The 2025 Rockefeller Christmas Tree Is Here—Where to Watch the 2025 Lighting Ceremony

Published on October 29, 2025

New York City is already preparing for Christmas. This week, the 2025 Rockefeller Christmas tree was officially chosen—and we're so ready for the holiday magic.

Erik Pauze is the head gardener for Rockefeller Center and leads the charge in finding the iconic Christmas tree each year. It’s not an easy task; he spends the season traveling around New York and several adjacent states to scout out potential future Rockefeller trees. 

All About This Year's Rockefeller Christmas Tree

This year’s pick is a 75-year-old Norway Spruce from East Greenbush in upstate New York, and has been owned by the same family for 60 years. When Pauze saw the gigantic spruce, he knew it would be perfect for this year’s Christmas celebration. The family was happy to donate it to Rockefeller Center, and the tree will leave its home to journey to New York City on November 6th. 

According to Rockefeller Center, this massive tree is an impressive 75 feet tall, 45 feet wide, and weighs 11 tons.

Once it arrives at Rockefeller Center, there will be a month’s wait before it’s ready to be lit. That’s probably because of the five miles—yes, that's right!—of LED tree lights that need to be wound around its massive branches. And don’t forget about the 900-pound Swarovski star that goes on top, made out of 3 million crystals.

How to Watch This Year's Rockefeller Tree Lighting Ceremony

The tree lighting ceremony will take place on Dec. 3. If you want to see the tree lit up in person, you should arrive in the afternoon (at the absolute latest) if you want a chance at seeing it—or you can grab VIP tickets so you don’t have to wait around. 

Watching the tree lighting unfold on television is probably the coziest way to see the Rockefeller tree for yourself, though. NBC will have a tree lighting special on Dec. 3; grab a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine and tune in to watch it at 8 p.m. EST on NBC or Peacock. 

If you still want to visit this year’s Rockefeller tree in person once there’s a little less traffic, the enormous display will remain up until January. It usually stays up through the first or second week of the new year.

Thankfully, the Rockefeller tree will serve a noble purpose long after the holiday season is over. Once the tree is taken down, its lumber will be donated to Habitat for Humanity—a tradition for the Rockefeller tree since 2007—and will be used to build affordable homes for low-income families in the area. This year, since the tree hails from New York, it will likely be sent to a Habitat for Humanity in the same area.