid Iran in the 16th century and an 18th-century brass Hanukkah lamp from Poland, on loan from the Bernard Museum of Judaica, Temple Emanu-El.
For 2025, visitors can explore two special holiday exhibitions inside Stephen A. Schwarzman Building: Best Friends Forever: Holiday Greeting Cards from NYPLâs Picture Collection and A Dickens Christmas, on view in the McGraw Rotunda on the Third Floor through January 4, 2026.
Honorable Mention from Past Years
1. The Secret Pet Memorial Tree in Central Park
Pet owners could once find this heartwarming, makeshift memorial hidden deep in the woods of the Ramble in Central Park, south of Belvedere Castle. On the tree, pet mourners hung mostly handmade ornaments, all dedicated to lost furry loved ones. There were laminated photos of pooches and notes to lost felines and other pets among ribbons and bows. The tradition has been going on for at least 15 years, but sadly came to an end in August 2025 when the tree was cut down due to disease. It's unclear at the time of publication if a new tree in the park will carry on the tradition. If you hear anything...let us know!
Nicole Saraniero is the Insider-in-Chief at Untapped New York, leading our Untapped New York Insiders membership program. Nicole graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Science in Televis
