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

Yorkville

313 East 90th Street

$2,800 base rent

Studio |

1

Central Harlem

2600 7th Avenue

$2,914 base rent

1 |

1

Central Harlem

1856 Park Avenue

$2,934 base rent

1 |

1

Yorkville

232 East 81st Street

$2,800 base rent

1 |

1

Central Harlem

1856 Park Avenue

$2,671 base rent

Studio |

1

Kips Bay

229 East 25th Street

$2,850 base rent

1 |

1

Hell’s Kitchen

457 West 57th Street

$2,950 base rent

Studio |

1

Fort George

20 Bogardus Place

$1,950 base rent

1 |

1

Washington Heights

611 West 177th Street

$2,300 base rent

1 |

1

South Harlem

1295 5th Avenue

$2,787 base rent

1 |

1

East Harlem

349 East 109th Street

$2,300 base rent

1 |

1

Inwood

30 Park Terrace East

$2,425 base rent

1 |

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

139 East 66th Street

$950,000

2 |

1

Murray Hill

305 East 40th Street

$969,000

2 |

1

Gramercy Park

201 East 17th Street

$995,000

2 |

1.5

Chelsea

170 West 23rd Street

$849,000

1 |

1

Turtle Bay

345 East 52nd Street

$799,000

1 |

1

Upper West Side

211 West 88th Street

$875,000

2 |

1

Hell’s Kitchen

357 West 55th Street

$825,000

1 |

1

South Harlem

23 West 116th Street

$795,000

1 |

1

West Village

459 Hudson Street

$895,000

1 |

1

Lenox Hill

520 East 72nd Street

$575,000

1 |

1

Chelsea

77 7th Avenue

$795,000

Studio |

1

Greenwich Village

20 East 9th Street

$750,000

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!

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

Flatbush

2510 Bedford Avenue

$2,750 base rent

2 |

1

Bedford-Stuyvesant

1247 Atlantic Avenue

$2,550 base rent

Studio |

1

Midwood

1180 Ocean Parkway

$2,700 base rent

2 |

1

Greenwood

148 29th Street

$2,750 base rent

2 |

1

Bath Beach

8785 Bay 16th Street

$1,895 base rent

1 |

1

Stuyvesant Heights

821 Hancock Street

$2,499 base rent

Studio |

1

Bushwick

1060 Hancock Street

$2,800 base rent

2 |

1

Sunset Park

444 36th Street

$2,325 base rent

1 |

1

Weeksville

1503 Lincoln Place

$1,800 base rent

1 |

1

Boerum Hill

209 Wyckoff Street

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

1

Flatbush

458 East 25th Street

$2,950 base rent

2 |

1

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

224 Hawthorne Street

$2,999 base rent

1 |

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

1307 84th Street

$818,000

2 |

2

Dyker Heights

178 Battery Avenue

$1,050,000

2 |

1

Dyker Heights

621 90th Street

$725,000

2 |

1

Dyker Heights

1038 76th Street

$1,249,000

3 |

2

Dyker Heights

1062 67th Street

$968,000

3 |

2

Dyker Heights

680 81st Street

$399,000

2 |

2

Dyker Heights

950 70th Street

$799,000

2 |

2

Dyker Heights

1245 79th Street

$1,150,000

3 |

3

Dyker Heights

922 83rd Street

$1,399,999

3 |

2.5

Dyker Heights

7409 13th Avenue

$1,450,000

2 |

2

Dyker Heights

1062 67th Street

$968,000

3 |

2

Dyker Heights

971 80th Street

$1,395,000

3 |

1.5

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

201 East 17th Street

$995,000

2 |

1.5

Gramercy Park

310 East 23rd Street

$925,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

211 East 18th Street

$750,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

60 Gramercy Park North

$1,695,000

2 |

1

Gramercy Park

48 Gramercy Park North

$625,000

Studio |

1

Gramercy Park

205 Third Avenue

$865,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

200 East 16th Street

$835,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

301 East 22nd Street

$399,000

Studio |

1

Gramercy Park

305 Second Avenue

$1,195,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

333 East 14th Street

$595,000

1 |

1

Gramercy Park

48 Gramercy Park North

$1,350,000

1 |

2

Gramercy Park

31 Gramercy Park South

$825,000

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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