NYC Christmas decorations Will I see any?
 

I am planning my first trip ever to NYC on November 12-17 and since I love Christmas so much I wondered if I would see any decorations at all? I have read a few things that said they go up in Nov but will I be there too early to see many? I think that the tree in Rockerfeller Center will be up on that date but no lights. Will I be able to view the tree with the decorations on it or will it be hidden from view by the scaffolding? I would really love to see some of the store front windows done in the Christmas themes, but will I see many? Is there anything else anyone would recommend as far as the seasonal things go that I might be able to see that week? We are going to see the Radio City Music Christmas special one afternoon so maybe that will be my only touch of the holidays . I am so excited about being in NYC for this week and am having fits trying to get everything in (I know ..it is not possible) and with our Canadian dollar being pretty much at par with the States it is going to be great to shop, and then shop some more. Also could someone comment on the type of weather I might encounter that week? I have googled prior weather charts for that period and they all say pretty mild (around 50 something) .Would that be a correct interruption of the data? They also suggest a windbreaker of sorts is all that would be needed, and maybe a sweater. I guess maybe I was thinking it might be colder.

Sorry this is so wordy, but I am excited about seeing this well know city.

By mid November, most people in NY are in their winter coats. A windbreaker won't cut it unless we're having a heat wave. Remember that temps go down a lot at sunset, so by 5:30, it could be downright cold, though less so for a Canadian, I suppose :)

No - you're too early. The stores will be in the process of decorating the windows (during which they're covered). And while the tree will be up it won;t be decorated or lit until the week after Thanksgiving.

That's a high of 50 during the day. At night it you're more likely to get 40 or upper 30's - with damp and wind. A heavy leather jacket should be OK rather than a winter coat but you could freeze in a windbreaker (remember you'll be walking around outside for long periods at a time - and likely be on a boat at some point). I suppose you could do a raincoat with a liner and some sweaters - in case you catch a warm day. (We've had snow as early as Halloween - thought it's rare before Christmaas.)

Darn about the Christmas decorations, but I will get over it. And I thought the weather should be colder too but everyone kept saying no it is milder than where I am. Actually the colder weather makes it great for walking so maybe that is better. I read somewhere that a magical sight is to be in times square when the snow is falling, so maybe I will see that.

Will there be Christmas decorations out in the stores to be able to purchase /shop for at that time?

Most of the department stores debut their holiday windows during the week before US Thanksgiving. However, inside the stores there will be some decorations. Certainly Macy's very large "Holiday Lane" department of decorations on the 9th floor will be in place--last week some of it was already set up--so you should be abe to find some decorations there. They have every style of ornament imaginable--even NYC-themed ones.

The Rock Center tree will be up but unlit. It has no other decorations except for lights, so it will look like a large tree. Scaffolding will not obscure much of it. People will already be ice skating in the rink below it.

Thanks ellenem for the info about the ice skating rink as I did think that might be fun too. Also the Holiday Lane at Macy's sounds like I would find something there. It is always nice to see some different things to buy, although we do see a great amount of items here in Canada that are also available in the States. I can hardly wait.

If you're interested in ice skating, there's also a rink in Bryant Park by then, I think, which is at 42nd Street between 6th and 5th Avenues. There's also one owned by Trump in Central Park, Wollman Rink. I think stores will have some decorations up inside, but not so much outside.

Not sure if it will be up or not but Bloomingdales has an amazing Christmas floor - usually the top or near it for very cool (and usually expensive) ornaments.

Some typical NY ones though that you might like - yellow cab, etc.

I was in a card store today that was starting to display Christmas cards.