Yes, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular is a big tourist draw, but it is also something every New Yorker should check out at least once. And what better time than this year, when the Rockettes are celebrating their 100th anniversary? Their ultra-precise dancing and iconic high kicks never fail to impress, and jaded locals might fall in love with their city all over again after getting a taste of the holiday spirit here.

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Both of the city's major botanical gardens put on annual festive light exhibits, and they're both worth checking out. The best part for locals? Because the light fests take place in the outer boroughs, you're less likely to be among large tourist crowds.

The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx hosts Glow, which boasts two unique things alongside the colorful light displays. One is the Holiday Train Show, another annual holiday spectacular featuring model trains and buildings created partly from the plants. The other is pop-up food vendors from the Bronx Night Market, a local summer food festival that shuttered permanently in 2023. So this is your only opportunity to experience it!

Down at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is Lightscape, which has installations in cities all over the country. Food and drinks are available at this event, too, alongside spectacular, fan-favorite light sculptures like the Winter Cathedral, Fire Garden, and Dancing Palms.

Ice skating is one of the most cherished New York holiday traditions. Rockefeller Center is the most famous place to do so, especially for tourists who also want to see the tree in one go, but there are plenty more places for locals to check out:

• Pier 17: Escape Midtown by skating at the city's only rooftop ice rink located in the South Street Seaport.
• Bryant Park Winter Village: Rink admission is free (you need only pay for skate rental and bag storage if needed), and you can walk through the park's holiday market with local gift and food vendors.
• Wollman Rink: Like Central Park, where this rink is located, it's a city classic and local favorite.

The historic Metropolitan Opera is a bucket-list destination all year round, but especially during the holidays. Besides seeing Lincoln Center decked out in festive decor, you can also see the Met's annual holiday presentation: the Mozart fairytale opera The Magic Flute.

The Magic Flute is an English-language opera suitable for all ages. You can also check out one of the regular-season operas happening throughout the holiday months.

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The Shops at Columbus Circle offer an extensive lineup of holiday programming throughout the festive season, including free sneak peeks at hit Broadway musicals. The Holiday Under the Stars events for 2025 have yet to be announced, but the 2024 lineup included:

• Daily light shows every 30 minutes from 5 p.m. to midnight
• Free Broadway performances from 5-6 p.m. on Thursdays
• Free jazz performances for children
• Ticketed gingerbread-making classes and a gingerbread village display

Want to really discover a hidden gem? Head to Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood for Nutcracker Rouge. It's not quite like the Nutcracker up at Lincoln Center — this 21+ version is light on the ballet, heavy on the booze and bawdiness.

Nutcracker Rouge is the flagship show of Company XIV, a burlesque troupe that's been putting on sensual spectaculars for over a decade. Its shows mix "highbrow" entertainment forms (like opera) with "lowbrow" ones (like striptease) and everything in between (like music, dance, and acrobatics). And there are themed drinks and treats on offer throughout — this is the Land of Sweets, after all.

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Ask most New York locals, and they'll be familiar with the giant blue big top that goes up in Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park every year. Hearing the sounds of the circus coming from inside it is all but guaranteed to make you want to check it out eventually.

And you should, for the Big Apple Circus is home to some of the best circus entertainment in the city. When you think of an old-fashioned day at the circus — the ringmaster, the acrobats, the clowns, the cotton candy, the big top — you're envisioning exactly what this seasonal spectacular has to offer.

Check back for information on Big Apple Circus tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Have a time-traveling Christmas by taking a Holiday Nostalgia Ride for the same price as a standard subway fare. Each year, the New York Transit Museum puts subway cars from the 1930s back on track and decks them out in festive decor. (Yes, they still work!)

The Holiday Nostalgia Rides run along different routes every year and only take place on select days. In 2024, the vintage trains ran every Sunday in December along select portions of the Q and F lines on Manhattan's east side; the 2025 routes have yet to be announced.

According to a famous line from the movie Elf, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." You can't usually do it in public without turning heads, though — except at the Washington Square Park tree lighting, which also includes a Christmas carol sing-along. Avoid the crowds at the Rockefeller tree lighting by participating in this smaller, but equally festive, event.

Anyone who's ever waited in a long line at an NYC department store can attest: Walking outside and looking at the elaborate holiday window displays is almost more fun than actually going into the stores to shop.

Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue have the most famous exhibitions, but locals know to also stop by Bergdorf Goodman's for a fabulous display — and walk down all of Fifth Avenue's shopping district to see many more storefronts decked out in seasonal decor.

Don't want to venture into crowded department stores to get your holiday gifts? The city's many open-air holiday markets offer unique gifts from local vendors. Locations include:

• Bryant Park: The market surrounds the ice rink, so you can make a day of shopping and skating.
• Grand Central: Traveling for the holidays and realize you forgot to buy a gift? Hit up this market right in the terminal.
• Columbus Circle: Skip the chain stores in the nearby mall and pick up food and souvenirs on the edge of Central Park.
• Union Square: Avoid the Midtown crowds by opting for this market by 14th Street. The park also hosts a year-round farmer's market on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

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