Things to do in NYC in December 2024

Within Grand Central Terminal, find the New York Transit Museum's 20th annual Holiday Train Show, an ode to all kinds of locomotives. You'll feel positively giant while wandering around the 34-foot-long display, festooned with miniature versions of city landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building. Watch as Lionel model trains depart from a miniature replica of Grand Central. Then they travel over the river (the East River, to be exact) and through the wood to reach their final destination, the North Pole.

The Holiday Train Show will be on view at Grand Central Terminal through February 2025. The free show is open Monday-Friday, 10am-7:30pm; Saturday-Sunday, 10am-6pm; and closed major holidays. Find it in the shuttle passage on 42nd Street and Park Avenue, adjacent to the Station Master’s Office.

The Dyker Heights Christmas Lights display has definitely earned its stripes as one of the best New York attractions. What’s not to love about all that razzle-dazzle to get you in the Christmas spirit?

The Brooklyn neighborhood is home to the most over-the-top Christmas light decorations with life-size Santas, sleighs, snowmen and some houses even bump Christmas carols from loudspeakers. Crowds of all ages flock to the Kings County neighborhood to wander down the multiple blocks and avenues.

The queen of Christmas herself, Mariah Carey, is the focus of a seasonal pop-up bar on the fourth floor of Virgin Hotels at 1227 Broadway near 30th Street through December 29.

It's dubbed Mariah Carey Black Irish Holiday Bar, a call-out to the artist's Irish cream liqueur brand. Inside the winter wonderland, guests will be able to snap photos alongside a custom "All I Want for Christmas Is You" neon sign (it's the iconic song's 30th anniversary!), sit on a festive wreath to actually recreate Carey's Christmas album, look through a lyric wall, interact with a Black Irish Christmas tree and even write a letter to Carey herself.

You can snag tickets to the 90-minute experience right here. Each pass includes a welcome signature Black Irish cocktail!

Before you even see these gingerbread creations, you’ll smell their sweet-spicy aromas wafting through the halls. Gingerbread NYC: The Great Borough Bake-Off has taken over the Museum of the City of New York once again bringing holiday cheer with 20 stunningly beautiful gingerbread structures.

Each one emulates an iconic part of the city, from the Wonder Wheel to the Prospect Park Boathouse to a bodega (complete with a bodega cat, of course). Feast your eyes upon them this holiday season. Go see them all at Museum of the City of New York in East Harlem now through January 12. 

Queens Botanical Garden has a beautiful light show you’ll want to see this year called “Lektrik.” With over 1 million LED lights, this illuminated trail imitates a lush garden with giant lanterns—including 40 stunning lamp scenes crafted by 150 artisans using 120 tons of steel and 150,000 feet of silk—and brings it to life with acrobatic performers, stone-carving, an artisan market and ambient music.

New York City has plenty of on-the-reindeer’s-nose holiday pop-up bars to immerse yourself in the spirit of the season—with spirits—throughout the most wonderful time of the year. Get ready for festive spiked eggnog, "naughty" shots, Coquito Ho Ho Hos, and over-the-top holiday decor.

Half the fun of holiday shopping in New York is ogling the tricked-out window displays along Fifth Avenue that pop up to coincide with the merriest, spendiest time of the year. 

The Dyker Heights Christmas Lights display has definitely earned its stripes as one of the best New York attractions. What’s not to love about all that razzle-dazzle to get you in the Christmas spirit?

The Brooklyn neighborhood is home to the most over-the-top Christmas light decorations with life-sized Santas, sleighs, snowmen and some houses even bump Christmas carols from loudspeakers. Crowds of all ages flock to the Kings County neighborhood to wander down the multiple blocks and avenues.

NYC is packed with holiday markets every fall with holiday spirit and unique gifts. While fancy Christmas window displays may entice you, NYC's holiday markets offer a chance to shop local. With everything from clothing to holiday ornaments to artwork, there's something for everybody on your holiday shopping list.

Shopping for the perfect gift doesn't have to be stressful; make it fun at these holiday markets.

In the 1950 film masterpiece Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood glamour is a dead-end street. Stalled there with no one coming to find her—except perhaps to use her car—is Norma Desmond: a former silent-screen goddess who is now all but forgotten. Secluded and deluded, she haunts her own house and plots her grand return to the pictures; blinded by the spotlight in her mind, she is unaware that what she imagines to be a hungry audience out there in the dark is really just the dark.

Coney Island isn't just a summertime destination anymore. Luna Park's Frost Fest is home to a 35-foot tree sure to get you into the holiday spirit, plus photo opps with Santa, a holiday market, and an ice skating rink. 

New in 2024 is the Candy Cane Chute rapid slide that you are sure to want to ride down endlessly. Don't forget that the iconic Coney Island Cyclone will also be open during select days this season, so make sure to save some time to experience the thrilling ride as well.

Frost Fest will take over Coney Island from November 23-January 1, 2025 on select weekdays and holidays, plus Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Read more about the offerings right here.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. New York lights up into a winter wonderland each year with Christmas trees, holiday window displays and Christmas lights. Even the most tourist-averse New Yorkers have to admit that it’s a pretty spectacular sight.

Get the most out of the holidays with our guide to the best holiday sales and holiday gift ideas, Christmas movies to watch with the family and plenty of festive things to do including Bryant Park ice skating, tree lightings and more.

An exhibit that tells the story of Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral has landed in New York. History fanatics and art buffs can make their way to Morningside Heights' massive Cathedral of St. John the Divine to experience this multimedia event. 

As a part of the church's art collection this winter, "Notre-Dame de Paris: The Augmented Exhibition" promises an interactive tour of crucial moments in the cathedral’s 850-year history, from its inception in 1163 to the current process of restoration after the 2019 fire. 

Admission to the exhibit costs $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $10 for children, with hours every day from 10am to 5pm.

Beneath the cobblestone streets of the Seaport, secrets hid underground for decades—until now, that is. A new walking tour led by the South Street Seaport Museum unearths the neighborhood's freaky and fascinating facts.

The museum's "Sinister Secrets of the Seaport" whisks visitors back in time for a 90-minute walking tour full of true crime tales about theft, organized crime, murder and even pirates. Tours are available for $40/adult. Whether you're a true crime buff or you're just continuing to soak up the Halloween spirit, these tours make for a memorable afternoon in a historic neighborhood.

If Netflix’s Squid Game was one of your favorite shows and you’re looking forward to the new season premiere this December, you’ll want to try your hand at some of the challeneges at Squid Game: The Experience here in NYC.

Set within Manhattan Mall (100 West 33rd Street by Sixth Avenue), you get into teams of up to 24 people each to complete challenges across 60 minutes, including those that appeared on the TV show (yes, you’ll get to try your hand at the iconic Red Light Green Light) plus a number of brand-new ones built specifically for the experience. Once done playing, you can enjoy a night market offering a variety of Korean and international sweet and savory foods, plus drinks.

Heading to Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks play is an iconic night out in NYC. The basketball team made the playoffs recently in the 2020-21 season led by forward Julius Randle and RJ Barrett. 

Catch them at MSG now!

The Urban Bush Women dance company is celebrating 40 years of “building community and taking risks that push the culture forward.” To honor the momentous occasion, the troupe has put together a (very) full calendar of performances, special events, digital content, and opportunities to gather. Here's what's coming up: 

— November 13: When Black Women+ Speak at Harlem Stage Gatehouse

— December 6-7: Solo Meditations at 92NY

— January 10-March 27, 2025 - Lineage Legacy and Liberation: An Examination of Urban Bush Women’s Art-making and Community Organizing Praxis in NYC, exhibit at the Apollo Theatre

— February 5-8: SCAT!...The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar

The pressure is always immense to have a good time on New Year’s Eve—and have a good time you will. Ring in 2024 with a raucous amount of drinks and a good dinner with a champagne toast, or a New Year’s Eve fireworks display. You’ll find these celebrations and more with our essential guide to New Year’s Eve in New York.

Keep checking back for ticket announcements—we’ll be updating this page with new events from now through December 31.