Celebrate Your Holiday Joy in Union Square
Our community and business partners sure know how to celebrate the end of 2023 in Union Square! If you’re just visiting Union Square, a regular in the neighborhood, or looking for a special event to celebrate the holidays and New Year, you can count on finding the most fun in Union Square. Check out our guide below for entertainment, dining, nightlife, and other holiday-focused events in the neighborhood.
If your business or organization has a holiday event or promotion that isn’t mentioned here, feel free to email us at info@unionsquarenyc.org and we can include it!
RING IN 2024 WITH SOME FUN
How is it almost 2024 already? If you’re looking for a night out around Union Square to spend New Year’s Eve, the Belfry is currently offering tickets for their New Year’s Eve celebration. Guests can buy a general admission ticket, or a table for up to 7 guests. Admission includes a 3-hour open bar package from 9PM to 12AM, complete with premium liquor, wine, beer, a champagne toast, and passed hor d’oeurvres. Come watch the ball drop at midnight and celebrate with at one of Union Square’s best bars!
Webster Hall has always been a hot spot for nightlife and that’s not slowing down with the holiday season approaching. Check out the Shrek Rave: Shrek the Halls on December 22nd, a Shrek-themed rave where anything goes. Only 19+ admission! Want to swing by Webster Hall to ring in 2024 on New Year’s Eve? Make sure to get your tickets for the Webster Hall for the Webster Hall New Year’s Eve Ball. The event starts at 9PM!
WINTER IS FOR ARTS and pERFORMANCES
Looking for some arts and performance-focused events this winter to enjoy? Union Square is a hub for the arts after all! Kick off the beginning of December at the 14th Street Y with their 14Y Winter Wonderland on December 2. Join the 14th Street Y for an afternoon of family-friendly fun—admission is free! The 14Y Winter Wonderland will include a Holiday Market, where there will be food and concessions to purchase. From 11AM to 12PM, there’ll be a Fiesta with Flor Children’s Concert performance, a multicultural music celebration that’ll celebrate multilingualism, storytelling, and fun for kids. From 11AM to 6PM, there’ll be bounce castles, face painting, and children’s arts and crafts for all ages. You can also find a holiday market with vendors such as Beecharmer, Bonnies Photos, Studio Gloom, and much more.
Dinner and a concert, anyone? The iconic Gotham Restaurant at 12 East 12th Street will be hosting dinner and a concert with Grammy Award winning multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer Ted Nash and singer and songwriter Kristen Lee Sergeant on December 17th. Join Gotham Restaurant for what will be the Downtown holiday music event of the season!
Singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson is back with her 17th Annual Holiday Hop in New York City this year! Performing at Webster Hall over on 125 East 11th Street, Michaelson will be playing beloved Christmas and holiday songs. If you can’t physically make it to Webster Hall, there is a livestream available so you won’t miss out on anything.
Grab some books for your loved ones at the Strand, and then stay a little longer for the Christmas Drag Show hosted by Kendall Knight. Performances also include Lana Del Trey, Bertha Vanayshun, and Katie Silvernail. There’ll be a raffle and chance to win a prize!
Not able to make it to the Strand for the Christmas Drag Show, but still want to be in the holiday entertainment spirit? Christina Perri will be hosting a Christmas music concert
ONE STOP SHOPPING DESTINATION
This is the first years that New Yorkers can legally purchase and gift cannabis, so why not mark the occasion with a trip to Union Square Travel Agency on East 13th and Broadway? Check out this superb gift guide curated by Union Square Travel Agency, with recommendations for every person in your life.
This is also the first year that select vendors from the Union Square Holiday Market will be available to purchase online! Urbanspace (the
HOLIDAY MARKET DESSERT HEAVEN
Check out some of the amazing desserts at the Union Square Holiday Market this year!
Babka Bailout, a Jersey City-based bakery is putting a delicious new spin on babkas with inventive flavors, such as ube Oreo, dulce de leche, cereal milk, and plenty of others. What started as a baking endeavor during the pandemic has now blossomed into Babka Bailout’s presence at multiple holiday and food markets, sold at local bakeries in the New York City area, and nationwide shipping. The cereal milk babka surely sounds delicious… what babka flavor will you be trying at Babka Bailout?
Warm up after shopping in the cold with some of the richest hot chocolate you’ll try at United Chocolate Works. If you’re in the mood for more chocolate, add some chocolate-shaped tools, chocolate-shaped roses, and even a chocolate-shaped ring to your hot chocolate. And don’t forget about the marshmallows to top it all off!
If you’ve seen the viral liquid s’mores hot chocolate with the blow-torched marshmallow on top, you can find it at the Union Square Holiday Market at Rubyzaar Baked. Besides the liquid s’mores, you can find delectable cookies with flavors such as a NYC Pretzel Logic cookie (made with Martin’s Pretzels, a Union Square Greenmarket vendor and dark chocolate), an earl grey tea cookie, and a classic chocolate chip.
Cake in a jar? It’s more likely than you think! Cake Jars is a Filipino-owned business that’s serving up plant-based cakes in jars with both traditional Filipino-inspired flavors and new, inventive ones. You can find flavors like turon (banana caramel), ube, to red velvet, strawberry matcha, birthday cake, and much more.
HAVE YOUR HOLIDAY MEAL IN UNION SQUARE
Barn Joo is offering a winter pre-fixe menu that includes a choice of appetizer, two Korean BBQ meats, and a great dessert. Top it all off with some special holiday cocktails on the menu!
Looking for a Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve dinner spot? Union Square Cafe is offering a Feast of the Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve dinner and a New Year’s Eve dinner. Reservations are open now, so be sure to make your reservations soon!