Everyone knows about the Rockettes, the department store windows, and the holiday markets. Don’t get us wrong, those are some of the best things about Christmas in NYC, but here are 10 less glitzy, more homey reasons to love Christmas and the holiday season in New York. Please share your own favorites in the comments!

1. The streets smell like pine trees.

The aroma of fresh Christmas trees is so much better than whatever the streets usually smell like the rest of the year. Christmas tree vendors can be found all over the city, often set up along the sidewalk, so you can take home your perfect tree.

Manhattan Rentals Under $3,000 on StreetEasy Article continues below

Sutton Place

1047 Second Avenue

$2,700 No Fee

Studio |

1

Fort George

9 Thayer Street

$2,400 No Fee

2 |

1

East Village

512 East 12th Street

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

1

Upper West Side

253 West 91st Street

$2,850 No Fee

1 |

1

Noho

302 Mott Street

$2,950 No Fee

Studio |

1

Lenox Hill

11 East 66th Street

$2,695 No Fee

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1

Lenox Hill

438 East 77th Street

$2,849 No Fee

1 |

1

South Harlem

16 West 119th Street

$1,900 No Fee

1 |

1

East Village

328 East 6th Street

$2,350 No Fee

1 |

1

East Village

414 East 11th Street

$2,500 No Fee

Studio |

1

Washington Heights

629 West 170th Street

$2,146 No Fee

1 |

1

Hell’s Kitchen

437 West 48th Street

$2,550 No Fee

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1

2. You can experience the city through gingerbread.

It seems that every year, a new gingerbread holiday display pops up. In 2018, StreetEasy collaborated with Williams-Sonoma to create Gingerbread City, a model of NYC made with real gingerbread cookies. This year, check out The Great Borough Bake-Off display at the Museum of the City of New York through January 8. The display gave local bakers the opportunity to recreate their own NYC neighborhoods out of gingerbread. There’s even a gingerbread Staten Island ferry!

3. Walking down the street with a Christmas tree is totally normal.

Because who has a car? (But if you do, check out the most car-friendly neighborhoods.)

Manhattan Homes Under $1M on StreetEasy Article continues below

Lenox Hill

301 East 69th Street

$699,000

1 |

1

Midtown South

372 Fifth Avenue

$635,000

Studio |

1

Upper West Side

588 West End Avenue

$550,000

1 |

1

Lincoln Square

345 West 58th Street

$775,000

1 |

1

Hell’s Kitchen

333 West 56th Street

$675,000

1 |

1

East Harlem

330 East 109th Street

$549,000

1 |

1

Yorkville

431 East 82nd Street

$599,000

1 |

1

Lenox Hill

11 East 68th Street

$695,000

Studio |

1

Lincoln Square

155 West 68th Street

$980,000

1 |

1

Upper East Side

120 East 86th Street

$975,000

2 |

1

West Village

85 Barrow Street

$849,000

1 |

1

Upper West Side

250 West 89th Street

$500,000

Studio |

1

4. Park Avenue is as festive as ever.

Adding lights to the trees down Park Avenue’s median have been a fixture of the NYC holiday season on the Upper East Side since 1945. The tradition started as a way to honor the men and women who had died in World War II. You can see the illuminated trees along Park Avenue between 54th and 97th Streets. In addition, see the Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue between East 45th and 46th Streets lit up in red and green at nighttime!

5. The most charming neighborhoods become even more charming.

Some of NYC’s most historical, beloved neighborhoods are at their best during the holidays. Neighborhoods like Greenpoint, Astoria, Greenwich Village, and the West Village become bastions of tradition, decorations, and overall festivity this time of year. It’s enough to make the center of the universe feel more like a small town. There’s no better time to take a stroll through your favorite charming NYC nabe!

Brooklyn Rentals Under $3,000 on StreetEasy Article continues below

Bedford-Stuyvesant

538 Willoughby Avenue

$2,850 No Fee

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1

Bushwick

1054 Bushwick Avenue

$2,850 No Fee

2 |

1

Farragut

1351 Brooklyn Avenue

$2,600 No Fee

1 |

1

Homecrest

2408 Ocean Avenue

$2,800 No Fee

1 |

1.5

Midwood

1122 Chestnut Avenue

$1,724 No Fee

Studio |

1

Midwood

1370 East 18th Street

$2,100 No Fee

1 |

1

Crown Heights

787 Sterling Place

$2,650 No Fee

2 |

1

Cobble Hill

196 Court Street

$2,895 No Fee

1 |

1

Stuyvesant Heights

385 Macon Street

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

1

Stuyvesant Heights

843 Lexington Avenue

$2,495 No Fee

1 |

1

Fort Hamilton

146 92nd Street

$2,300 No Fee

2 |

1

Fort Hamilton

278 91st Street

$1,750 No Fee

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1

6. The Dyker Heights Christmas lights never disappoint.

New Yorkers’ take on holiday lights is unlike any other, especially in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Dyker Heights. The nabe goes all out every year for Christmas and becomes “Dyker Lights“, attracting visitors from all over the city to see the spectacle. Year after year, it has remained a highlight (literally) of Christmas in NYC.

Dyker Heights Homes Under $1.5M on StreetEasy Article continues below

Dyker Heights

1124 67th Street

$858,000

2 |

2

Dyker Heights

1310 84th Street

$588,000

1 |

1

Dyker Heights

76 Battery Avenue

$725,000

3 |

2

Dyker Heights

1307 84th Street

$799,000

2 |

2

Dyker Heights

1307 84th Street

$858,000

2 |

2

Dyker Heights

1327 67th Street

$729,000

2 |

1

Dyker Heights

1032 78th Street

$1,480,000

4 |

4.5

Dyker Heights

82 Battery Avenue

$1,298,000

6 |

2

Dyker Heights

101 Battery Avenue

$999,999

3 |

2

Dyker Heights

8111 Eleventh Avenue

$1,499,000

4 |

2.5

Dyker Heights

7608 Eleventh Avenue

$999,000

3 |

1.5

Dyker Heights

680 81st Street

$289,000

1 |

1

7. The glimpses of Christmas trees in windows are always magical.

Christmas in NYC is the one time when peering into the windows of fancy brownstones is a bit more socially acceptable.

8. The New Yorker covers are consistently spot-on.

There are decades’ worth of memorable holiday New Yorker covers, but one favorite is the Eric Drooker cover from 2011 above, depicting Santa and his sleigh under the tracks of what looks like the 1 train in the Bronx. Or is it an elevated line in Coney Island? Or Queens? Either way, it’s a New York City dream come true.

9. Holiday pop-up bars start popping up everywhere.

The bar scene in NYC can get a little stale after a while, but the various holiday-themed pop-up bars that appear this time of year help keep things exciting. Some have been popping up every year for a while, like Rolf’s in Gramercy, and Miracle (this year they’re taking over Thief in Williamsburg, and The Cabinet in the East Village). Others are newer to the scene, like The Garret Coctelería and Frosty’s. Secret NYC has a list of the best NYC holiday pop-up bars happening in 2022.

Gramercy Park Homes Under $2M on StreetEasy Article continues below

Gramercy Park

333 East 14th Street

$749,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

130 East 18th Street

$900,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

333 East 14th Street

$925,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

301 East 22nd Street

$549,000

Studio |

1

Gramercy Park

105 East 15th Street

$1,395,000

2 |

2

Gramercy Park

230 East 20th Street

$1,350,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

1 Rutherford Place

$1,100,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

230 East 15th Street

$525,000

Studio |

1

Gramercy Park

310 East 23rd Street

$565,000

Studio |

1

Gramercy Park

340 East 23rd Street

$1,020,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

234 East 23rd Street

$1,380,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

340 East 23rd Street

$999,000

1 |

1

10. The city quiets down a little.

On Christmas in NYC, shops close, subways and buses slow down, New Yorkers settle in — and for maybe half a minute, the city goes still.

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