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Midtown’s most famous seasonal resident has been selected and its apartment requirements remain outrageous: outdoor space, room for a 76-foot frame and absolutely no upstairs neighbors.
The 2026 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is a Norway spruce from West Edmeston, New York, and it will arrive in Manhattan on Saturday, November 7. This year’s evergreen is reportedly about 75 years old. But before it gets dressed for December, though, the tree is getting a welcome party—and you’re invited.
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Returning for its second year, Meet the Tree Day will celebrate the stunning spruce’s arrival with a free, family-friendly event at Rockefeller Center. From 10am to 1pm on November 7, a Holiday Workshop presented by Care Bears and FAO Schwarz will include six Care Bears characters on hand for meet-and-greets, along with holiday letter-writing, festive photo opportunities and a Care-A-Lot Craft Corner for making handmade keepsakes. Visitors can also add a wish or an act of kindness to The Caring Tree.
Admission is free and open to the public, but entry is first-come, first-served. Families who want confirmed, expedited admission can purchase a Meet the Tree + Top of the Rock ticket, which bundles the celebration with a trip up to the observation deck.
For the big sparkle reveal, mark Wednesday, December 2: the annual lighting ceremony will illuminate the evergreen with more than 50,000 multicolored LED lights beneath a Swarovski star. The ceremony runs from 7–10 pm and the holiday tree will remain on view through mid-January 2027.
November 7 is your official chance to meet the Norway spruce before its full holiday makeover. You can scope out this year’s selection, make a keepsake and start debating whether it measures up to previous trees all before Thanksgiving. New Yorkers may disagree about when Christmas season should begin, but we can always find time to judge a very large tree.