Paper Stores In New York City

Paper Stores In New York City

Paper Stores In New York City

Rockefeller Center is, literally, the center of activity during the holiday season. The holiday tradition here began in 1933. Each year, a 70-plus foot tree is identified, loaded onto a truck for its trip to Manhattan and placed in front of the main building. The trees often come from private property within a 100-mile radius of Rockefeller Center, but some trees have come from as far away as Canada.

After the tree is decorated with tens of thousands of lights, an official tree lighting festival is held on a weekday evening during the first week in December. Every day through early January, thousands of tourists and locals meet, share holiday greetings and take pictures by the tree and along the promenade that enters from Fifth Avenue.

Under the tree, the below ground outdoor summer restaurant is converted into the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink. Open to the public, skates can be rented or you can bring your own. Fees are modest, but the wait can be long. Sometimes the wait to skate is more than an hour. To avoid long lines, the best times to skate are Sunday mornings and New Year's Day.