8 Christmas Trees That Are Sure To Get Your Family In The Holiday Spirit

rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-lighting-ceremony-2012 — Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree; Photo by newyorksightseeingtours.files.wordpress.com

New York City is the best place to be over the holidays, when Christmas tree lightings and department store window displays grace Manhattan with their cheery presence. Finding the closest and most notable tree lightings near you can be overwhelming, so we compiled a list of lightings that you and your family won’t want to miss!

Origami Holiday Tree

NOVEMBER 21-MID JANUARY

Decorated with handmade origami models inspired by items in current museum exhibitions, this unique tree lighting will delight and inspire your creative side. Enjoy its magic and learn about the art of origami folding! Free with museum admission, 10am-5pm. Grand Gallery, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West and 79^th Street, amnh.org

Neapolitan Baroque Crèche

NOVEMBER 24-JANUARY 4

This traditional, annual Christmas installation is complete with an eighteenth-century Neapolitan Nativity scene. The scene includes life-like attendants in silk robes, music, and a candlelit Spruce tree. There’s nothing like an elegant nativity Christmas tree lighting to get you in the holiday spirit! Free with museum admission, 10am-5:30am. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, metmuseum.org

84^th Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting

NOVEMBER 30-JANUARY 7

You’ll want to bring your little ones to see one of the best tree lightings in the city! The 84^th annual tree lighting lasts until January 7^th, so stop by Rockefeller Plaza at night to see it lit up. Go ice skating or check out the department store light shows! You won’t want to miss this. Free. Rockefeller Center, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, rockefellercenter.com

The Park Avenue Tree Lighting

DECEMBER 4-MID JANUARY

Originally erected to honor the men and women who died in WWII, 70 years later the tree remains a symbol of peace. Stop by Park Avenue to marvel at the beauty of this tree, which still serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made in WWII! Free. Brick Presbyterian Church, Park Avenue and 91^st Street, fundforparkavenue.org

Washington Square Tree Lighting

DECEMBER 7-DECEMBER 24

It’s time to celebrate under Washington Square’s 45-foot Christmas tree under the arch! The lighting lasts until Christmas. Stop by the display on Christmas Eve at 5pm for some holiday caroling. The whole family can admire the tree and enjoy some Christmas songs. Free, 4pm-1am. Washington Square, West 4^th Street, Greenwich Village, washingtonsquarenyc.org

Christmas at the Square

DECEMBER 16

Hot chocolate and presents abound at Christmas at the Square. Bring your family to Owen F. Dolen Park for a Santa meet-and-greet, Christmas music, and the lighting of the Westchester Square Christmas tree. Free, 5pm-8pm. Owen F. Dolen Park, 2551 Westchester Square, Bronx, nycgovparks.org

Holiday Party with Santa in Hudson Park

DECEMBER 17

Your little ones will love partying with Santa at Hudson Park! Take a photo with Santa or enjoy a carriage ride around the park. The event will end with the lighting of a holiday tree. It’s Christmas fun you don’t want to miss. Free, 2-5pm. Hudson Park Fountains, West 34^th Street and 10^th avenue, nycgovparks.org

Second Annual Tree Lighting at Railroad Park

DECEMBER 21

The whole family can enjoy this epic tree lighting at Railroad Park in the Bronx. Watch the tree come to life while enjoying hot cocoa, snacks, and holiday spirit! Free, 5-6pm. Railroad Park, Courtland Avenue and East 161st, Bronx, nycgovparks.org

The Language Workshop For Children

After offering both group and private lessons for many years and analyzing the results over&nbsp;time, The&nbsp;Language Workshop for&nbsp;Children, founded&nbsp;in1973, has decided&nbsp;to emphasize private remote lessons at shorter intervals.&nbsp;Our skilled educators&nbsp;will&nbsp;focus their attention exclusively on the&nbsp;unique needs, learning style, and interests of your child.&nbsp;This allows a&nbsp;bond&nbsp;to develop&nbsp;between teacher and student, which&nbsp;has been&nbsp;shown to&nbsp;drastically improve retention.&nbsp; OUR METHOD&nbsp; Developed by the pioneers of language education for children, our programs bring decades of&nbsp;experience to your living room with individualized, active language classes. Each lesson is based on proven methods and materials perfected to capture your&nbsp;child&rsquo;s attention during the ages when he/she absorbs information the fastest. &nbsp;&nbsp; While other online language classes rely on videos for passive learning, we deliver interactive, and engaging lessons with native-fluent teachers. In addition, all our teachers are certified in the Thibaut&nbsp;Technique which has been featured&nbsp;in the New York&nbsp;Times, the&nbsp;Wall Street Journal, and many other well-respected&nbsp;publications.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our short one-on-one lessons give kids the chance to focus, hear pronunciation clearly, and practice speaking in their target language.  THE PROCESS&nbsp; First, students have a short meeting with our Director&nbsp;Francois&nbsp;Thibaut, in&nbsp;English, with&nbsp;their parent(s)&nbsp;present.&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut&nbsp;will determine&nbsp;the best course of study, including&nbsp;class length and&nbsp;frequency, the&nbsp;right&nbsp;teacher, lesson&nbsp;format and materials (or action games for younger students.) Then the learning&nbsp;begins!&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut will continually check in on your child&rsquo;s learning to assure they are getting the most&nbsp;of&nbsp;their&nbsp;classes.&nbsp; OTHER OFFERINGS&nbsp; We can also help your child prepare for: the French subject tests for SAT, AP &amp; CLEP, the European DELF/DALF, the Canadian TEF and other standardized testing, college entry exams, studying or traveling abroad,&nbsp;cultural changes when moving abroad,&nbsp;and much more!&nbsp; &nbsp;

CK Kids

CK Kids offers various classes and programs, including Afterschool Program, Lil Chefs, Boys Hip-Hop, Ninja Starz, Lil Artists, CK Kids Athletic Programs, Acrobatics, Dance and Drama, and Karate.&nbsp;

Broadway Dance Center Children and Teens

With more than 35 years of experience, Broadway Dance Center Children &amp; Teens provides young movers ages 3-18 with exceptional training. BDC delivers the finest all-around dance experience for students by offering a wide variety of styles and levels, performance opportunities, and the highest caliber dance instruction that only New York City and BDC Children &amp; Teens can provide. This studio is so much more than a training course for young dancers; it is a diverse, family-friendly community for budding creatives. It has an exemplary faculty who follow the vision to not only develop a dancer&rsquo;s love and ability in dance, but to do so in a nurturing and supportive way.