Hi all! My partner and I are visiting New York City for the 1st time. We chose to go the the 1st week of December 08. We both enjoy Christmas and thought what better place to go to than NYC. I just read that the 76th Lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is Dec 3rd. Can anyone tell me about the Ceremony? What time does the lighting happen? What will the crowd be like or should I wait until the next day when the ceremony is over? We are both fit and in our 40s so there is no issue with keeping up with the crowd. Thanks for any help you can give me.

It will be a madhouse. Unless you are prepared to wait for hours, you will not be close enough to see the entertainment which takes place in the ice rink. The ceremony is shown on TV. I'd wait till the next day.

I have a relation whose office used to overlook the festivities. Spared the physical discomfort, one was left to be bored by the event. Skip it.

Watch it on TV then walk over to see the tree and the skaters. There will be thousands of people all around the plaza and they start lining up around the rink early in the day to get a good spot for viewing. If you want to see the tree as it is lit up, go and just work your way through the crowds. Have a GREAT time.

There is no "keeping up" with the crowd - it doesn't go anywhere. Just gathers around Rock Center and waits for the tree lighting ceremony (which is on TV and typically has an hour performance including several names singers, a chorus, ice skaters and dancing Rockettes).

The problem is the crowd.

To see anything you must get there many hours in advance and stand in one spot (if you move - your place is gone) since a mass of people (I read somewhere almost 100,000) gather in a small space for the event.

If you want to spend the money (but it may already be too late) you can dine in the Sea Grill at Rock Center and see part of it from there. Don;t know what charges are for that day = and it may well be sold out already.

Once the tree is lit you can see it any hour - day or night. There will still be crowds - as in people elbow to elbow - but slowly moving - not just packed standing - and if you go very late (1 or 2 am) it won;t be so bad. And you can always go across the street to St Pat's to sit down and rest.

If you really really want to see it, dress warm and get there early! I mean early, like say noon? People will just start gathering around in hopes of seeing some form of a celeb. You may get lucky enough to see sound checks and rehearsals but many of the stars tape their performances ahead of time! Just to make it look pretty for tv... no one really gets a great view unless you're in one of the surrounding buildings, sad but true! I would say wait till the next day to check out the tree, and be prepared for crazy crowds!

Thanks everyone for your advice. I have decided to wait until the next day to visit Rockefeller Center. Nytraveler, I called the Rock Center Cafe to try and get a reservation but was told they do not take any reservations the month of December. Thanks though for the suggestion.

I must admit we usually do Sea Grill - and they have always taken reservations - but they can be very hard to get in December. We do the Cafe rarely - and usually only in the summer.

I'm so envious -- the weeks before Christmas is my favourite time in NY! I think it's so fabulous and energizing then! Just accept the fact that there will be crowds, that's all, and go with the flow. Whenever you get tired or cold, stop somewhere for a hot chocolate or a drink. Personally, my favourite bars are posh hotel bars. They always seem to have a special atmosphere.

One thing I think you should do for sure is see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. It's gorgeous and corny and will make you feel really Christmassy. Plus Radio City itself it just beautiful. I've never done it but friends of ours recently took the Radio City backstage tour (it's probably mentioned on the website) and they thought it was great. But really -- go see the Christmas Spectacular.

Boy oh boy. I'm SO jealous!

If I remember correctly or unless something has changed, the tree is not lit all night. I think they shut the lights off somewhere around the 11 o'clock hour. I remember going there awhile back at midnight and the tree was dark.

They may turn it off late at night - but we've been there at midnight and it was still on. (11 pm is awfully early in NYC.)

If you like Christmas, there will be a lot more to see here than just the Rock. Center tree. Don't miss the windows at Saks Fifth Avenue right across the street from Rockefeller Center. There are other big department stores that have window displays like Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, and Macy's.

I know this is your first time in NYC, but would you be interested in getting away from some of the standard tourist fare? Because I have some Christmassy suggestions that are a bit off the beaten tourist path.

The best Christmas windows are at Lord & Taylor (hands down, IMHO - if I could only see one, this would be it, year after year....)

The only thing so far that I do have planned is to see Boeing Boeing on Dec 4th. Otherwise we planned on visiting Rockefeller Center for sure and of course all the Department store windows. We have appoximatly 4 1/2 days to see the sights. Does anyone have any thoughts on:
1. Evening helicopter ride around Manhattan.
2. Cathedral of St John the Divine.
3. Enid Haupt Conservatory.
I have seen the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular when it came to Des Moines last Christmas. In fact, since I was the 1st person standing in line when tickets went on sale, I was escorted by 2 of the Rockettes to the ticket booth. I had my picture taken with them and posted on the Civic Centers website. We thought about going up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building but after reading about the lines we will skip that. We both like to take our cameras with us. If you know of some great spots to take photos from that would be great.

I have seen the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular when it came to Des Moines last Christmas

Does the theater in Des Moines hold 6,000 people? Is it a gorgeous Art Deco building? I certainly could be wrong, but I just don't think the experience will be quite the same

Frankly I think the Music Hall itself is a lot more spectacular than the show is - but since I'm a native who's seen the Rockettes I don;t know how many times since I was a child (and my mother auditioned to be one) I don't find the show that great. We usually do the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center every year - and that's a great experience if you are interested in dance.

Also, don;t forget to see the Neapolitan tree and creche at the Met and the origami tree at Nat'l History.

L&T's windows are great - but so are Saks - and the entire Fifth AVe experience from 38th St up is incredible.

Nytraveler, Thanks again for your suggestions. I have been scouring the web and seen many pictures and videos (Youtube) of the Christmas 2007 festivities in NYC. I can't wait to see what is in store for us this coming holiday season. Dmlove, unfortunately Des Moines has torn down most of our older buildings in the Downtown area and has been transforming itself into a more modern city with a cosmopolitan feel to it. So we don't have any historic theaters left. It's sad! We do plan on going on a tour of Radio City Music Hall though.

I know some people think the Radio City Music Hall tour is hokey and you don't see much of interest, but my daughter did the tour when she was there several years ago, and she loved it - we have pictures of her with some Rockettes.

I've loved the Radio City Rockettes since I was a kid. That show and Pyjama Game are my two earliest NY memories!

I most recently saw the Christmas show in, I think, 2005. Then in 2006 I took my little niece to see the road show in Toronto. Of course she loved it and never having seen the original, she had nothing to compare it to, but I could see that it was 'smaller' in many respects -- no skating rink, fewer dancing Santas, etc.

I'm definitely taking the tour next time I'm in NY. I'm no stranger to the hokey things -- I love 'em! quot;>

St. Bartholomew's Church, a beautiful Byzantine-style church, might have some interesting music programs going on at that time of year. It's on 50th St. and Park Ave. You'd also get to see all the trees lit up on the island in the middle of Park Ave.
http://www.stbarts.org/

The Messiah sing-a-long at Lincoln Center is a lot of fun, if you like The Messiah.