NEW YORK CITY — If you're low on holiday parties to attend, looking to do something festive with your favorite out-of-towners or you're just particularly excited about the season, New York City has many ways to celebrate.
Traditional Holiday Decorations Workshop at King Manor Museum in Jamaica
Saturday Dec. 13 from noon to 3 p.m.
Cost is a donation to the museum
King Manor House was built in 1750 and purchased by Rufus King, a signatory of the US Constitution, in 1805. It is now a museum demonstrating 19th century life. The Hands-on History: Deck the Halls event will teach both children and adults how to create traditional holiday and winter decorations that the King family may have used.
The Morbid Anatomy Annual Holiday Fair at 424-A 3rd Avenue in Gowanus
Saturday Dec. 13 and Sunday Dec. 14, noon to 6 p.m.
Admission is free
Brooklyn’s Morbid Anatomy Museum is hosting its annual holiday fair. Antiques, house wear and jewelry as well as taxidermy will be on sale. The museum also has its exhibition “The Art of Mourning” running until Jan. 5 for those is search of some holiday gloom. Admission to the museum is $8.
Chanukah on Ice NYC at the Trump Wollman Rink in Central Park
Dec. 16 from 6-9 p.m.
Online ticket orders: $25 including skate rental, $18 no-skate rental. Day-of tickets: $28 including skate rental, $20 no skate rental
The Chabad Centers of New York invite you to join them on the first night of Hanukkah for the lighting of a giant ice menorah at the Trump Wollman Rink in Central Park. Enjoy Kosher snacks and the music of the Ta Shma Orchestra while you skate.
Winter Solstice Celebration at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine at 1047 Amsterdam Ave. in Morningside Heights
Dec. 18, 19, and 20
Admission starts at $35
To celebrate the shortest day of the year, the Cathedral of Church of Saint John the Divine, renowned for its music, will host three days of concerts. The Paul Winter Consort, bomba drummers and the Forces of Nature Dance Theater will give a modern spin to ancient solstice rituals that celebrate new beginnings.
KWANZAA 2014: Our Brightest Lights at the American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side
Dec. 27 at noon and 3 p.m.
Yaffa Cultural Arts director Linda Humes hosts this Kwanzaa event that will feature a performance by famed dancer, choreographer and actor Savion Glover and a yet-to-be-announced film screening.
Zoo Kid Fun Days at Staten Island Zop 614 Broadway in Staten Island
Dec. 29 and Dec. 30, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission to the zoo is $8 for adults and $5 for children
Kids can get up close to some of the animals at the zoo with live animal presentations. During the fun day there will also be craft activities and a guided tour around the zoo as well as a souvenir T-shirt.
Gingerbread Lane at the New York Hall of Science at 47-01 111th St. in Corona
Exhibition runs until Jan. 11
Tickets are $11 for adults
It takes chef Jon Lovitch an entire year to design, bake and decorate Gingerbread Lane, which is made of entirely edible ingredients. Last year’s display made it to the Guinness World Records as the largest gingerbread village ever made. The New York Hall of Science is also hosting gingerbread house workshops and on January 11th, museum visitors can take home part of the display.
Christmas Lights and Cannoli Tour with a Slice of Brooklyn in Dyker Heights
Tours occur on numerous times and days through to Dec. 31
Tickets are $55 for adults
Each year dozens of city residents decorate their houses with Christmas lights. Of course, it’s free to stroll the streets by yourself, but you can also take a three-hour-plus tour with A Slice of Brooklyn to see the most festive homes in Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge. The tour also includes a cannoli and hot chocolate from a local bakery.
Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx
Runs until Jan. 19
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children
In its 23rd year, the Holiday Train Show features 20 operating model trains that zip between 150 models of iconic buildings like Grand Central Station and the towers from the 1964 World's Fair. Each building is made from bark, twigs and other plant material.
Supreme Drinking Chocolate at the Chocolate Room 269 Court St. in Cobble Hill
Open seven days a week
$4.75 for one cup
Instead of making do with a packet of powder and hot water, the Chocolate Room blends each cup of drinking chocolate to order. The store’s classic hot chocolate is a blend of 38 percent milk chocolate and Madagascar vanilla. The Spiced Dark Hot Chocolate can warm you up on a cold night with bittersweet Belgian chocolate, Valrhona cocoa powder with Ancho and Chipotle chilies, cinnamon and cloves.
