12 city ways to put a happy in your holidays
The holidays are special in New York City. Whether you feel like singing, skating or just sipping and strolling, the Big Apple offers something for every reveler this holiday season.
1. Holiday lights in Dyker Heights
WHAT Experience the amazing and illuminating displays of community pride and holiday cheer with a stroll through this charming Italian-American neighborhood. Explore on your own or take a "Christmas Lights & Cannoli" bus tour with A Slice of Brooklyn.
WHEN | WHERE Tours run most evenings at 7 for the first three weeks of December. Call for exact dates. Tours leave from Union Square.
INFO Tour is $55 plus a $2 ticket fee (includes cannoli and cappuccino). Call for reservations, 212-209-3370, asliceofbrooklyn.com
2. Holiday Train Show
WHAT Model trains course through a magical world at the New York Botanical Garden.
WHEN | WHERE Through Jan. 9 at garden, Bronx River Parkway at Fordham Road in the Bronx.
INFO $20-$25, 718-817-8700, nybg.org
3. Holidays at the Seaport
WHAT Choral performances, a spectacular Christmas tree and storytime events are all part of holiday fun on the waterfront. Visit the website for complete schedule.
WHEN | WHERE Storytimes are Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m., through Dec. 19. South Street Seaport, Fulton and South streets, Pier 17, third floor.
INFO Free, 212-732-7678, thenewseaport.com
4. Messiah sing and caroling walk
WHAT Join fellow holiday merrymakers and the West Village Chorale for a group performance of Handel's "Messiah." Or take an old-time caroling walk through Greenwich Village singing holiday favorites.
WHEN | WHERE Sing: Dec. 12, Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square S. Walk: Dec. 17, Judson Memorial Church Assembly Hall, 239 Thompson St.
INFO $12 (sing); free (walk), westvillagechorale.org
5. Candlelight Carol Festival
WHAT Light a candle in the name of Christmas spirit and sing carols with your friends and neighbors.
WHEN | WHERE Dec. 19 at 3:30 and 6 p.m. Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Dr.
INFO $10-$25, 212-870-6784, theriversidechurchny.org
6. Giant Menorah lighting
WHAT Witness the lighting of the city's biggest menorah. Live music and latkes on Saturday.
WHEN | WHERE through Dec. 8, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
INFO Free, chabadparkslope .com
7. New York Revels
WHAT Join the fun (literally - audience members sometimes participate) when the Revels celebrate Christmas Bavarian- style with music, dancing and storytelling traditions of old Switzerland and Bavaria.
WHEN | WHERE Dec. 10-12 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. Teatro at Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave.
INFO $30-$50, 718-399-9282, nyrevels.org
8. New Year's Eve Concert for Peace
WHAT Join Judy Collins, opera singer Lauren Flannigan and others in a candlelight vigil.
WHEN | WHERE Dec. 31 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave.
INFO General admission seats are free (first come, first served), reserved seats $60. 212-316-7490, stjohndivine.org
9. Origami holiday tree
WHAT More than 500 individual foldings adorn the spectacular tree at the Museum of Natural History. Volunteers can teach visitors to make their own origami shapes.
WHEN | WHERE Through Jan. 2 in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street.
INFO Free, 212-769-5100, amnh.org
10. Angel tree and Neapolitan Baroque crèche
WHAT Marvel at the beauty and craftsmanship of every angel ornamenting the Metropolitan Museum's Christmas tree and the nativity scene at its base.
WHEN | WHERE Through Jan. 6, Medieval Sculpture Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave.
INFO Suggested donation $20, 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org
11. Ice skating
WHAT Lace up your boots and hit the ice. Bryant Park's temporary rink is surrounded by the big city and the holiday shopping market.
WHEN | WHERE Sundays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays till midnight (through Feb. 27). Bryant Park, between 40th and 42nd streets and Fifth and Sixth avenues.
INFO Skate rental $13, bryantpark.org
12. Hot cocoa
WHAT Indulge yourself with a divine hot chocolate and a dessert at Park Slope's Chocolate Room before browsing in the local shops.
WHEN | WHERE Daily, noon to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday till midnight. The Chocolate Room, 86 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn.
INFO Hot chocolate $4.50, 718-783-2900, thechocolateroombrooklyn.com
