Christmas and the holiday season in New York City is an amazing time. From the Thanksgiving Day Parade to the New Year's Eve ball drop, the whole city buzzes with holiday spirit and Christmas events as everyone readies for the festivities. Stores go above and beyond to decorate their holiday windows. Santas listen to little kids' wishes and, of course, this being New York, there are also lots of offbeat and multicultural ways to celebrate the season and ways to give back to others less fortunate.

We'll be posting more holiday ideas and Christmas activities throughout the season, so keep checking back or subscribe to our free emails.

You can also check out our NYC Shopping Local Holiday Gift Guide for the best NYC owned toy stores and unique gift ideas for all of the kids on your list.