What to Do in New York on Christmas Day?

There's nothing like New York at the holidays, but guests who are actually in the city on December 25 may feel a bit limited in options for what to do during the day.

They shouldn't! NewYorkology.com has a great list of things for visitors and locals alike to experience in New York on Christmas Day.

According to Playbill, “Billy Elliot,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Chicago,” “Follies,” “Godspell,” “Jersey Boys,” “Memphis,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” “Rock of Ages” and “Sister Act” will all perform on Christmas Day. The Radio City Spectacular will perform at 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m.

For some traditional New York cabaret and jazz culture, Michael Feinstein and Barbara Cook will sing at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency at 8 p.m. Mike Stern, Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams, Sonny Fortune (otherwise known as Four Generations of Miles) will play the Iridium Jazz Club at 8:30 and 10 p.m., and a Swinging Birdland Christmas will begin at 7 and 10 p.m. at Birdland.

Dance fans will want to check out the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which will perform at 7:30 p.m. at City Center.

Several museums will be open as well: Jewish Museum galleries are open from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Madame Tussauds wax museum will be open, Discovery’s Times Square Exhibition featuring the Dead Sea Scrolls and CSI: The Experience exhibitions will open from 10 a.m. with the last admission at 7 p.m., and Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium is open daily from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m.

And for those who want some more traditional Christmas celebrations, St. Patrick’s Cathedral Christmas Day mass will be celebrated at 7, 8, 9, 10:15 a.m., noon, 1 and 5:30 p.m. (Midnight mass requires a ticket.) There will be a Medieval & Baroque Treasury concert at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine at 2 and 8 p.m., and a Choral Eucharist with Carols at St. Bart’s at 11 a.m.

Photo by Debbie Sheehan