Midtown NYC: Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Arrives for Free Meet the Tree Day

Saturday, November 7, is Meet the Tree Day at Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown, when the 2026 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrives. Time Out New York reports that the free welcome party includes Care Bears, crafts and holiday photo opportunities.

This year's tree is a 76-foot Norway spruce. NBC New York says it comes from a property in West Edmeston, Otsego County, in upstate New York. It is about 75 years old and roughly 50 feet in diameter. The tree was cut down on Thursday, November 5, lifted by crane onto a flatbed truck and sent on a trip of about 200 miles to Manhattan. Once it arrives, it is set upright at the plaza, where it overlooks the skating rink.

The weeks that follow are for dressing it. The tree will receive 50,000 multicolored LED lights and the 900-pound Swarovski star. The lighting takes place on Wednesday, December 2, during the official "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" live show, which is earlier than many visitors might expect. The tree stays on display until January 9.

The tradition runs deep. Construction workers put up the first tree in 1931, and the first formal lighting ceremony came in 1933, when the tree carried 700 lights. LEDs were introduced in 2007, cutting daily energy use from 3,510 kWh to 1,297 kWh. Other milestones include a tree donated by Canada in 1966, the largest tree ever, at 100 feet, from Killingworth, Connecticut in 1999, and the larger Swarovski-designed star in 2004.

After the holidays, the tree is milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity housing.

The event takes place at Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown, and the welcome party is reported as free. For visitors in New York in early November, it marks the first step in the city's holiday season, well before the lights go on.

(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by Time Out New York, NBC New York.)