Make New York’s holiday traditions your traditions

Rockefeller Center, the axis of NYC holiday celebrations. Credit: Tishman Speyer-Photographer Bart Barlow.

By Erin Behan

Tourist or not, there’s something special about New York come the holidays, and the excitement starts with the Rockefeller Center tree lighting on Nov. 30. The 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. event is not an affair for the agoraphobic, as it’s attended by tens of thousand other like-minded souls, but the heart-swell when the Norway spruce lights up — illuminated by 30,000 LED bulbs — is well worth the frozen toes and shoulder-to-shoulder crowd.

Even if you miss the tree lighting, you canview the tree through Jan. 7, 2012. And while you’re there, follow even the most cynical of New Yorkers and take a head-clearing spin around the Rockefeller Center ice rink. Call (212) 332-7654 for hours and pricing, as they change throughout the season.  Or, consider the Sky Skate ticket, which offers skating and a tour of the Top of the Rock Observation Deck for $35.

If skating isn’t your bag, shopping on nearby Fifth Avenue always lift the spirits. Yes, there’s shopping for the 1 percent at Bergdorf Goodman, Loius Vuitton and Harry Winston, but there are also stores for the 99 percent, such as FAO Schwarz, Abercrombie and Zara.

For a more theatrical experience, get a leg up by booking tickets to the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” with the Rockettes (and an all-new show) early this year. The redesigned show emphasizes the Rockettes as strong powerful women; in one video game-inspired vignette, “Rockettes to the Rescue,” a mother-daughter team battles through levels of obstacles. It runs Nov. 11 through Jan. 2.

Then, there’s the Union Square Holiday Market that operates between Thanksgiving and Christmas and gives locals and those in the know a chance to find one-of-a-kind handcrafted pieces for Christmas and Hanukkah. Unique knit hats, handcrafted jewelry, handmade ornaments and more fill the stalls and make holiday shopping just the sort of thing you want to do on a New York vacation.

For a New York hotel convenient to all the midtown holiday action, the Algonquin Hotel fits the bill, but it’s not just about convenience. To enter the hotel is to step back into time — a time when literary and theatrical figures roamed the halls. Take a seat in the oak-paneled lobby with brass bells to summon wait service or head to the Oak Room for a cabaret performance. Holidays or not, it’s hard to resist the storied hotel’s charms.

Related resources

• New York hotels
• Holiday travel and Christmas vacation ideas

Erin Behan is a freelance writer and editor out of Brooklyn, N.Y., who counts good food, intoxicating drink and adventurous travel among her favorite things.

Tagged: Hotels