The famous celebration at Rockefeller Center takes place Dec. 3, 7-9 p.m. If you can't be part of the crowd that night, stop by in person later in the season.
In Washington, D.C., the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse will be lit Dec. 4. Tickets for the ceremony have already been distributed, but you can see it through Jan. 1. On Dec. 2 at 5 p.m., the Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
If you're visiting California, stop by the 30-metre fir tree at The Grove in Los Angeles, which was lit Sunday and is decorated with 10,000 lights and 15,000 ornaments.
On Christmas Eve in Louisiana, over 100 bonfires are built along the banks of the Mississippi in the locales of Lutcher, Gramercy and Reserve. It's an old Cajun tradition, to guide the way for "Papa Noel." Gray Line offers a six-hour trip to the event from New Orleans, including a tour of Destrehan Plantation and dinner. The cost is $76 for adults, $48 for children. Contact graylineneworleans.com.
In Salt Lake City, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lights up Temple Square beginning Friday.
In Boston, Nova Scotia sends a Christmas tree every year as thanks for relief sent from Massachusetts following the Halifax Explosion in 1917. This year's tree will be lit Dec. 4, 6-8 p.m., on the Boston Common.
The Chicago Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Daley Plaza takes place Dec. 2 at around noon.
Cincinnati's Norway spruce will be lit at Fountain Square on Nov. 28, with festivities starting at 6:30 p.m.
Detroit's tree was lit Nov. 21 at Campus Martius Park. You can go ice skating there when you visit.
Des Moines, Iowa, offers 5.3 km of "Jolly Holiday Lights," a nighttime drive-through display in Water Works Park, Nov. 25-Jan. 1. Admission is $9 US per car.
Atlanta hosts Macy's Great Tree Lighting at Lenox Square Mall the evening of Nov. 27.
Some cities have manmade lighting displays shaped like trees instead of the real thing. In Charleston, S.C., the "tree" of lights will be lit Dec. 6, 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. in Marion Square. In Indianapolis, the holiday display also consists of thousands of lights, on view in Monument Circle beginning Nov. 28.
In Texas, on Dec. 7, Austin lights a manmade 47-metre-tall tree of lights strung from the city's Moonlight Tower. On Dec. 14, the city opens its Trail of Lights in Zilker Metropolitan Park, running nightly through Dec. 23, a 1.6 km, walk-through display of lighted scenes including Santa's House. In Houston, the Uptown Holiday Lighting begins Nov. 27 along Post Oak Boulevard.
Even Honolulu has an official Christmas tree. It will be lit Dec. 6 at Honolulu Hale, the local City Hall.
IT'S A WILD WONDERLAND
NEW YORK -- The Bronx Zoo is bringing in reindeer and turning off the lights at its holiday light show. Zoo officials have decided to hold a daytime Wild Wonderland instead of the usual nighttime event. On hand will be Clydesdale horses, reindeer and craft workshops where children can make eco-friendly tree ornaments.
Zoo officials say moving the event to the daytime will reduce its carbon footprint by an amount equal to the annual emissions of a three-person household. Winter Wonderland will open Dec. 6 . See bronxzoo.com.
SCORE BIG IN OTTAWA
OTTAWA -- A variety of hotel/hockey packages -- combining accommodation and tickets to an Ottawa Senators game -- are being offered by the city's tourism department and can be booked online at ottawatourism.ca.
A total of 39 Ottawa-area hotels, from budget to luxury, are participating in the Hockey Night in the Capital promotion. The cost ranges from about $131 to $375 per person and includes one night's accommodation, game tickets and a meal.
The packages, available throughout the NHL season, can also be booked at 1-888-OTTAWA-8.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree stands lit during the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in New York.
