Bright lights, Big Apple

Central Park Ice Skating
© Brasil2

A holiday guide to New York City

By Clark Norton

New York City seldom does anything in a modest way. When it lights a Christmas tree to kick off the holiday season, it strings up 30,000 bulbs and turns it into a celebrity-filled national TV event. And when it celebrates the New Year, it crams huge throngs into a few blocks, drops a crystal ball from a tower and, oh yes, has people tuning into the action all across America. But this year, perhaps, you've resolved that simply watching the Big Apple holiday bustle on TV isn't enough—you want to experience it in person. You won't regret it, especially if you follow our list of New York City holiday season must-sees and must-dos, ranging from the world-famous classics to off-the-beaten-track gems.

The kick-off events

Here's the perfect excuse to saddle Grandma—or maybe someone else's grandma—with cooking your Thanksgiving dinner: head for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (Nov. 27 this year), an annual tradition since 1924. Known for its floats, marching bands, giant balloons and, of course, Santa Claus, the parade begins at 77th Street and Central Park West and winds down to Herald Square at 34th Street, home of—you guessed it, Macy's. Unless you're really, really tall, bundle up and get to the parade route early to land a good vantage point for the 9 a.m. start. Best viewing locations are on Central Park West between 72nd and 61st Streets. (212-494-4495, www.macysparade.com.) Shortly after Thanksgiving, you can join the crowds at the 75th annual lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center, a towering evergreen that holds five miles of lights and a 500-pound star. If you miss the late-November lighting ceremony (call 212-332-6868 or 212-632-3975 for the exact date) you can view the tree any time until early January (Rockefeller Plaza, 49th Street just off Fifth Avenue).

Take in a show at Lincoln Center

You don't have to elbow your way through the multitudes to attend these events, but you will want to purchase tickets in advance. Lincoln Center (140 W. 65th St.; 212-546-2656), New York's cultural mecca, hosts these three perennial holiday favorites:

1. The Big Apple Circus, an inventive one-ring show staged under the Big Top, enters its fourth decade this year with dazzling displays of acrobatics and juggling, running from late October to mid-January (800-922-3772; www.bigapplecircus.org).

2. In the days just prior to Christmas, the New York Philharmonic's rendition of Handel's "Messiah" marks its 80th anniversary this year (Avery Fisher Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza near 65th Street; 212-875-5900).

3. The New York City Ballet's version of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" fills the stage with marching toy soldiers, dancing snowflakes and a luminous one-ton Christmas tree from late November to early January (New York State Theater; 212-870-5570; www.nycballet.com).

Ogle the Rockettes

At Radio City Music Hall, the renowned leggy Rockettes kick up their synchronized heels in the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular, a hit since 1932 (one octogenarian has seen the show 75 straight years—enough kicks to make your head spin). Other highlights include a 3-D Santa sleigh ride and a "Living Nativity" scene featuring real camels and donkeys. (212-247-4777; www.radiocity.com).

Hit the skating rink

If you like to ice skate—and don't mind risking a fall in front of hordes of onlookers—you can take to the venerable Rink at Rockefeller Center, open from October until April. The rink is limited to 150 skaters at a time, so it's best to get there early on weekends (between 47th and 50th Streets, and 5th and 7th Avenues; 212-332-7654; www.therinkatrockcenter.com).

Another favorite skating venue is the Wollman Rink in Central Park, the closest thing in New York City to a Currier & Ives setting (Central Park South/59th Street and 6th Avenue; 212-439-6900; www.wollmanskatingrink.com). The Pond at Bryant Park is New York City's only ice skating rink with no admission charge. You do have to pay for skate rentals, if needed. It's open daily from late October to late January (between 40th and 42nd Streets, and 5th and 6th Avenues; 212-661-6640; www.thepondatbryantpark.com).

Take in a light show

One of the great things about New York City during the holidays is that, like ice skating in Bryant Park, so much of the spectacle is free. The Grand Central Kaleidoscope Light Show entertains passengers (or anyone else who wanders in) with laser-light shows set to seasonal music, illuminating the Sky Ceiling of the huge terminal's main concourse every half hour from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. throughout December (Lexington Avenue at 42nd Street, 212-340-2583; www.grandcentralterminal.com).

Meanwhile, you can view the world's largest Hanukkah menorah—32 feet high and weighing 4,000 pounds—each year at Grand Army Plaza during the eight nights of Hanukkah, starting Dec. 21 (Fifth Avenue at 59th Street; call 718-778-6000 for times). Finally, be sure to look up when you're within sight of the 1,454-foot-high Empire State Building: its top is lit red and green each holiday season.

Free stuff at department stores

New York's legendary department store holiday window displays are also free—assuming you don't actually enter the stores. Get ready to "ooh" and "aah" unashamedly as you take in this year's extravaganzas of animated Santas, elves and sleighs dashing through pastoral Victorian landscapes. Windows that draw crowds year after year include those at Lord & Taylor (424 Fifth Avenue and 39th Street), Saks Fifth Avenue (611 Fifth Avenue at 49th Street), Bergdorf Goodman (754 Fifth Avenue at 57th Street), Bloomingdale's (1000 3rd Avenue at 59th Street) and the granddaddy of them all, Macy's Herald Square (151 W. 34th Street at Broadway).

If you're traveling with youngsters, take them to see St. Nick at Macy's eighth-floor Santaland (212-494-4495). Macy's initiated the department store Santa craze back in 1862, and sported the first decorated windows two years later.

Joseph DeSciose/ NYBG

Shop at holiday markets

Whether or not you're a parent, the one thing you don't want to do is return home with a stack of "Mom and Dad went to New York City during the holidays and all they got me was this lousy T-shirt" t-shirts—most kids would rather have coal in their stockings. So, unless you've already maxed out all your cards at Macy's, you'll want to take in one or more of New York's atmospheric holiday markets, which are packed with stylish arts, crafts, clothing and jewelry items, many handmade.

The biggest and best are the outdoor Holiday Market at Union Square Park (14th to 18th Streets at Broadway); the Grand Central Holiday Gift Fair (Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall; www.grandcentralterminal.com); the Holiday Market at Columbus Circle (Central Park South at Central Park West); and the outdoor Holiday Shops at Bryant Park (between 40th and 42nd Streets, and 5th and 6th Avenues). All are open from mid- to late November until late December.

Surprises up in the Bronx

It's fair to say that most visitors never make it up north to the Bronx after baseball season ends. In-the-know locals head for the New York Botanical Garden and its entrancing Holiday Train Show, where model trains whir and chug past scaled-down replicas of the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and other New York landmarks. The show runs from late November to mid-January annually. During selected Holiday Nights at the Garden, the entire layout sparkles with twinkling lights.

While there, be sure to take in Gingerbread Adventures, the Garden's whimsical display of gingerbread houses. Call for times and admission charges (2694 Kazimiroff Boulevard, the Bronx; take Metro-North Harlem local train from Grand Central to Botanical Garden Station; 718-817-8700).

New Year's Eve

We won't try to sugarcoat it: Times Square on New Year's Eve is an exercise in self-torture. Gazillions of merrymakers jam into the neon jungle, forsaking warmth, bathrooms, food and drink (no bags or backpacks are allowed!) to wait for hours in the freezing cold to watch a ball drop. If you insist on joining this madness and want a prime view, wriggle your way onto Broadway between 43rd and 50th streets or along Seventh Avenue up to 59th Street, which will require getting there hours in advance and exercising serious bladder control. (www.timessquarenyc.org.)

If exercise is your eggnog, you might opt instead for the New York Road Runners Emerald Nuts Midnight Run, a four-mile race that jump-starts the New Year in Central Park (www.nyrr.org). And if you're truly crazy, you can join the 105th annual Coney Island Polar Bear New Year's Swim in the bone-chilling Atlantic Ocean on Jan. 1. Knowing that it's all done for charity may warm your heart, at least (Stillwell Avenue, Coney Island, Brooklyn; www.polarbearclub.org).

On the other hand, if you actually want to enjoy yourself at New Year's, you can climb aboard New York Waterway's special New Year's Eve cruise, with an onboard DJ, dessert bar and city skyline backdrop. The 2 1/2 hour cruise departs from Pier 78 at 10 p.m. (West 38th Street at 12th Avenue; 800-533-3779). Unlike Times Square, they have bathrooms. Happy New Year!

Clark Norton, a New York-based freelance writer, last wrote for EnCompass about Mediterranean cruises.