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Christmas Weekend 2025 in NYC Top Things To Do: Caroling, Kwanzaa, and More

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12/20/24 - By Drew Kristofik

Looking for the best things to do in New York City this Christmas weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list for this weekend.

You may still have gifts to wrap (or—gulp—shop for) and stockings to hang, but there's festive fun to be had all weekend and beyond. Some of my annual Christmas favorites include singing carols under the Washington Square Arch, catching a holiday show, and checking out the Dyker Lights.

Plus, families can celebrate Kwanzaa at the Brooklyn Children's Museum, have an intergalactic Space Glide at NYSCI, or catch the Nefesh Mountain Family Concert at the Jewish Museum.

No matter how you celebrate, Happy Holidays from the Mommy Poppins team!

Want even more fun things to do this December? Our New York City Events Calendar is packed with great family activities every day of the month—and you can filter by age, location, and even FREE events!

Not on our newsletter list yet? Subscribe for free and get the best local family fun sent straight to your inbox. Already subscribed? Share it with a friend and start planning your weekend together!

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Best Things To Do in NYC this Christmas Weekend

Holiday Caroling Under the Washington Square Arch

Greenwich Village – FREE
Wednesday, December 24
Join The Rob Susman Brass Quartet for a holiday celebration under the Washington Square Arch. The annual Christmas carol event fills the city streets with the sweet sounds of holiday carols. READ MORE

Come-As-You-Are Christmas Pageant at St. Bartholomew's

Midtown East – FREE
Wednesday, December 24
Kids are invited to participate in a come-as-you-are Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve. Arrive by 3:45pm to be provided with a costume and directed to the stage at the appropriate time. READ MORE

Family Concert: Nefesh Mountain

Upper East Side
Thursday, December 25
Nefesh Mountain—singer Doni Zasloff and her multi-instrumentalist husband Eric Lindberg—presents a blend of bluegrass, Celtic, and Appalachian melodies with a Jewish soul. They perform original melodies from their albums Songs from the Mountain and Beneath the Open Sky. READ MORE

Winter Concert at Eldridge Street Synagogue

Lower East Side
Thursday, December 25
As the city shuts down on Thursday, December 25, the Museum at Eldridge Street on Manhattan's historic Lower East Side comes to life for an afternoon of soulful and spirited klezmer music.   READ MORE

A Christmas Carol, Oy! Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa at Theater for the New City

Lower East Side
Opens Friday, December 26
The Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre stages a holiday favorite—a toy-puppet theater take on Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol, with Czech accents and a few twists. READ MORE

MulchFest 2025

Citywide – FREE
Opens Friday, December 26
Bring your holiday tree to Mulchfest to be recycled into mulch to nourish plantings in the parks all year long! You can watch your tree devolve and evolve in person! READ MORE

Celebrate Kwanzaa at the Brooklyn Children's Museum

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Friday, December 26-Tuesday, December 30
NYC’s largest Kwanzaa festival returns for its 18th year—a week-long celebration of African heritage and culture—with daily candle lightings, youth performances, and dance, drumming, and art workshops inspired by Kwanzaa's seven principles.  READ MORE

Kwanzaa Celebration at CMOM

Upper West Side
Sunday, December 28-Monday, December 29
Learn about the seven principles of Kwanzaa and come together to honor ancestors and celebrate African and African American culture. READ MORE

Dyker Heights Christmas Lights

Dyker Heights, Brooklyn – FREE
Through Wednesday, December 31
Catch one of the largest and zaniest neighborhood Christmas lights displays in Brooklyn, if not in all of New York City, when block after block of homeowners mount over-the-top displays. READ MORE

Space Glide at the NY Hall of Science

Flushing, Queens
Through Sunday, February 22, 2026
Glide into the Galaxy at Space Glide, the indoor winter rink at the New York Hall of Science. Blast off into wonder as gliding transforms your outing into an intergalactic adventure! Perfect for the adventurous astronaut, Space Glide combines the thrill of sliding with the awe of space exploration.  READ MORE
The holiday lights at the Bronx Zoo shine brightly into the new year! Photo by Terria Clay courtesy of the zoo
The holiday lights at the Bronx Zoo shine brightly into the new year! Photo by Terria Clay courtesy of the zoo

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About the Author

Drew Kristofik
Drew Kristofik’s career took a twist from editing teen magazines to a seven-year stint at MacNeil/Lehrer, followed by a long run at Nickelodeon/Viacom as Director of Content for Nick Online and Editor-in-Chief of ParentsConnect.com. A founding member of the Webby Award-winning GoCityKids, she’s written for Family Fun, Vanity Fair, and New York. Her middle school novel, The Time Boat, is available on Amazon Kindle. Drew keeps the MommyPoppins New York Events calendar spot-on and can be reached at events@mommypoppins.com.
Recent Articles By Drew Kristofik:
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