New York City is a great city all year round but it looks fantastic during the Holidays (and Halloween, as you may already know). Wherever you go, you will see holiday lights. Some are iconic and a fixture of the city, coming back every year, like Saks or the Rockefeller Tree. Some other change each year or get some cool upgrades like Cartier or the Upper East Side. In any case, here is a guide of the best Christmas decorations in New York City in 2022.
Midtown
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Where: Rockefeller Plaza, between 49th and 50th Street
Tip: People come to see the tree early, sometimes as early as 6am. Thus, if you want your picture in front of the most famous Christmas tree in NYC, better come early. I came around 7am and it was honestly fine. People tend to congregate for photos on 5th Avenue, but it is usually less busy on 49th St.
Outfit details: Selkie Santa Baby Puff, Red bow hair clip
Saks Fifth Avenue
Where: 5th Avenue and 49 Street
Tip: 5th Avenue is one of the busiest streets of New York City, even during the low season. Imagine what it is during the holidays! The Saks Light Show takes place for 10 minutes every 15 minutes, and the crowd usually disperses around 9pm. If you’re fine taking photos late at night, going around 10pm is perfect. If you only wish to capture the windows, then early morning will do!
Outfit details: Fanciful Doll Raspberry Ripple Poptart Dress
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral
Where: 5th Avenue and 50th St
Tip: The stairs and forecourt belong to the church so unless you snap a photo or two on your phone, you will most likely not be allowed to utilize either. Even for a social media shoot, you may need a special permission. Good thing is, the sidewalk in front of the stairs is public so you can use that space for photos!
Outfit details: Selkie Unicorn Defends Himself Moonlight Dress, black high heels
Cartier
Where: 653 5th Avenue
Tip: Cartier gets very busy and is one of the most photographed holiday lights in the city so if you want to be able to take pictures unbothered by the crowd or cars, come in the early morning, around 7am.
Outfit details: silver tassel dress, black high heels
Dior 5th Ave
Where: 767 5th Avenue
Tip: If you want to keep your background free of people, come take pictures before Dior opens, which is 10am every day but 11am on Sundays. The Apple store and Pulitzer Fountain with their own decorations are just a few meters away with plenty more photo opportunities.
Outfit details: Off shoulder sequin dress, black high heels
The Peninsula Hotel
Where: 700 5th Avenue
Tip: Again, come early if you want to have the lobby of the hotel for pictures to yourself. You don’t need to be a client of the hotel to get some pictures in the lobby. The outdoor decorations are also very nice!
Outfit details: Off shoulder puff sleeve dress
Fox Square
Where: Fox Plaza, 1211 6th Avenue
Tip: Come early to avoid the crowd as 6th Avenue gets very busy very early. There are fences around the tree so you can’t get too close. Better shoot with a low angle.
Outfit details: Selkie Venus Puff Dress, black knee-high boots, Red bow hair clip
Radio City Music Hall
Where: 1260 6th Avenue
Tip: Come early in the morning to get picture. Prioritize a low angle to get the whole tree and the neon signs. Time your picture well to capture some yellow cabs in the background. The best locations to shoot is between the road and the bike lane.
Outfit details: Selkie Nightcap French Puff
Giant Red Ornaments
Where: 1251 6th Avenue
Tip: The red ornaments sit on a rectangle fountain so there are plenty of angles to use. Go behind to get a picture with both the ornaments and Radio City Hall tree in the background. Prioritize the street sides to get some sparkly trees in your photos. Step on the edge of the fountain for a better angle.
Outfit details: Selkie Louie Toile Parliament Dress, black knee-high boots
Holiday Candy Canes
Where: 1261 6th Avenue
Tip: Get there early. The candy canes are a photo ops favorite.
Outfit details: Fluffy bustier dress and boots by Shein.
UBS Nutcracker Guards
Where: 1285 6th Avenue
Tip: I believe there are five nutcrackers in total, all leaning against a pillar of the building. While it may be difficult to get them all in one picture, you can try a diagonal angle, or simply stand between two of them. And again, there is a lot of passage on this street so get there early.
Outfit details: Selkie Caviar Puff Dress, black knee-high boots, Red bow hair clip
Mangia 57th St
Where: 50 W 57th Street
Tip: Get there before it opens.
Outfit details: Fanciful Doll Wildflower Meadows Claudette Dress
Holiday Toys on Fifth Avenue
Where: 5th Avenue between 42nd St and 59th St
Tip: Plenty of different options for plenty of picture opportunities. Once again, 5th Ave is busy so you’ll have to make do with the crowds.
Outfit details: Bustier dress by Shein.
Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue
Where: 611 5th Ave
Tip: The decor changes every year and usually takes the entire height of the building. Shoot from across the street and time your snap to get a yellow cab in the background!
Outfit details: tulle bustier dress by Shein.
Lotte new York Palace
Where: 455 Madison Ave
Tip: The courtyard looks fantastic by night and day. It gets super busy during the day so you may want to come take some pictures at night. The lobby is open to the public and looks very pretty too!
Outfit details: dress by Chi Chi London
Upper East Side
E 64th Street & Madison Ave
Where: E 64th St & Madison Ave
Tip: This location is very popular with bloggers and content creators so chances are, the spot will be taken for photos by others. This applies to Halloween as well. So once again, get here early or be ready to wait in line to take a snap!
Outfit details: Lirika Matoshi Strawberry Dress
E 76th Street & Madison Ave
Where: E 76th St & Madison Ave
Tip: This house gets a lot of attention during the fall and Holidays. The decorations for Halloween and Christmas are absolutely fantastic so get here early!
Outfit details: silver tassel dress, black high heels
The Mark Hotel
Where: 25 E 77th St
Tip: Take pictures from across the street to get the whole display in your frame. Go early as to not have a lot of people in the background or cars parking in front of the entry.
Outfit details: Fanciful Doll Wildflower Meadows Claudette Dress, black knee-high boots
E 78th Street & 2nd Ave
Where: E 78th St & 2nd St
Tip: Go anytime. That street is not that busy.
Outfit details: Selkie rainbow dress
Wall Street & FiDi
Brookfield Place
Where: 230 Vesey St
Tip: If you want to have a photoshoot, stay as conspicuous as possible. Flashes are not necessarily allowed, nor full on photoshoots.
Outfit details: Selkie My So Called Life Corset Dress
The Oculus
Where: 185 Greenwich St
Tips: The Oculus, being a train hub on top of a shopping center, is open pretty much all the time but the shops only open at 10 or 11am at the weekend. It is usually pretty empty around 8am so the perfect time to get pictures.
Outfit details: Fanciful Doll Raspberry Ripple Poptart Dress
NY Stock Exchange
Where: 19-1 Broad St
Tip: Wall Street gets busy very early and crowded with tourists, so better get there early if you want to snap a shot with no one in your background.
Outfit details: Lirika Matoshi Cherry Dress
Zuccotti Park
Where: Zuccotti Park
Tip: There is a small market on the square so it gets busy pretty fast. Early morning is the perfect time to take pictures. Not too dark, but not bright enough that the lights don’t create a nice bokeh effect in the background.
Outfit details: Selkie Strawberry Cherub Dress
Seaport District
Where: 28-20 Fulton St
Tip: Seaport District and Pier 17 get pretty busy pretty quick in the morning so get there early. Or not, if you don’t care about the crowd.
Outfit details: Selkie Head in the Clouds French Puff Dress
Hudson Yards
Where: 20 Hudson Yards
Tip: The Hudson Yards Mall opens at 10am everyday but Sunday (11am). I’d say that your timing does not really matter as it looks its best at night time.
Outfit details: Shein Square Neck Puff Sleeves Dress
That’s it for the best Christmas decorations in New York City in 2022. Of course, there are more. Manhattan is a big island and NYC an event bigger city. So of course, there are a lot of unexplored parts of the city with beautiful decorations.
Brooklyn for one. Dyker Heights, Park Slope and Industry City I heard have fantastic holiday decorations. There is more to see in both the Upper East Side and Upper West Side as well as Midtown as some new Christmas decorations are unveiled. I assume that house with some crazy Halloween decorations will also be playing the part for the holidays!
So, which of those Christmas decorations in NYC have you seen or been to? Which is your favorite? Do you have any to add to the list?
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you liked this post.
See you soon,
Love,
Corinne.
