Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Photograph: Diane Bondareff / AP Images for Tishman Speyer
Photograph: Diane Bondareff / AP Images for Tishman Speyer

NYC events in December 2024

Plan your month with our NYC events in December 2024 guide, including holiday markets and festive food.

Rossilynne Skena Culgan
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Get ready for the most wonderful time of the year with the best NYC events in December 2024. This season’s highlights include, well, you already know what they are. You can really get into the spirit when you visit one of New York’s many holiday markets boasting great gifts for your friends and family as well as tasty provisions. Looking for something less festive? Check out terrific seasonal theater shows and pop-up holiday bars.

In addition to rounding up Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa events, we've also included some non-holiday things to do when you need a break from the holiday cheer. Keep scrolling to the bottom for those, including art shows, walking tours and immersive theater.

RECOMMENDED: Full NYC events calendar for 2024

Check out our Winter Village video

We’ve packed all our favorite restaurants under one roof at the Time Out Market New York. The DUMBO location in Empire Stores has fried chicken from Jacob’s Pickles, pizza from Fornino, inventive ice cream flavors from Sugar Hill Creamery and more amazing eateriesall cherry-picked by us. Chow down over two floors with views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline.

Featured NYC events in December 2024

  • Comedy
  • Midtown West
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended

Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! is not just funny: It is dizzyingly, breathtakingly funny, the kind of funny that ambushes your body into uncontained laughter. Stage comedies have become an endangered species in recent decades, and when they do pop up they tend to be the kind of funny that evokes smirks, chuckles or wry smiles of recognition. Not so here: I can’t remember the last time I saw a play that made me laugh, helplessly and loudly, as much as Oh, Mary! did—and my reaction was shared by the rest of the audience, which burst into applause at the end of every scene. Fasten your seatbelts: This 80-minute show is a fast and wild joy ride. In this hilariously anachronistic historical burlesque, Escola plays—who else?—Mary Todd Lincoln, in the weeks leading up to her husband’s assassination. Boozy, vicious and miserable, the unstable and outrageously contrary Mary is oblivious to the Civil War and hell-bent on achieving stardom as—what else?—a cabaret singer. 

 

  • Things to do

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.

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  • Children's
  • Midtown West

Puppet master Jonathan Rockefeller's kaleidoscopic adaptation of Eric Carle’s classic children’s stories is a pure, kid-pleasing joy. The ravenous larva doesn’t appear until the final quarter, but there are plenty of colorful puppets, dancing and music to entrance youngsters until then. Along with the main story, the show dramatizes three of these seven other Carle books: 10 Little Rubber Ducks, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Busy Spider, Mister Seahorse, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Dream Snow and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See. (A different combination of stories is performed at each show.)

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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. From a tropical tiki theme to a Hanukkah pop-up bar, get into the holiday spirit(s) at these spots.

  • Things to do

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. 

Every year, stores like Bergdorf Goodman, Macy's and Bloomingdale's create magical holiday window displays. Tourists aren't the only ones who can enjoy these festive showcases in Herald Square and Fifth Avenue—even for locals, they hold a dreamy nostalgia that only comes once a year.

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  • Things to do

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.

  • Shopping

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.

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  • Things to do
  • Festivals

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.

  • Things to do

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.

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  • Things to do
  • Events & Festivals

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.

  • Things to do
  • City Life

Majestic, incredible elephants are getting the spotlight in a new exhibit at The American Museum of Natural History. "The Secret World of Elephants" showcases both modern and ancient elephants, offering visitors a chance to see a full-scale model of a woolly mammoth, learn about what elephants eat, touch an elephant's tooth, listen to elephant calls and more.

The exhibition is now open in the museum’s LeFrak Family Gallery. An additional ticket is required to visit the exhibit; museum members can visit for free.

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