Big Apple Christmas

The clock is ticking to Christmas 2018, but for those who haven’t yet cemented their festive plans, it’s not too late to book flights and head somewhere exotic – and few places capture the spirit of the season quite like New York.

The Rockefeller Centre right in the heart of New York has been the city’s most iconic skyscraper since its opening in the 1930s. It’s a classic tourist stop in downtown Manhattan both for its top-floor observation platform and for the magnificent Art Deco that enlivens its exteriors and adorns the lobby of its main GE Building. In December, though, it adds another quintessential experience: a spin on its renowned sunken ice rink, which has appeared in many a Hollywood movie. Here you can skate overlooked by the gold-coloured statue of Prometheus and twinkling Christmas lights, just like a scene from a Bing Crosby Christmas song.

If you aren’t a skater, book a private lesson and take your first slide on the ice. Otherwise, simply enjoy the spectacle from the Rock Centre Café, which has a magical outlook over the rink. Watch skaters twirling on the ice, dwarfed by the soaring central tower of the Rockefeller complex, as you tuck into crab and risotto cakes or a pan-seared tuna steak. The café kitchen is tiny, but what comes out of it is big on taste. A warming deep-dish apple pie might be just the thing you need before heading out into the cold again.

The weather outside might be frightful – especially when frigid winds blow in from the North Atlantic – but the Christmas season in New York is delightful. You can expect fewer tourist crowds, cheerful spirits softening the edges of brash New Yorkers and (if you’re lucky) a decorative covering of snow. The days may be short but, when darkness descends, the city starts twinkling. Giant illuminated snowflakes hover above Fifth Avenue, and denuded cherry trees on Park Avenue blossom with white lights. On Broadway, the Holiday Tree twinkles in green, gold and red. Even Bronx Zoo encourages you to brave the cold with over 100 illuminated animal sculptures and 13 kilometres of heart-warming tree lighting.

Rockefeller Plaza, home to the ice rink, puts on a fine light show as well. It’s decorated with silver angels blowing elongated trumpets, and presided over by a gigantic Christmas tree that carries a staggering 30,000 lights in a blaze of golden colour. The lighting of the tree on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving (4 December this year) is a major New York event and signals the start of the Christmas season. A Tuba Concert a week later features 300 brass band members trumpeting merry carols with impressive energy.

Music only adds to New York’s festive spirit. Head down to South Street Seaport where you’ll find St Cecilia Chorus often regaling passers-by with carols under the giant Christmas tree. The renowned New York Philharmonic serenades audiences with classic Irving Berlin Christmas tunes at the Lincoln Centre, where there’s also a singalong version of The Messiah. Trinity Church supplies another Messiah – first performed here in 1770 – accompanied by a period baroque orchestra. Famous concert venue Carnegie Hall features a whole calendar of seasonal concerts. 

Radio City Music Hall is home to the most entertaining Christmas show. It features the famous Rockettes chorus girls in skimpy Santa suits, as well as dancing rag dolls, marching ‘wooden’ soldiers and Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer – a must-see for kids and the young at heart. Another annual favourite sees a musical version of Dickens classic A Christmas Carol performed at the Paramount Theatre. For more sophisticated Christmas fare, the New York Ballet performs an annual version of The Nutcracker Suite.

You don’t have to buy a ticket to see a spectacle. One of the great pleasures of New York in December can be enjoyed just strolling the streets, with department store windows vying to outdo each other with opulent Christmas decorations. Bloomingdales, Barney’s and Bergdorf Goodman are among the best. Best of the lot might be Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue for its extravagant mechanised scenes – though this might be the last season for the iconic, century-old department store. On Herald Square, Macy’s is covered in fairy lights, and has assistants dressed as elves, plus a fantastic Santaland that’s sure to make your children’s eyes pop.

At some point in your excursions there’s no doubt Jack Frost will be nipping at your toes. A mulled wine from the Farmer’s Market on Union Square might help. Otherwise, heated interiors will give your circulation time to recover. Hit the museums, which are also festooned with Christmas decorations, or make a pit stop at iconic delicatessens Balducci’s on Sixth Avenue or Zadar’s on Broadway for cream-cheese bagels, honey pastries, candied fruit and the Italian Christmas bread panettone. 

In Greenwich Village, you might find a bar with piano music and a blazing fire. In Grammercy, some restaurants such as Rolf’s go so overboard with decorations you’ll feel like you’re dining in the branches of a Christmas tree.

And then it’s out into the urban winter wonderland again. Immigrants in fingerless gloves roast chestnuts on open fires at street corners, the sleigh bells on Central Park carriages jingle, and Christmas carols float from street corners. Great chunks of ice swirl past on the Hudson River as you tramp along promenades towards the ferry that visits the Statue of Liberty. At every subway exit Santas loiter, bringing smiles to the faces of even the most harried New Yorker.