6 Things New York City Residents Do the Week the Rockefeller Center Tree Arrives
Many New Yorkers plan their week around the Rockefeller Center tree’s arrival, even if they only walk past it once.
Here’s what New York City residents do the week the Rockefeller Center tree arrives.
1. Skating at Rockefeller Center
The Rink at Rockefeller Center was already open for its 2026-27 season when the tree arrived.
If you want the ice, a 60-minute General Skate session starts at $22.
VIP Skate starts at $131 and adds priority entry, a heated lounge, and skate rental.
You can bring skates or rent a pair on-site.
The rink is open daily from 9 a.m. to midnight.
Hours vary throughout the season, including holidays and special events.
2. Meet the Tree Day
Rockefeller Center held Meet the Tree Day on Saturday, Nov. 7, the same day the tree arrived.
The listing called the event family friendly and said it was back for its second year.
Admission was free.
If you went, you could join family and kids activities and hands-on workshops, or pose for photo moments at Top of the Rock.
The listing also promised giveaways throughout the day.
3. Alternate-Side Parking Suspensions
Alternate-side parking took two days off during the tree’s first week in town.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) suspended street cleaning rules on Diwali, Sunday, Nov. 8.
Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, got the same break.
If you own a car, you didn’t have to move it for street cleaning on either day.
What Alternate-Side Suspensions Cover
New York City’s alternate-side parking suspensions on Diwali and Veterans Day cover street cleaning and nothing else.
On holidays like those, the DOT says all other regulations remain in effect.
Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26, is different.
The DOT lists it as a major legal holiday, and parking meter regulations are suspended on those days.
On Thanksgiving, you can also park at a No Stopping, No Standing, or No Parking sign, as long as the rule isn’t normally in effect seven days a week.
4. Grand Central Holiday Fair
The Grand Central Holiday Fair opened on Nov. 9, two days after the tree came to town, and runs through Dec. 24 in Vanderbilt Hall at 89 East 42nd Street.
The fair is closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Grand Central Terminal calls it a 6,000-square-foot indoor artisan market with handcrafted jewelry, pottery, and artwork.
The fair’s directory sorts vendors into categories like jewelry, handbags, and bath and body.
Vendors on the fair’s page include Craftspring, The Glass Haus, and Rebel Designs.
If you go during Christmas Week, which the fair lists as Dec. 17 through Dec. 23, you have until 8 p.m.
5. Radio City Christmas Spectacular
The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes runs from Nov. 4 through Jan. 4.
The Music Hall lists 230 performances this season, which it calls the most ever since the show’s debut in 1933.
The show has ten Rockettes numbers, including a brand-new number.
Fan favorites include “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” “New York at Christmas,” “12 Days of Christmas,” and “Dance of the Frost Fairies.”
If you’re picking a night, you have until Jan. 4.
6. Bryant Park Winter Village
Bryant Park’s Winter Village opened on Oct. 28 and runs through Feb. 28.
Admission to its ice rink is free, though you need a free ticket.
Tickets roll out daily for skate times one week in advance.
Skate rentals cost extra, so if you bring skates, you skip that fee.
The rink is open daily, including holidays, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and until midnight from Nov. 19 through Jan. 3.
The Winter Village’s Lodge is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and until 11:30 p.m. from Nov. 18 through Jan. 3.
Psst! How much do you know about the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Rock Center Tree Trivia
Answer nine questions on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and its traditions. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
In 1931, the first tree was decorated with handmade garlands made from what?
The Dec. 2 Lighting
Rockefeller Center holds its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 2.
Last year's ceremony fell a day later.
That is 25 days after the tree arrived on Nov. 7.
Then the lights come on.
If you saw last year's tree lit up, you saw more than 50,000 multicolored LED lights on nearly five miles of wire.
A 900-pound Swarovski star designed by Daniel Libeskind was set to top it.
If you want a view of the tree itself, Rockefeller Center says the best way is a Holiday Top of the Rock ticket.
Timed Admission starts at $42, Skip-the-Line Admission starts at $82, and the VIP Pass starts at $185.
After the holidays, the 2026 tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity and milled into lumber for home building.
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