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

Kips Bay

215 East 24th Street

$2,995 No Fee

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1

Lincoln Square

19 West 69th Street

$2,800 No Fee

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1

Yorkville

1582 York Avenue

$2,495 No Fee

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1

Lower East Side

148 Orchard Street

$2,595 No Fee

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1

Lower East Side

122 Allen Street

$2,450 No Fee

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1

Lower East Side

160 Orchard Street

$2,895 No Fee

1 |

1

Greenwich Village

123 West Third Street

$2,750 No Fee

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1

Manhattan Valley

926 Amsterdam Avenue

$2,685 No Fee

1 |

1

East Harlem

2146 Second Avenue

$1,995 No Fee

1 |

1

East Harlem

113 East 122nd Street

$2,600 No Fee

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1

East Harlem

340 East 105th Street

$2,175 No Fee

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1

Lenox Hill

426 East 66th Street

$2,500 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.)

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Hell’s Kitchen

635 West 42nd Street

$860,000

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1

Hell’s Kitchen

408 West 57th Street

$815,000

1 |

1

East Harlem

2132 Second Avenue

$675,000

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2

Roosevelt Island

425 Main Street

$945,000

2 |

1

Turtle Bay

223 East 50th Street

$535,000

1 |

1

Kips Bay

333 East 30th Street

$800,000

1 |

1

Greenwich Village

20 East 9th Street

$949,000

1 |

1

Murray Hill

20 East 35th Street

$599,000

1 |

1

Midtown

111 East 56th Street

$549,900

1 |

1.5

Hell’s Kitchen

322 West 57th Street

$995,000

Studio |

1

Lenox Hill

425 East 63rd Street

$567,000

1 |

1

Lincoln Square

165 West End Avenue

$725,000

1 |

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!

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Stuyvesant Heights

1875 Atlantic Avenue

$2,700 No Fee

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1

Sunset Park

659 56th Street

$2,600 No Fee

2 |

1

Kensington

430 Ocean Parkway

$2,349 No Fee

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1

Brownsville

803 Saratoga Avenue

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

1

Midwood

1801 Avenue N

$2,000 No Fee

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1

Kensington

315 Ocean Parkway

$2,450 No Fee

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1

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

282 Lefferts Avenue

$2,900 No Fee

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1

Park Slope

467 17th Street

$2,700 No Fee

2 |

1

Crown Heights

334 Montgomery Street

$2,200 No Fee

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1

Park Slope

640 Carroll Street

$2,500 No Fee

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1

Fort Hamilton

9402 Fourth Avenue

$1,950 No Fee

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1

Dyker Heights

6516 14th Avenue

$2,300 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

1351 80th Street

$1,399,000

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2.5

Dyker Heights

7107 Eighth Avenue

$1,388,000

5 |

2.5

Dyker Heights

7608 Eleventh Avenue

$1,049,000

3 |

1.5

Dyker Heights

1055 74th Street

$1,178,000

4 |

1

Dyker Heights

1034 74th Street

$1,498,000

5 |

2.5

Dyker Heights

101 Battery Avenue

$1,200,000

3 |

2

Dyker Heights

680 81st Street

$289,000

1 |

1

Dyker Heights

1350 66th Street

$1,368,000

4 |

3

Dyker Heights

1310 84th Street

$588,000

1 |

1

Dyker Heights

677 88th Street

$789,000

2 |

2

Dyker Heights

1314 77th Street

$1,158,999

3 |

2

Dyker Heights

717 66th Street

$1,498,000

3 |

2

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

301 East 22nd Street

$649,000

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1

Gramercy Park

158 East 22nd Street

$1,925,000

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2

Gramercy Park

4 Lexington Avenue

$560,000

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1

Gramercy Park

1 Irving Place

$875,000

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1

Gramercy Park

230 East 15th Street

$499,999

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1

Gramercy Park

305 Second Avenue

$1,875,000

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2

Gramercy Park

1 Irving Place

$1,395,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

130 East 18th Street

$879,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

211 East 18th Street

$785,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

200 East 16th Street

$599,000

Studio |

1

Gramercy Park

201 East 17th Street

$835,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

130 East 18th Street

$535,000

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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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