The 2025 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Few cities can compete with New York City when it comes to Christmas celebrations. In so many ways, much of our modern-day Christmas traditions truly originated in New York City. Our modern image of Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, even electric Christmas lights, were a New York City invention. The centerpiece of New York City’s Christmas celebrations is the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Let’s learn a bit of history about the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and then let’s get a sneak peek at the 2025 tree and how you see it!
HISTORY OF THE ROCKEFELER CENTER CHRISTMAS TREE
Rockefeller Center was being constructed during the Great Depression. It was a time when ⅓ of America’s work force was unemployed. Those lucky enough to be employed to help build Rockefeller Center were seeking holiday cheer. The Christmas season of 1931, they pooled their money together to buy a small tree, which they decorated with handmade garlands.They stood around it and sang in their big burly construction worker voices, and people saw it and loved it! They thought, “Hey, we should have a tree here every year!” In 1933, the first official Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting ceremony was held. In 1951, the first television broadcast of the event took place. In 2007 LED lights were added to the festivities. The trees have ranged in size, some being over 100 feet tall! The trees have also come from all across the continent, including Canada! The one thing that remains the same is the tree always spreads Christmas cheer far and wide!
The 2025 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
For 2025, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a 75-foot tall Norway Spruce. It hails from East Greenbush, New York, weighs 11 tons, and is 45 feet in diameter. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is always donated, never bought. In exchange for the tree, the family donating gets new landscaping at their home and the pride of helping bring joys to millions of people across the world. They also usually get a front-row seat to the tree lighting ceremony! This year, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree will arrive in New York City on November 8th and be lit December 3rd at approximately 10pm.
How to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
The obvious answer to “How to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree” is to visit Rockefeller Center, and while the answer is that easy, there are also more layers. For many, seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree be lit for the very first time is a bucket list experience. If you go, prepare for massive crowds and arrive around noon and prepare to stand for the next ten hours! The best spots are usually reserved for employees of Rockefeller Center. Many of the performances are pre-recorded and the parts that are live and nearly impossible to see from the public viewing areas. What we suggest is that you visit the tree at 5 a.m. every day after the lighting. Every night, the tree is turned off, and then, at 5 a.m. the lights come back on, so you get to feel as though you had your very own private Christmas Tree lighting! To avoid the most massive crowds, we suggest visiting the tree relatively late, between 10pm and midnight.
If you are seeking a more VIP viewing experience, Rockefeller Center offers VIP tours that include a visit with Santa. Part of these VIP tours is a visit to the French Building. From the French Building’s roof you get a stellar birds eye view of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree away from crowds, and as a bonus, you also get a fabulous view of the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday light show! The tour is pricey, but worth it!
After you take photos at Rockefeller Center, head over to Times Square and share your photos on our giant Welcome to Times Square billboard. For as little as $150 your photos can appear on one of our billboards for an entire day! It will truly be one of the things to do in New York City during the holidays.